Coastal Biogeochemistry (GEOL 383M)
The Coastal Biogeochemistry course (GEOL 383M) addresses issues around climate change and the coast. As human population and coastal infrastructure continue to increase, effects of global climate change such as fluctuating sea levels and the increased frequency and intensity of storm events exert severe pressures on these unique, natural systems. This course explores anthropogenic impacts on natural, biogeochemical cycles in coastal systems. Emphasis is placed on atmospheric and hydrologic pollution sources and their movement through the hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere. This is accomplished through the collection, analysis, and interpretation of environmental samples. Small groups develop testable hypotheses to explain observed patterns and design experiments to test those hypotheses.
This course is an in-person course conducted at the Chincoteague Bay Field Station (CBFS) in Wallops Island, Virginia. For summer 2026, 383M will run for three weeks, June 28th - July 18th. Costs for this course will include a Field Station Fee that covers the cost of housing and meals (Monday breakfast through lunch on Fridays) for the duration of the course.
Course Credit
This course will count toward a 91社区 degree.
You will be billed for 3 credits during the summer for participation in this course. In addition to tuition there are comprehensive fees and a field station fee as shown in the table below.
| NYS Resident | Non-Resident | |
| Tuition | $295/credit x 3 credits = $885 | $1,123/credit x 3 credits = $3,369 |
| Comprehensive Fee* | $57.20/credit x 3 credits = $171.60 | $57.20/credit x 3 credits = $171.60 |
| Field Station Fee | $1,827 | $1,827 |
| Total Cost | $2,883.60 | $5,367.60 |
Subject to change, 2025 Summer Tuition Rates
Interested and qualified high school students or recent graduates are encouraged to participate, but must apply either as a non-matriculated student or through 91社区's College Link program. Registering as a non-matriculated student is most appropriate for individuals who have earned a high school diploma or GED but are not yet undergraduate students. The College Link program is designed for students who will be continuing their high school education in the fall. Application forms can be found on 91社区's Undergraduate Admissions website.
HARP 170 Student Quotes
"One of the most important developments I鈥檝e made over this semester has been in my time management skills. In the past, I鈥檝e always tried to force myself to improve my time management, but the few advances I鈥檝e made have been short-lived. However, the responsibility of working in a team for a long period of time has made me reevaluate my deadline meeting practices...This has also extended beyond just my work for HARP 170, as I find that once I start being productive it鈥檚 easier for me to keep doing so, so I鈥檓 able to get a head start on projects and assignments for other classes as well."
"Going back to when I first enrolled in the FRI program...the only 鈥渞esearch鈥 I had done was looking up topics on Wikipedia for when I had to write an essay in high school for my history class or find answers to my chemistry problems. In addition to this, I had absolutely no knowledge of the [research topic]...Despite all this, I felt like I had a lot of catching up to do. There were many days where someone would ask a complex question about vaccines against biofilms, and I would sit there still wondering why I should care about biofilms in the first place. However, through multiple stream reading assignments, I began to grasp an idea of what biofilms were and, more importantly, why I should care about them. That is the point when my interest in the class blossomed...I remember times before group meetings when I had twenty tabs open on my laptop dedicated completely to journals on biofilms because I kept thinking about ideas for a universal vaccine against biofilms and wondering if anything had been done about it. This was a major turnaround from when I first started in August. I had learned to do research and gather intel about something no one knows the answer to as of right now."