oceanographer. Accepting various definitions * in 1963-64 the total 
oceanographic science staff was 2,600 to 3,200, and the number of 
Ph. D.’s was 500 to 600. Other definitions yield different though simi- 
lar numbers. Some 550 individuals, for example, are sufficiently well 
known to be listed in the latest International Directory of Oceanog- 
raphers.* Another measure is the number of degreeholders in 
oceanography. A poll of the degree-granting institutions showed that 
504 M.S. and 266 Ph. D. degrees have been granted to oceanographers 
over the past 20 years. An oceanographer in this definition is taken 
to be a degree-recipient with experience at sea and a broad knowledge 
of the ocean, regardless of the field of study. Finally, the number of 
oceanographers who produce scientific papers important enough to be 
cited by other scientists can be counted. Some 370 such individuals 
have been identified by our study, and a more comprehensive one might 
raise the number to 500. As in other sciences, however, 10 percent 
(37) of these cited oceanographers receive 50 percent of the citations. 
It should be noted that various attempts at measurement do not neces- 
sarily relate to the same people. Many oceanographers with Ph. D.’s 
did not receive them in oceanography. 
Sources of Manpower. An oceanographer is a scientist or engineer 
whose work is concerned with the sea. Concern may have developed 
at any stage in his training or professional career. Manpower comes 
into the field in many ways, and opinions differ on what is ideal. 
Some of today’s leading oceanographers took courses in oceanography, 
but many did not. The important point is that all scientists and engi- 
neers, regardless of training, are potential oceanographers. It may 
be difficult for a chemist to become a biologist, but it is relatively easy 
for him to become a marine chemist. 
Students. We concern ourselves here only with graduate students 
working toward degrees in marine sciences. The number of students 
identified by the Interagency Committee on Oceanography and the 
National Science Foundation increased from 90 in 1960 to 290 in 1965 
(fig. 8.3). These numbers, referring to students in “oceanographic 
departments” defined in a certain way, do not purport to be the total 
number in the marine sciences. Consequently, we polled 12 oceano- 
graphic departments and found that students working toward degrees 
at these places increased from 547 in 1963 to 763 in 1965 (fig. 8.3). 
This, once again, is not a complete list of students even in marine 
sciences, because oceanography is taught elsewhere. It does show that 
% «Seientific and Technical Personnel in Oceanography,’ ICO Pamphlet 21, 1965. 
“A Study as 'to the Numbers and Characterisics of Oceanographic Personnel in the 
United States,” Internat. Ocean. F'dn., Miami, Rept. to NSF, 1964. 
* Vetter, R. C., An International Directory of Oceanographers, 4th ed., NAS- 
NRC staff rept., 1964. 
fg 
