SMA Prospectus: Defining the Field

What is studied in the broad field of marine affairs includes:

• opportunities and conflicts in current and future uses of ocean and coastal environments
• creation and exercise of authority
• development of substantive policies

How these phenomena are studied involves:

• the history and projected future of ocean and coastal uses, institutions that regulate theseuses, and policies that guide the institutions
• characteristics of institutions, networks, and individuals involved in ocean and coastal affairs
• natural processes that produce and control marine environments and their biota
• effects of technological change on the management of ocean and coastal resources

Within this broad definition lie several areas of concentration for the School's work: marine resource management; coastal zone management; marine environmental protection and global change; ports and marine transportation management; and marine societies, institutions, and decision processes. These areas of concentration overlap considerably and students often choose to combine aspects from two or more of these areas in their graduate programs.

UW School of Marine Affairs 3707 Brooklyn Ave. NE Seattle, WA 98105-6715 uwsma@u.washington.edu