Frequently Asked Questions

Fall Entrance

M.S. thesis option and Ph.D. students interested in funding opportunities, including assistantships, must submit their application by January 15*. All other applicants must submit the application by April 15* to be considered for admission.

Spring Entrance

All applicants must complete the application by October 1*.

*Applications are not reviewed until after the deadline has passed.

No. Students who are admitted under the non-thesis option in the M.S. program cannot switch to the thesis option later. If you intend to pursue research at our campus, you must have a faculty mentor agreement in place prior to applying and apply only under the thesis option. Thesis option applicants without a faculty mentor agreement will not be considered for admission.

Please proceed to the next step of the admissions process: begin an application in GraduateCAS. In the Program Materials section, enter the name and email address of your prospective faculty advisor in the Recommendations tab to request that they provide a letter of support for your application.

To learn more details about the MARB graduate program admissions process, please Marine Biology: Future Students.

In addition to a good grade point average in an related field of study, an applicant for the MARB Graduate Program should have a solid biology, chemistry and math/statistics course background. This background should include courses in general biology (2 courses), vertebrates, cell, invertebrates, genetics, general chemistry (2 courses), organic chemistry (2 courses) as well as calculus and statistics. Please look at the undergraduate Marine Biology curriculum listed on the tamu.edu website as an example.

For M.S. thesis-option and Ph.D. applicants applying to the MARB Graduate Program:
In the admissions process, the most critical and time consuming step is getting a faculty advisor agreement PRIOR to starting the application process.  To get a faculty advisor agreement, 1) select a faculty member(s) whose area of interest aligns with your interest and 2) contact them to arrange a meeting to discuss your background and interests.  For a list of faculty and their interests, please visit Participating Faculty.

MARB M.S. non-thesis applicants will be assigned a faculty advisor upon acceptance.

M.S. thesis-option and Ph.D. applicants should start searching for a faculty advisor 9 to 12 months before their anticipated entry semester. This will allow ample time to get a faculty mentor agreement in place prior to the February 15 application deadline.

Yes, if you are applying to the M.S. non-thesis track. However, keep in mind that you will not be allowed to change to the thesis option after admission. M.S. thesis-option and Ph.D. applicants without an approved faculty advisor agreement will not be considered. We advise getting a faculty advisor agreement before starting other steps in the admissions process.

Non-thesis master’s degree students are self-funded typically.  Master’s thesis degree and doctoral students are supported on assistantships by their faculty advisor.

Typically, 90% of our students get a job in their field of expertise or continue their education within a year of graduating.  Our students are employed at state and federal agencies like NOAA and TPWD or work in the private sector at consulting firms or corporations.  Our students who continue in academia seek doctoral education and post-doctoral positions nationwide.

The deadlines below refer to receiving the complete application (including letters of recommendation and any English proficiency test scores) and not just receiving the application.

Fall Entrance

May 1^st 

Spring Entrance

October 1^st

Applicants to MBAA should have completed Statistical Methods (BUSN 203), Principles of Economics (ECON 202), Management Process (MARA 363), Financial/Managerial Accounting (ACCT 229 and 230), and Management Information Systems (ISTM 210). Course descriptions can be found in our current Undergraduate Catalog. Accepted applicants without these courses will be required to take undergraduate foundational classes as determined by the faculty admissions committee.

Non-thesis master’s degree students are self-funded typically.  Master’s thesis degree students are supported on assistantships by their faculty advisor and/or Maritime Business Administration Department. For questions regarding available graduate teaching assistantships, please contact the Department of Maritime Business Administration.

The deadlines below refer to receiving the complete application (i.e. Letters of Recommendation, GRE Scores, etc.) and not just receiving the application.

Fall Entrance

April 15

Spring Entrance

October 1

The deadlines below refer to receiving the complete application (i.e. Letters of Recommendation, GRE Scores, etc.) and not just receiving the application.

Fall Entrance

January 15

Spring Entrance

October 1

Students applying to the MARM or MCMS program should have a broad base of both social and physical sciences with course work in the following areas: biology, chemistry, physics, advanced mathematics, geology, and oceanography.

Non-thesis master’s students are typically self-funded. Master’s thesis track and doctoral students are supported on assistantships by their faculty advisor and/or the department. For questions regarding available graduate teaching assistantships, please contact the Department of Marine and Coastal Environment and Science.

License Option through the Texas A&M Maritime Academy provides students opportunities to learn how to operate and maintain an ocean-going vessel.  Graduates of the Texas A&M Maritime Academy typically become licensed in the Merchant Marines.

License Option (or LO) students take an additional 50-60 SCHs above the required courses for their graduate program.

Yes! License option curricula is available for domestic, on-site students enrolled in a graduate program at Texas A&M University at Galveston. International students cannot obtain a US 3rd mate license. Please note that admission to the license option requires an additional admissions application to the Texas A&M Maritime Academy. Please visit the Online Application to get started. 

Applications to the license option are only accepted for fall admission each year and are due completed by July 15th. Students must first be admitted to a degree-seeking program at TAMUG before their completed Texas A&M Maritime Academy application will be considered. Contact tamma@tamug.edu with questions about the requirements and application process.

Please visit the Texas A&M Maritime Academy to learn more about LO.