Marine field projects: teaching is the easy part

A description is given of a nine-credit course that serves as the principal field experience in the undergraduate curricula in the oceanography and ocean engineering program at the Florida Institute of Technology. Students participate in biological, chemical, or physical oceanography projects or ocean engineering construction projects under faculty and graduate student supervision. Integral to this experience is a five-day cruise aboard the R/V Osprey, a 95-ft coastal research vessel, over the continental shelf, Gulf Stream, and the nearby reef systems of the Bahamas. Some of the logistical, economic, and academic considerations inherent in operating such programs are highlighted, with particular emphasis on the sea program