About

The MAR 104: Oceanography summer course at Stony Brook University Southampton is a three-week, 3-credit college course designed for motivated high school students alongside undergraduates and professionals. It immerses participants in ocean systems—chemical, physical, geological, and biological—and human interactions with marine environments, combining classroom lectures, in-class activities (including a live plankton lab), and three multi-hour boat excursions into coastal ecosystems where students collect and interpret real oceanographic data. Participants must have completed three years of high school math and science; those 17 and older may opt into residential housing at the Southampton campus. The course runs in July and is offered by the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) on Long Island’s Shinnecock Bay waterfront.

MAR 104 is structured as a formal university summer session: five days per week of academic time (approximately 3.75 hours per day) across three weeks, with required textbook work, regular quizzes, and exams tied to field activities and core concepts like wave dynamics and marine chemistry. Boat trips utilize professional oceanographic sampling equipment—such as Van Veen grabs and CTD profilers—to connect lecture content with real-world marine environments. While there is no competitive admissions process, space is limited, and enrollment opens in early March on a first-come, first-served basis.

Tuition and fees follow 2026 SUNY summer session billing practices; optional housing is available for students 17 and older at an additional cost. Financial support is available through SoMAS scholarships for students from historically underrepresented backgrounds in marine science, providing up to $2,000 toward course and housing expenses. Unlike high school enrichment programs, MAR 104 issues actual college credit, mirroring the introductory requirement for Stony Brook marine science majors. The course is rigorous and academically structured, emphasizing scientific methods, data interpretation, and ecological systems thinking.