Proposal for New Degree Requirements for the

Masters and PhD in Marine Policy

George R. Parsons, Associate Director for Marine Policy

School of Marine Science and Policy

College of Earth, Ocean and Environment

University of Delaware

February 2012

Introduction& Background

This document is a proposal for a change in degree requirements for the Masters and PhD in Marine Policy (MMP and PhD). The requirements were last changed in 1990.

The Marine Policy program is one of four graduate programs in the School of Marine Science and Policy along with Marine Bioscience, Physical Ocean Science & Engineering, and Oceanography. The program offers a Masters and PhD degree in Marine Policy. The program averages about 25 to 30 enrolled students and admits about 5 to 8 new students each year. About half are PhDs. These numbers are over the past ten years.

Marine Policy students typically find employment in government agencies, non-governmental groups or organizations involved with public policy, consulting firms, and private sector jobs where public policy interface is involved. The program is particularly strong, of course, in placing students in fields related to ocean and coastal resource use.

The changes proposed here are intended to improve the program in a number of ways: course requirements for our graduates that better fit their needs on the job market, more practical and efficient written requirement for the MMP, shorter time-to-degree for the MMP, and more ‘separation’ between the MMP and PhD program requirements.

The Marine Policy program website: http://www.ceoe.udel.edu/academics/smsp/marinepolicy/index.shtml

Proposed Changes

The tables on the following pages show the changes in the degree requirements. The first two tables compare the proposed and current requirements separately for the MMP and PhD. The last two tables show the new MMP and PhD in full.

The major changes proposed for the MM Pare nine fewer credit hours of course work and an article-length analytical paper replacing the traditional thesis.

Sixof the nine fewer credit hours come from two of our requirement areas: three from Law and Institutions and three from Economics. Three more come from fewer research credits required for an analytical paper versus a thesis. This lowers the course load from 39 to 30 total credit hours, which is in line with the other three graduate programs in the School of Marine Science and Policy. We have also limited the options under our Decision Analytics requirement area to a single course and expanded the options under the Law and Institutions requirement area to three courses. We have found that the analytical tools taught in MAST663 (Decision Tools for Policy Analysis) are needed by all students. We have also found that many of our students are better served by the material covered in MAST674 (Legal Aspects of the Coastal Zone) and so have offered it as an option in the Law and Institutions requirement area.

The analytical paper is an article-length paper (30-35 pages) simulating the preparation and submission of an article for publication in a journal. Since most policy research is presented in journals, we believe this format is a more useful and pragmatic for our graduates than a traditional thesis. The analytical paper is journal-ready, concise, and prepares students for communicating research in a format used in his/her career going forward. The proposal, defense, and committee supporting the analytical paper will continue to follow the School of Marine Science and Policy guidelines for a traditional thesis. Students will be encouraged to submit their articles for publication but acceptance in not a requirement.

We believed the more streamlined curriculum with fewer requirements and an analytical paper will result in shorter time-to-graduation and give greater ‘separation’ between our MMP and PhD degrees. In recent years the time-to-degree for the MMP has grown well beyond its intended two years. Other Masters degrees from policy-analytic programs like ours across the country vary in requirements. Some require theses, some papers, and others have no written requirements beyond what is required in coursework. We believe our new requirements strike a good balance of getting students on the job market in a timely fashion with a high quality degree.

For the PhD, we propose the same six credit hour reduction under the Law and Institutions and Economics Requirement Areas but increase the Decision Analytics/Research Methods requirements by six credit hours. Otherwise the PhD is unchanged.

Votes

The core Marine Policy faculty voted unanimously in favor of these changes in the fall of 2011.

The Associate Directors’ Council of the School of Marine Science and Policy voted unanimously in favor of these changes in the fall of 2011.

