Student Research

The Marine Affairs Program seeks to promote interdisciplinary student marine research in two ways: through internships with professionals active in various endeavors, and through the rigorous pursuit of knowledge in their graduate projects. These two activities go hand-in-hand, linked by the topic chosen by the student. The internships are an essential part of the professional education in Marine Affairs, giving our students real world, hands on experience, and furthering the process of University contribution to community service.

Successful completion of the Master of Marine Management degree requires the student to complete an internship at a suitable host institution for a minimum of four weeks in duration. These internships are intended to serve as part of the preparation for each students's graduate research project and as professional development experiences related to their careers. Students work in a relevant organization under the supervision of the host in a manner equivalent to a "full-time" placement and are expected to contribute to the needs of the host organization as well as learn about its mandate, and to undertake a project of joint interest. While some students and hosts extend the duration of the internships beyond the MMM 4-week requirement, no renumeration is to be expected by the student, who remains a full-time student during the summer term, covered by the University's insurance programs. In the past, some hosts have provided financial support for the internships, but the students should not expect this to be a general rule.   

Over the years the range of host organizations has included universities, government, NGO, military and the private sector. A list of prior hosts can be found on the Graduate Internships page.

Graduate Projects are supervised written research papers that are the culmination of the student’s scholarly pursuits and reflect their abilities for analysis, synthesis, organization of complex data, and a capacity for critical examination of planning and management issues. Full text electronic grad projects can be found on the Marine Affairs Program DalSpace Repository.