In Pennsylvania, the commitment to marine science overall, and the study of the Mid-Atlantic coast in particular, has been expressed through support and membership in the Marine Science Consortium. A group of colleges, most of which are in Pennsylvania, pool talent and resources to run the consortium based at an research institute on Wallop Island on the coast of Virginia. In addition to classrooms, labs and dormitories, the consortium operates a 50-foot offshore research vessel and two barges used to explore coastal marshes. During the summer, faculty from member colleges and universities teach a variety of courses that range from molecular marine biology to painting seascapes.
Millersville University offers a marine biology degree through its biology department and an ocean sciences degree through its Earth sciences department. The university was a founding member of the Marine Science Consortium and is affiliated with other major marine research facilities such as Northeast Fisheries Science Center at Woods Hole in Massachusetts. East Stroudsburg University also awards a degree in marine science but the emphasis is on marine biology. East Stroudsburg University is an active member of the Marine Science Consortium and marine science majors are required to take at least four courses at the Wallops Island research center.
Some colleges offer marine science as a minor or concentration of a natural science degree. At Slippery Rock University, students major in biology, chemistry geology or physics with a marine science minor tailored to their specific interests. Lock Haven University offers a minor in marine biology as one of several options for biology majors.
Other colleges such as Shippensburg, Wilkes and Bloomsburg universities have environmental science degrees which are interdisciplinary programs with marine science courses and concentrations as part of a list of options. Undergraduate degree programs in environmental science cover a lot of ground with requirements in geology, chemistry, math, physics and biology. Marine science is often one component of a broad spectrum of disciplines.
Pennsylvania universities also offer marine science as part of a secondary school education degree. St. Francis University and Kutztown University have degree programs that allow aspiring teachers to focus on marine science as their subject area of expertise.