Curious about studying Tropical Marine Biology (Integrated Masters) - MSci (Hons)at University of Essex? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
Master of Science - MSci
University of Essex
Full Time
Oct 2026
4 Year
Dive into our MSci Tropical Marine Biology course and enter a fascinatingly complex world of whales, coral reefs, fish, deep sea trenches, coastal lagoons, sea ice, and tropical seagrass beds. At Essex, we believe in a truly immersive experience of research and study. This includes numerous opportunities to go on field trips as part of this course (subject to additional costs). During the field trip to Wakatobi Marine National Park in Indonesia, our students are able to participate in underwater lectures. Tropical ecosystems provide important resources locally and globally, and coral reefs are the most diverse of marine ecosystems threatened by human activities. Our unique course is designed to deliver advanced tropical marine biology theory and to facilitate the development of a comprehensive range of practical and professional skills required by today's employers. The vast majority of life on earth is found under the sea; but exactly how much remains unknown, since there is so much still to be explored. At Essex, we'll take you on a journey of discovery from the poles to the tropical reef systems of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. We work on ecosystems from estuaries and coastal environments to oceanic systems, and on conservation and resource management. You gain an expert knowledge of marine biology through study of essential core modules and the flexibility to specialise in the areas that interest you most, including: - the major types of marine communities, including aquatic mammals and fish - direct and indirect human impact on the marine environment - coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove systems - marine and freshwater taxonomy and biodiversity - diving and snorkel-based practices With our Integrated Masters you'll be able to fast track your degree and complete your final year in nine months compared to a regular MSc which usually takes twelve months. The course will cover key skills in tropical marine biology and provide you with the knowledge, understanding and hands-on experience required in this exciting and important area of research. Topics include: - the biotechnological ‘treasure chest' of marine microbes, algae and invertebrates - tropical oceans, seagrass beds, mangroves and coral reefs - coral reef resource management and conservation When you combine your undergraduate and postgraduate study in one degree you'll be equipped with a strong theoretical background, specialist expertise through independent research and practical insights into current applications. This combination makes graduates from our course attractive candidates for many employers. Your independent research project allows you to develop your own interests. Previous topics have included shellfisheries and water quality, turtle ecology in Greece and coral reef conservation strategies in the Caribbean and Indonesia.
Develop your skillset and boost your CV. This module prepares you for the coursework, laboratory practicals and research projects that you will encounter during undergraduate study. Get to know referencing systems and learn how to effectively communicate scientific information. Use scientific units and simple algebra and demonstrate understanding of logarithms, exponentials, geometry and elementary calculus. Learn how to design experiments, handle data and display, interpret and analyse basic statistics. Teaching and learning will be through a mixture of lectures, classes, practicals and tutorials, with an emphasis on developing the key transferable skills needed for a career in biosciences.
Why do we all look different? Are some illnesses hereditary? Are animals born ready-suited to their environment? From the early theories of Mendel to modern studies in molecular genetics, you explore how scientists have answered these questions over the last 150 years. Examine how the structure and function of DNA allows genetic material to be expressed, replicated and inherited, and consider how genetic variation leads to adaptive evolution. From developing new technologies in gene cloning to the applications for modern medicine, you explore how geneticists are building on the earlier achievements in this fundamentally important field to enhance our understanding of life on earth.
Microbes are essential for life, playing a vital role in connecting the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems. They aid in digestion, provide essential vitamins, and contribute significantly to our overall health and well-being. Marine microbes, for instance, produce approximately one-third of the oxygen we breathe. Additionally, microbes are indispensable for achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, as they clean up pollutants and synthesize valuable products like antibiotics. However, not all microbes are beneficial - some cause devastating diseases. Despite significant advances in treatment and prevention, the incidence of infectious diseases continues to rise. In this module, you will explore the vast diversity and evolution of mostly beneficial microbes, alongside the pathogenicity of harmful ones. You will investigate how different viruses and bacteria invade, interact with, and replicate within their hosts. Through two practical sessions in our state-of-the-art teaching laboratory, you will study a food poisoning outbreak and will gain hands-on experience in growing, observing, purifying, counting, and even killing microbes. These sessions will equip you with highly sought-after skills, including aseptic technique, serial dilution, and data analysis.
The marine realm covers 70% of the Earth's surface. It contains ice-covered seas and hydrothermal vents, muddy estuaries, deep ocean trenches and the clear blue open sea. The oceans and seas are also integral to the whole earth-ocean-atmosphere system, which controls the climate and conditions for life on Earth. Discover the different marine environments, the organisms that inhabit them and their ecological interactions. You also investigate the physical and chemical conditions that determine the diversity of marine life and consider how human activity is influencing marine ecosystems, through overfishing, pollution, and climate change. This module has been designed to enable students to integrate their subject knowledge with an understanding of sustainable development, acquiring the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.
The diversity of life on planet Earth is breath taking. We share our home with a vast number of species, a large portion of which are animals. We will discover the diversity of animal forms and functions and the role of natural selection in determining individual behaviour such as foraging, breeding and predator escape. You also investigate the idea that nothing in ecology and evolution makes sense in isolation. This module has been designed to enable students to integrate their subject knowledge with an understanding of sustainable development, acquiring the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.
