OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 39 



cation in oceanography but not at the Ph. D. level. Two of these are expected 

 to begin a doctoral program in the near future. 



The combined total of the professional staffs of organizations offering graduate 

 education is 150 or more. However, many of these are engaged almost exclusively 

 in research. Only about 50 people are actively engaged in graduate teaching, 

 or less than 10 percent of the 520 professionally trained personnel in the coimtry. 



The type of graduate education varies widely. Some universities offer a full 

 course and a degree in oceanography. Others offer a degree in a basic scientific 

 discipline with the oceanographic program consisting of two or three courses 

 and thesis supervision. Opinions differ as to whether the major emphasis at 

 this level of training should be on the basic discipline or on the more specialized 

 professional aspects of oceanography. Thus, the young oceanographer is not a 

 standardized product. This is probably a healthy situation in any interdisciplin- 

 ary profession, leading to diversification of knowledge, interests, and technical 

 skills. However, it must be admitted that thorough education in both oceanog- 

 raphy and basic science cannot be accomplished within the usual span of graduate 

 study. Postgraduate study and on-the-job training are generally necessary. 



Accurate data have not been obtained on the rate of production of ocea- 

 nographers, but almost certainly no more than 20 Ph. D.'s are graduated per 

 year. A small but significant number of Ph. D.'s come into the field from basic 

 sciences or from related interdisciplinary fields such as limnology and geophysics. 



A much larger number of recruits are taken on as technical assistants and 

 junior scientists with little or no prior knowledge of oceanography. They range 

 from people with a bachelor's degree in a basic science to those with virtually 

 no scientific training. Thus, while 90 percent of the oceanographers are not 

 actively engaged in graduate teaching, many are fulfilling an important and 

 necessary function in teaching oceanographic and laboratory operations to the 

 apprentices and journeymen who are put in their charge. 



n. THE PROBLEM 



The research program envisaged by other chapters of this report will require 

 an approximate doubling of the number of professional oceanographers at the 

 doctoral level and an increase of rather greater magnitude in personnel of lower 

 categories over the next several years. Obviously, this necessitates doubling 

 the educational program as rapidly as possible. 



III. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 



1. The universities now providing graduate education for oceanographers 

 should be encouraged to increase the numbers and quality of their output. Some 

 institutions which now teach oceanographers in only certain branches of ocean- 

 ography should add professors in other fields to their faculties. These measures 

 will require financial support. 



2. Institutions which undertake considerable research, but provide no regular 

 formal teaching in oceanography, could contribute greatly to the education of 

 oceanographers at the highest level by close formal afliliations with universities. 

 Conversely, universities should recognize their responsibilities in the education 

 of oceanographers. They should welcome this aflSliation with marine laboratories 

 and arrange for the interchange of faculties. This will require financial support 



3. It may be desirable to develop oceanographic education at new centers. 

 However, a "critical mass" of faculty in the basic sciences is essential for 

 successful teaching of oceanographers. Such new centers should, therefore, be 

 developed at universities which possess strong faculties in the sciences. 



4. In order to finance new faculty in oceanography at existing or new teaching 

 centers, the U.S. Government should provide funds on long-term commitments. 

 This committee recommends that about $500,000 per year be appropriated for 

 salaries and the equipment and indirect costs associated with such positions. 

 This program could be operated through the Office of Education. 



5. In order to attract competent graduate students to the long and somewhat 

 arduous schooling required of well-qualified oceanographers, it will be necessary 

 to provide substantial long-term fellowships. It is believed that 80 fellowships 

 should be supported on a 5-year basis and at an average stipend of $3, .500 to 

 $4,000 per student each year. This will produce 12-15 new Ph. D.'s per year 

 (allowing a reasonable attrition factor) at an annual cost of about $300,000. 

 This would provide approximately one-third of the student support that will be 

 needed in order to double the number of oceanographers at the Ph. D. level 

 during the next 10 years. 



