Marine Sciences

The bachelor's degree in Marine Sciences of the University of Barcelona aims to train professionals in the field of marine sciences and their fields of application. By means of a multidisciplinary approach and the use of advanced tools in the field of marine sciences, paying attention to practical aspects, it is intended to train graduates capable of carrying out the following activities:

• To study, characterize, model and manage the marine and coastal environment, in its natural state or affected by human activities.
• To advise on matters in which they are competent, such as marine resources, environmental issues and impact, among others, at the request of public administrations or companies.
• To conduct research in the different thematic fields of marine sciences.
• To train, in turn, other scientists and technicians.

In this sense, graduates in Marine Sciences must be able to understand, evaluate and integrate the contributions of specialists from different thematic fields, and to manage and coordinate work teams that can respond to a wide range of questions in the the field of marine sciences. In short, they must have solid and broad knowledge that facilitates their access to companies, the administration, research centres, educational centres and other institutions and organizations with activities related to the coasts and the sea, as well as the resources and uses that they have, and tools that allow them to adapt to a highly changing work environment.

Basic and General Competences

• Ability to understand and apply knowledge in the professional field.
• Ability to gather and interpret data to provide thoughtful judgements.
• Ability to communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to a diverse audience.
• Ability to learn.
• Responsibility, creativity, initiative and adaptation.
• Capacity for criticism and self-criticism.
• Ability to work in teams.
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing.
• Ability to use information technologies.
• Professional, social and environmental ethical commitment.

Competences specific to the degree

• Ability to apply best practices to the work at the sea, in the countryside and in the laboratory, using instrumental techniques and methods of observation specific to the ocean.
• Ability to plan applied work, and evaluate, process, visualize and interpret data from the field of marine sciences.
• Ability to recognize the diversity and evolution of the geological environments, to map and classify the marine subsoil and background, and identify the risks of marine origin.
• Ability to recognize, take stock and evaluate biodiversity, identify and describe habitats and ecosystems, detect threats, and propose management and conservation measures.
• Ability to identify masses of water, define their properties and characterize their dynamics, their variability at different time scales and their relation to global change.
• Ability to diagnose human impact and problems associated with the sustainable use and exploitation of living and non-living marine resources, and propose measures for mitigation and correction.
• Ability to develop, validate and apply indicators of the environmental state of the marine environment to monitoring and surveillance programs.
• Ability to apply basic principles of economics and the right to the management of the marine environment and its resources.