Develop practical field skills that are critical for any practicing Marine Biologist. Spending one week at the Marine Biological Association of the UK in Plymouth, you gain key knowledge of marine invertebrate and algal identification, classification and distribution, developing skills in experimental design, field data-collection and data analysis. Please note that students make their own travel arrangements for this modules. As part of this module you will be required to attend a field trip to Plymouth to the Marine Biological Association of the UK (MBA) where you will develop your field research skills in Biology. The cost for this trip is approximately £50, which you will need to pay. This module has been designed to enable students to integrate their subject knowledge with an understanding of sustainable development, acquiring the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.
You will develop your transferable skills in scientific writing (including referencing and avoiding plagiarism), teamwork and communication through oral presentations, study and research skills (including essay writing, lecture note taking, use of library and databases). Teaching and learning will be through a mixture of lectures, classes, and tutorials. The emphasis will be on small group, tutorial-style teaching and interaction with other students on this module, with assessments tailored to your degree subject area.
Examine how competition, predation, herbivory, mutualism, disease and parasitism affect the distribution, abundance and growth of populations, and how populations interact to affect the structure and dynamics of ecological communities. You apply this ecological knowledge to real-world problems, such as pest control and conservation. This module has been designed to enable students to integrate their subject knowledge with an understanding of sustainable development, acquiring the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.
In this career-focused module you develop skills specific to your discipline, such as information retrieval, data-analysis and interpretation techniques, as well as a broader range of transferable skills, such as communication, team-work, numeracy and attention to detail. Learn how to best approach job applications, including CV and cover letter writing, aptitude testing and the interview process.
The importance of marine vertebrates to our aquatic systems cannot be underestimated, yet some of our most iconic underwater species are under serious threat. This module focuses on the taxonomy, physiology, ecology and conservation of the top predators and keystone species, including (but not limited to), whales, dolphins, sharks, rays, manatees, marine turtles and sea snakes.
This module concentrates on the relationship between biological diversity, and aspects of water chemistry and habitat structure in different coastal environments situated along an estuarine gradient. We will be using the Colne / Blackwater estuary complex as our field site.
This module aims to prepare you for carrying out an individual scientific investigation on a topic relating to your degree. Develop skills to identify a suitable question and then design an experimental approach to obtain data addressing this question. The assessment focuses on your analysis and presentation of these data in a suitable scientific paper format report, on the research, understanding and critical writing about the scientific literature relating to your project. Your oral project presentation skills and response to questions, the planning and management of your project work, your progress reflection and your employability skills will also be evaluated. This module has been designed to enable students to integrate their subject knowledge with an understanding of sustainable development, acquiring the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.
Investigate the relationship between water chemistry and habitat structure, and biological diversity of coastal environments. Getting hands-on in the local Colne/Blackwater estuary you gain experience in assessing environmental variables, sampling protocols and general fieldwork skills. You learn to identify a wide variety of animals and plants at different salinities, as well as associated habitats such as freshwater grazing marshes and salt marshes. You are also trained in commonly used lab techniques, such as measuring phosphate concentrations and sediment properties. This module has been designed to enable students to integrate their subject knowledge with an understanding of sustainable development, acquiring the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.
Fisheries provide food and employment to millions of people across the globe. Get to know the social and economic drivers of fishing and explore the subsequent impact on marine ecosystems. You gain an understanding of the scale and significance of fisheries and learn to critically analyse the methods used to assess their efficacy. This module has been designed to enable students to integrate their subject knowledge with an understanding of sustainable development, acquiring the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.
The aim of this module is for you to carry out an independent scientific investigation on a topic relating to your degree specialisation. You should find this to be both stimulating and of particular importance for your future career, because it will provide you with the opportunity to analyse a system in some depth and to further develop your skills in the analysis and interpretation of data.
This module aims to widen the understanding of tropical marine systems, the diversity of organisms that exist, the roles they play as well as the fundamental biological processes that enable these organisms to thrive. Explore four main tropical habitats: coral reefs, tropical oceans, seagrass beds, and mangrove systems, and discover the key functional roles of photosynthetic producers (corals, algae, cyanobacteria, plants) and heterotrophic consumers (planktonic, benthic and pelagic invertebrates and vertebrates). Learn how to evaluate ecological and biogeochemical processes within tropical marine systems and their productivity, connectivity and resilience. This module has been designed to enable students to integrate their subject knowledge with an understanding of sustainable development, acquiring the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.
This module explores the mariculture and fisheries in tropical seas as well as the biotechnological 'treasure chest' provided by marine microbes, algae and invertebrates. This module has been designed to enable students to integrate their subject knowledge with an understanding of sustainable development, acquiring the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.
The overall aim of this module is to sharpen the skill base in practical research by introducing a range of methodologies to aid in the investigation of marine processes. The focus is on research planning, data collection, analysis and visualisation, and development of key cross-disciplinary skills (multi-disciplinarity, data management, numeracy, and translating research into practice) which will help you effectively operate as a professional marine scientist. This module has been designed to enable you to integrate your subject knowledge with an understanding of sustainable development, acquiring the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.
In this career-focused module, you develop skills specific to your discipline, such as critical analysis, integration and communication in a multidisciplinary research environment. The seminars and workshops will assist with integrating your subject knowledge by developing your writing and presenting skills, cover CV and application clinics, introduce the steps required to create effective vodcasts and provide opportunities for networking with alumni of your course. This module has been designed to acquire the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.
This module provides you with the opportunity to improve your data analysis and visualisation skills. The ability to critically analyse raw data, and to communicate findings from these analyses in appropriate formats in a multidisciplinary research environment, provides the foundation for your successful career in environmental sciences.
Living and accommodation costs (per year, approximately)- 8,776 – 14,995
4.3
