In Biological Sciences .
Course Offerings
Consult the Shoals Marine Laboratory website for current offerings; not all courses are offered each summer: www.shoalsmarinelaboratory.org.
Contact: (607) 255–3717, shoals-lab@cornell.edu
SML provides a unique opportunity to study basic biology, marine biology, marine science and sustainability on an island noted for its biota, sustainability program, and place in New England history. Please refer to the Shoals Marine Laboratory section under Biological Sciences for a list of courses (BIOSM) offered.
SML has established a national reputation for excellence and is North America’s largest marine field station focusing on undergraduate education.
The summer population of Appledore Island, 7 miles distant from the mainland, is limited to one hundred people at any one time. Students and faculty form a tight-knit community at SML, and can literally and figuratively immerse themselves in their academic explorations, free from distraction.
Cornell courses offered at SML are full-time and intense (most courses run for two weeks and award 3 Cornell credits). SML offers courses that fulfill Cornell major and concentration requirements (for example: BIOSM 1780 - Evolution and Marine Diversity ; and BIOSM 1500 - Investigative Marine Biology Laboratory ). Courses may be taken sequentially, not concurrently. A typical day combines lectures, laboratory and fieldwork. Students especially enjoy field trips to nearby islands or the mainland, and collecting and research excursions aboard the laboratory’s 47-foot research vessel, John M. Kingsbury, or the 36-foot research vessel, John B. Heiser. Paid research internship opportunities in marine biology and sustainable engineering are also available. Field experience, focused on Appledore Island’s intertidal and subtidal zones, and seabird colonies, is an integral part of the SML experience.