Proposed and Current Requirements for the Masters in Marine Policy (Shaded boxes indicate area with changes)
Area	Proposed	Current
Law and Institutions	Credits: 3 Take one of the following: MAST 670 US Ocean & Coastal Policy MAST 677 International Ocean Policy MAST 674 Legal Aspects of the CZ	Credits: 6 MAST 670 US Ocean & Coastal Policy MAST 677 International Ocean Policy
Decision Analytics (Formerly Research Methods)	Credits: 3 MAST 663 Decision Tools for Policy Analysis	Credits: 3 Take one of the following: MAST 672 Applied Policy Analysis MAST 817 Research Design & Methods
Economics	Credits: 3 Take one of the following: MAST 675 Natural Res Economics MAST 676 Environmental Economics	Credits: 6 MAST 675 Natural Res Economics MAST 676 Environmental Economics
Seminar	Credits: 3 MAST 873 MP Seminar taken 3 times	Credits: 3 MAST 873 MP Seminar taken 3 times
Policy/Science/Economics/Law Electives	Credits: 12 Courses approved by major advisor and Associate Director of Marine Policy	Credits: 12 Courses approved by major advisor and Associate Director of Marine Policy
Science Elective	Credits: 3 Science elective approved by major advisor and Associate Director of Marine Policy	Credits: 3 Science elective approved by major advisor and Associate Director of Marine Policy
Analytical Paper, Advisory Committee, and Defense	Credits: 3 Analytical Paper (AP) Committee, proposal, and defense following SMSP guidelines	Credits: 6 Thesis Committee, proposal, and defense following SMSP guidelines
Total Credit Hours	30	39

Proposed and Current Requirements for the PhD in Marine Policy (Shaded boxes indicate area with changes)
Area	Proposed	Current
Law and Institutions	Credits: 3 Take one of the following: MAST 670 US Ocean & Coastal Policy MAST 677 International Ocean Policy MAST 674 Legal Aspects of the CZ	Credits: 6 MAST 670 US Ocean & Coastal Policy MAST 677 International Ocean Policy
Decision Analytics	Credits: 3 MAST 663 Decision Tools for Policy Analysis	Credits: 3 Take one of the following: MAST 672 Applied Policy Analysis MAST 817 Research Design&Methods
Research Methods	Credits: 6 Courses in statistics, survey research, and/or case study methods approved by major advisor and Associate Director of Marine Policy
Economics	Credits: 3 Take one of the following: MAST 675 Natural Res Economics MAST 676 Environmental Economics	Credits: 6 MAST 675 Natural Res Economics MAST 676 Environmental Economics
Seminar	Credits: 3 MAST 873 MP Seminar taken 3 times	Credits: 3 MAST 873 MP Seminar taken 3 times
Policy/Science/Economics/Law Electives	Credits: 12 Courses approved by major advisor and Associate Director of Marine Policy	Credits: 12 Courses approved by major advisor and Associate Director of Marine Policy
Science Elective	Credits: 3 Science elective approved by major advisor and Associate Director of Marine Policy	Credits: 3 Science elective approved bymajor advisor and Associate Director of Marine Policy
Dissertation, Advisory Committee, Defense, and Qualifying Exam	Credits: 9 Dissertation Committee, proposal, defense, and qualifying exam following SMSP guidelines for a dissertation	Credits: 9 Dissertation Committee, proposal, defense, and qualifying exam following SMSP guidelines for a dissertation
Total Credit Hours	42	42

