Achievement

The intellectual theme of the CIIP - coastal ecosystem management - includes components in natural and social sciences, and human dimensions. We created cohorts of IGERT trainees that represent the diverse disciplines that contribute to our broad focus. However, ALL coastal management issues are grounded in science and data. Therefore, an important part of the CIIP pedagogy is to give students experience in field data collection, quantitative analysis, and interpretation of results that inform coastal management. The summer science field practicum has hands-on activities in marine fish sampling, seabird and crab surveys, benthic sampling, water quality analysis, experimental economics, and GIS. The capstone field trip to the Baltimore LTER and UMBC water IGERT site provides exposure to water quality management in urban environments. The summer course has been an effective part of our curriculum to demonstrate the need for disciplinary depth as well as multidisciplinary breadth.