Joint Program Interdisciplinary Statement
MIT-WHOI Joint Program Students have courses of study and research that are tailored to each student's scholarly interests.
The goal of the MIT-WHOI Joint Program is for each student to achieve his or her full intellectual potential in the chosen area of study and research, either within the more traditional disciplines of ocean sciences and engineering or within interdisciplinary studies incorporating two or more disciplines.
To guide students in this endeavor the MIT-WHOI Joint Program faculty has established five focal areas: biological oceanography, chemical oceanography, marine geology and geophysics, physical oceanography and applied ocean physics and engineering. The Joint Committee associated with each focal area provides guidance as to the course of study for incoming students who have strong interests in that focal area.
Many applicants have interests, academic background, and experience that are appropriate for one of these focal areas and they will be admitted to pursue their degree in that area. It is also likely that some incoming students will have, or develop, interests that span two or more of these focal areas. These students will be admitted to the focal area that is most appropriate for their preparation and stated interests. This ensures that the student has a well defined 'home' within the Joint Program.
During the first semester in the Joint Program, as early as practical, each student should assemble and meet with an academic advisory committee to discuss their research interests and formulate a tentative individual course of study. The structure of the advisory committee will be defined by the student's primary Joint Committee, but typically the advisory committee will consist of at least the student's primary research advisor (who may or may not be from the 'home' focal area) and a faculty member from the other institution.
For those students whose research interests significantly overlap two or more Joint Committee focal areas this advisory committee should, at the request of the student and the principal advisor, include faculty from the related focal area(s) at one or both institutions. The individual course of study will lead to a general examination with a format and scope that are both generally consistent with the requirements of the primary focal area's Joint Committee and flexible enough to recognize the individualized aspects of the course of study. The course of study must be approved by the primary Joint Committee, preferably by the end of the first year. The format of the exam also must be determined by the primary Joint Committee, and will be set no later than early in the semester before the exam. It is expected that the advisory committee will guide the student up to and through the general exam, after which the oversight will move to the student's Ph.D. thesis committee, whose membership must be approved by the home Joint Committee. The home Joint Committee will be responsible for monitoring the student's academic progress through the thesis defense.
Version 8. revised (5/14/04)
Examples of Interdisciplinary Academic Studies
Physical Oceanography
Physical-biological interactions track
These are the courses taken by two a Ph.D. graduates who focused on mechanisms of physical-biological interaction in the open ocean. These programs of study included extensive coursework in both physical and biological oceanography, as well an introductory course in marine chemistry. One student supplemented the Joint Program offerings with extra-curricular summer courses in microbial ecology and ecosystems/climate.
Ph.D. Graduate Example 1:
Courses completed for master's degree:
12.800 - Fluid Dynamics of Atmosphere & Ocean
12.818 - Atmospheric Data & Synoptic Meteorology
18.075 - Advanced Calculus for Engineers
| Term | Course Number | Course Name |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | 12.742 | Marine Chemistry |
| 12.808 | Intro to Observational Physical Oceanography | |
| 12.862 | Coastal Physical Oceanography | |
| 18.085 | Computational Science & Engineering I | |
| Spring | 7.440 | Introduction to Mathematical Ecology |
| 7.47 | Biological Oceanography | |
| 12.802 | Wave Motions in the Ocean and Atmosphere | |
| 12.823 | Modeling the Biology and Physics of the Ocean | |
| Summer | C-MORE Agouron course on Microbial Oceanography | |
| NCAR ASP Colloquium on Ecosystems and Climate | ||
| Fall | 2.29 | Numerical Fluid Mechanics |
| 12.803 | Quasi-Balanced Circulations | |
| 12.804 | Large-scale Flow Dynamics Lab | |
| Spring | 7.437 | Topics:Molec Biol Oceanography |
| 12.801 | General Circulation of Ocean | |
| 12.820 | Turbulence in Ocean and Atmos | |
| Spring 3rd year | 7.410 | Applied Statistics |
Ph.D. Graduate Example 2:
| Term | Course Number | Course Name |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | 12.800 | Fluid Dynamics of the Atmosphere and Ocean |
| 12.808 | Introduction to Observational Physical Oceanography | |
| 12.842 | Climate Physics and Chemistry | |
| 12.491 | Topics in Geophysics: Biogeochemistry of Sulfur | |
| Spring | 7.430 | Linking Models to Observations of Plankton Ecosystems |
| 12.801 | Steady Circulation of the Ocean | |
| 12.802 | Waves | |
| 18.075 | Advanced Calculus for Engineers | |
| Summer | C-MORE Agouron course on Microbial Oceanography | |
| Fall | 12.803 | Quasi-Balanced Circulations |
| 12.804 | Large-Scale Flow Dynamics Lab | |
| 12.742 | Marine Chemistry | |
| Spring | 7.440 | Mathematical Ecology |
| 12.823 | Biological Physical Modelling | |
| Fall | 12.747 | Modeling, Data Analysis and Numerical Techniques for Geochemistry |
Applied Ocean Science and Engineering - Civil Engineering
Physical-biological interactions track
This is the course syllabus followed by a Ph.D. graduate who studied the ways in which the ocean's physical environment, especially the flow environment, affects the distribution of marine organisms. This syllabus thus includes a significant fluid mechanics component along with biological oceanography and applied mathematics.
| Term | Course Number | Course Name |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | 1.67 | Sediment Transport and Coastal Processes |
| 1.69 | Introduction to Coastal Engineering | |
| 12.800 | Fluid Dynamics of the Atmosphere and Ocean | |
| Spring | 7.47 | Biological Oceanography |
| 12.801 | Steady Circulation of the Oceans | |
| 12.862 | Coastal Physical Oceanography | |
| Fall | 1.89 | Environmental Microbiology |
| 18.085 | Mathematical Methods for Engineers I | |
| Spring | 1.77 | Water Quality Control |
| 18.086 | Mathematical Methods for Engineers II | |
| Fall | 12.742 | Marine Chemistry |
| Spring | 12.864 | Inference from Data and Models |
Biology-Applied Ocean Science and Engineering
Bio-acoustics track
This Ph.D. student studied the use of acoustic methods as a means to sample marine ecosystems. This course curriclum thus includes components from acoustics/underwater sound, along with mathematical methods and marine ecology.
| Term | Course Number | Course Name |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | 7.51 | Graduate Biochemistry |
| 18.03 | Ordinary Differential Equations | |
| 12.742 | Marine Chemistry | |
| 12.808 | Observational Physical Oceanography | |
| Spring | 6.041 | Probabilistic Systems Analysis |
| 18.075 | Advanced Calculus for Engineers | |
| 7.47 | Biological Oceanography | |
| Fall | 12.710 | Marine Geology and Geophysics |
| 2.066 (formerly 13.851) | Fundamentals and Applications of Underwater Sound | |
| 12.961 | Special Problems in Physical Oceanography | |
| Spring | 7.440 | Introduction to Mathematical Ecology |
| 7.431 | Coral Reef Fish Ecology | |
| Fall | 7.434 | Time Series Analysis |
| 2.691 (formerly 13.871) | Wave Scattering by Rough Surfaces and Randomly Inhomogeneous Media | |
| Spring | 7.433 | Fisheries Oceanography |
| Fall | 11.952 | Science, Politics, and Environmental Policy |
| Spring | 12.961 | Modeling the Biology and Physics of the Oceans |