New Degree Requirements for the Masters in Marine Policy Marine Policy Program, School of Marine Science and Policy College of Earth, Ocean and Environment University of Delaware
Area	Requirement (30 credit hours)
Law and Institutions	Credits: 3 Take one of the following: MAST 670 US Ocean & Coastal Policy MAST 677 International Ocean Policy MAST 674 Legal Aspects of the Coastal Zone
Decision Analytics	Credits: 3 MAST 663 Decision Tools for Policy Analysis
Economics	Credits: 3 Take one of the following: MAST 675 Natural Resource Economics MAST 676 Environmental Economics
Seminar	Credits: 3 MAST 873 MP Seminar taken 3 times
Policy/Science/Economics/Law Electives	Credits: 12 Courses approved by major advisor and Associate Director of Marine Policy
Science Elective	Credits: 3 Course approved by major advisor and Associate Director of Marine Policy. Typically a course from one of the other three program areas in SMSP satisfies the science requirement but it may also be taken from outside SMSP if approved.
Analytical Paper	Credits: 3 Research credits for the analytical paper. (i) Proposal for analytical paper approved by advisory committee. (ii) Analytical paper defended before and approved by the advisory committee. The analytical paper is article length (30-35 pages) and targeted for publication at the level of Marine Policy, Ocean and Coastal Management, Coastal Management, or other policy, law, science, or economics journal of similar or higher level. The final paper should be in a form suitable for submission to a journal.
Advisory Committee	Committee of at least three members, but no more than four. At least one member of the committee must be a core faculty member in SMSP and at least half of the committee must be core or joint faculty in SMSP. One member of the committee is the major advisor. Major advisor may be any core Marine Policy faculty member. Student works with major advisor to form committee.
Time Line	Semesters 1 - 3: Complete course work and proposal for analytical paper Semesters 3 - 4: Complete analytical paper
Paperwork	MMP approval form for electives, committee, proposal defense, and analytical paper. This is to be completed as the student makes progress toward the degree. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain approvals.

New Degree Requirements for the PhD in Marine Policy Marine Policy Program, School of Marine Science and Policy (SMSP) College of Earth, Ocean and Environment University of Delaware
Area	Requirement (42 credit hours)
Law and Institutions	Credits: 3 Take one of the following: MAST 670 US Ocean & Coastal Policy MAST 677 International Ocean Policy MAST 674 Legal Aspects of the Coastal Zone
Decision Analytics	Credits: 3 MAST 663 Decision Tools for Policy Analysis
Economics	Credits: 3 Take one of the following: MAST 675 Natural Resource Economics MAST 676 Environmental Economics
Seminar	Credits: 3 MAST 873 MP Seminar taken 3 time
Research Methods	Credits: 6 Statistics, survey research, case study, research design courses etc. approved by major advisor and Associate Director of Marine Policy (Sample courses are shown on attached page)
Policy/Science/ Economics/Law Electives	Credits: 12 Courses approved by major advisor and Associate Director of Marine Policy
Science Elective	Credits: 3 Course approved by major advisor and Associate Director of Marine Policy. Typically a course from one of the other three program areas in SMSP satisfies the science requirement but it may also be taken from outside SMSP if approved.
Dissertation	Credits: 9 Research credits for the dissertation. (i) Proposal for dissertation approved by advisory committee. (ii) Dissertation defended before and approved by the advisory committee. The dissertation is book-length and is original research publishable at the level of leading policy research journals.
Advisory Committee	Form advisory committee. Committee is at least four members, but no more than six. At least one member of the committee must be a core faculty member of the SMSP and at least half of the committee must be core or joint faculty in SMSP. As per University regulations, at least one committee member must be external to SMSP, and students are “encouraged to seek the external member from outside the University in order to broaden the perspectives of the committee.” One member of the committee is the major advisor. Major advisor may be any core Marine Policy faculty member. Student works with major advisor to form committee.
Qualifying Exam	Pass qualifying exam. Exam includes oral and written parts. Exam is prepared and administered by the advisor in consultation with the advisory committee. The advisor must inform the student 60 days prior to examination of the areas covered and the format of the exam. Student is informed of success or failure within two weeks of completion. Student is entitled to one re-examination in the event of failure and that must be within six months of the first exam.
Time Line (3-4 years)	Semesters 1 - 4: Complete course work Semesters 4 - 5: Complete qualifying exam and defend dissertation proposal Semesters 6 - 8: Complete dissertation
Paperwork	PhD approval form for electives, committee, proposal defense, qualifiers, and dissertation. This is to be completed as the student makes progress toward the degree. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain approvals.