Marine Sciences Degrees (2026 stats)

Last updated: April 29, 2026 Source: College Scorecard

TL;DR

Marine Sciences maps to BLS occupations averaging about $111,866, with roughly 32,580 workers nationwide in those roles. Median program completion runs near 59%; median in-state published tuition is about $9,517.

Key Statistics

482
Total Degrees Awarded (2023)
$9,517
Median In-State Public Tuition
$37,080
Median Out-of-State Private Tuition
$111,866
Avg. Wage (related occupations)
32,580
Workers (related occupations)
59.4%
Median Graduation Rate (4-yr schools)
2
Bachelor's Completions (IPEDS 2023)

Marine Sciences: what the data shows

Common questions about marine sciences degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.

What is a marine sciences degree?

A Marine Sciences program is classified under NCES CIP 00.3032 in the 00.0030 field family (00.30).

IPEDS counted 482 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.

Types of marine sciences degrees and related programs

Other NCES program codes in the 00.30 family with pages on EDsmart Data:

How long does it take to get a marine sciences degree?

Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 00.3032 in our file:

  • 2 Bachelor's (10.5% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
  • 17 Master's (89.5% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's

Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.

What do you learn in marine sciences?

O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Active Learning, Speaking, Science, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.

What degree do you need?

For Biological Scientists, All Other (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).

O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.

What jobs can you get with a marine sciences degree?

Our degree→occupation mapping links Marine Sciences to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.

OccupationU.S. employmentMedian annual wage
Biological Scientists, All Other59,710$93,330
Soil and Plant Scientists16,600$71,410
Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health84,930$80,060
Conservation Scientists25,590$67,950
Animal Scientists2,470$79,120
Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers22,510$99,240

See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.

Is a marine sciences degree worth it?

Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $9,517 and median net price is $15,137.

We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Marine Sciences and the types of students that study this field.

Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$9,517 Median In-State Public

$37,080 Median Out of State Private

Tuition costs for Marine Sciences majors are, on average, $9,517 for in-state public colleges, and $37,080 for out of state private colleges.

Tuition costs comparison for Marine Sciences programs.

Degrees Awarded Over Time

482 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Marine Sciences from 2015 to 2023.

Historical trend of degrees awarded in Marine Sciences.

Top 5 Schools by Enrollment

# School State Enrollment
1 Texas A&M University-College Station TX 59,099
2 The University of Texas at Austin TX 42,100
3 University of Florida FL 34,102
4 University of California-Davis CA 31,777
5 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley TX 27,026

Schools with the largest enrollment offering Marine Sciences programs.

Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition

# School State Tuition
1 Orange Coast College CA $1,208
2 Cape Fear Community College NC $2,748
3 The College of the Florida Keys FL $3,279
4 Florida Atlantic University FL $4,879
5 College of Micronesia-FSM FM $5,050

Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Marine Sciences programs.

Top 5 Lowest Net Price

# School State Net Price
1 Orange Coast College CA $4,754
2 American Samoa Community College AS $4,812
3 Cape Fear Community College NC $5,416
4 California State University-Stanislaus CA $5,671
5 University of Florida FL $6,351

Schools with the lowest average net price for Marine Sciences programs.

Graduation Rates

59.36% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)

57.43% Average Graduation Rate

144 Institutions Reporting

43.88% - 71.16% Interquartile Range

Graduation/completion rates for Marine Sciences programs across institutions.

Related specializations

Other NCES program codes in the 00.30 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.

Degree Levels (IPEDS)

Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 00.3032 in the survey year used in our extract (19 total across levels below).

  • 2 Bachelor's (10.5% of IPEDS total)
  • 17 Master's (89.5% of IPEDS total)

Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.

Careers & Jobs

Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.

Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $111,866. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Marine Sciences graduates alone.

Related occupations (BLS OEWS)

Occupation Mean annual wage U.S. employment
Biological Scientists, All Other$124,28859,710
Soil and Plant Scientists$94,15116,600
Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health$110,33984,930
Conservation Scientists$90,22725,590
Animal Scientists—2,470
Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers$122,33722,510

Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.

Employment

Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

$114,838 Average Wage in Workforce

The average salary for Marine Sciences majors is $114,838.

Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Marine Sciences majors.

Occupations by Share

32,580 2023 Workforce

The number of Marine Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing.

Various jobs filled by those with a major in Marine Sciences by share of the total number of graduates.

Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Marine Sciences in the United States.

Workforce Age

N/A Average Age in 2023

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Marine Sciences.

Age distribution for Marine Sciences degree holders in the workforce.

Gender Distribution

Gender distribution data is not available for this degree program.

Gender distribution of Marine Sciences degree recipients.

Race and Ethnicity Distribution

Race and ethnicity distribution data is not available for this degree program.

Racial and ethnic distribution of Marine Sciences degree recipients.

Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Marine Sciences are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.

Distribution of degree types awarded in Marine Sciences.

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Marine Sciences field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Required Skills

Marine Sciences majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.

Rating of how necessary various skills are for Marine Sciences majors.

Skills Bar Chart

This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.

Skill importance ratings for Marine Sciences majors.

About

Marine Sciences

In 2023, 482 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Marine Sciences.

CIP Code

00.3032 - Marine Sciences

What the data shows

Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $111,866. The largest mapped role by headcount is Biological Scientists, All Other (59,710 U.S. jobs in OEWS).

Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $9,517 in-state at public colleges and $37,080 at private institutions for programs in this field.

Data Sources

This page uses data from the following sources:

  • College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
    • Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
    • Data years: 2015-2024
    • Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
    • Employment and wage data by occupation
    • Latest data: May 2024
    • Source: bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
    • Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
    • Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
    • Source: onetcenter.org
  • IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
    • Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
    • Data years: 2015-2024
    • Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
  • Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
    • Demographic and workforce data
    • Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
    • Source: census.gov/acs

Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.

Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.

Methodology

Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.

All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.