Summer Field Program

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Summer Field Program

USM’s Gulf Coast Research Laboratory was established in Ocean Springs, Mississippi in 1947 and is home to the Summer Field Program. The Summer Field Program has held classes each year since the summer of 1947 despite two major hurricanes making landfall in Mississippi (1969 & 2005) and a global pandemic (2020) in its over 75 year history.

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Attend the Summer Field Program at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory and gain the education experience of a lifetime!

The Summer Field Program is offered through the School of Ocean Science and Engineering and provides undergraduate and graduate students an opportunity to learn about coastal environments in an intensive field-based setting. Located at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL), student have access to on-site amenities including dormitory, dining hall, research vessels, research labs, library, and specimen museum. Classes immerse students in the subject matter over a five-week term, with most class sessions occurring in a focused laboratory or field setting. Courses that include heavy field work utilize the GCRL fleet of research vessels to explore the Mississippi Sound and Mississippi’s unique barrier islands. In addition to local boat and field trips, some classes venture on overnight trips to rich coastal areas in neighboring states of Louisiana and Florida. The program allows students to fully embrace the beauty of Mississippi’s coastal habitats, local wildlife species, and unique ecosystems along the Northern Gulf of Mexico.

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2025 Dates

Session I: May 27 – June 25
Session II: June 26 – July 30

Summer Session I:

Barrier Island Ecology
Cetacean Behavior
Elasmobranch Biology
Marine Science I: Oceanography
Marine Invertebrate Zoology
Marine Mammals (online)
Research Study Program

Summer Session II :

Marine Conservation
Marine Ichthyology
Marine Science II: Marine Biology
Marine Toxicology (online)
Research Study Program

Course descriptions

Undergraduate Students

4 things are needed to complete your application to SFP:

Apply Here
Pay Application Fee
Send Immunization Record to sfpFREEMississippi
Send Official Transcript to USM Undergraduate Admissions or sfpFREEMississippi
1. Current USM students submit application only.
2. Graduate Students – To apply, email sfpFREEMississippi or call 228.818.8812

The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory's air-conditioned dormitory houses two students per room. Suites consist of four rooms and a common bathroom facility. Requests for housing are filled as received. Married couples must make their own arrangements for off-site housing. All rooms have Internet access via WiFi. For more housing information please contact sfpFREEMississippi.

The dining hall serves three meals daily. Students should bring linens, towels, and clothing suitable for field work, such as shorts, bathing suits, hat, long-sleeved shirt and light-weight pants, washable athletic shoes, polarized sunglasses as well as a good sunblock. Laundry facilities are available on-site.

Dormitory stays typically provide excellent opportunities to meet other students, as well as to engage in study groups, water sports, fishing, golf, tennis, biking, weight lifting, aerobics, and hiking that form some of the many summer pastimes on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The community of Ocean Springs, as well as the neighboring cities of Biloxi, Gulfport, Gautier, and Pascagoula provide ample opportunities for shopping, banking, dining, and recreation. New Orleans is less than two hours away by car. Mobile, Alabama is about an hour drive.

Summers are hot on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and students should be prepared to protect themselves from intense sunshine. Bring a good sunblock, hat, sunglasses and a reusable waterbottle.

If a student has a disability that qualifies under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and requires accommodations, he/she should contact the Office for Disability Accommodations (ODA) for information on appropriate policies and procedures.

POSSESSION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ON LABORATORY GROUNDS IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

MISSISSIPPI – Mississippi College, Clinton
ARKANSAS – Arkansas Tech University, Russellville; Southern Arkansas University, Magnolia; University of Arkansas at Little Rock; University of Arkansas at Monticello; University of the Ozarks, Clarksville
FLORIDA – University of Tampa, Tampa
GEORGIA – Berry College, Rome
ILLINOIS – Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
IOWA – Drake University, Des Moines
KENTUCKY – Morehead State University, Morehead
LOUISIANA – Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond
MISSOURI – Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville; Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau
NEW YORK – State University of New York, Potsdam
OHIO – Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green
OKLAHOMA – Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Weatherford
SOUTH CAROLINA – Presbyterian College, Clinton
TENNESSEE – Belmont University, Nashville; Carson-Newman College, Jefferson City; Christian Brothers University, Memphis; Rhodes College, Memphis; Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville; Tennessee Wesleyan College, Athens; University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; University of Tennessee at Martin
WISCONSIN – University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire