Coastal Carolina University

Graduate Council Meeting Agenda

January 16, 2004

10:30 AM, Singleton Conference Room

 

 

I.                    Call to Order

 

II.                 Approval of minutes from the November 14, 2003, Graduate Council meeting

 

III.               New business as follows

 

 

College of Humanities and Fine Arts

 

Recommendation for New Course:

 

POLI 535  Globalization. (3)  A survey of the various theories and issues surrounding the process of globalization and anti-globalization within the study of international relations.  The course will draw on historical, economic, financial, cultural, and political issue areas of globalization in a multitude of world regions.

 

College of Natural and Applied Sciences

 

Program modification proposal regarding residency requirement:

 

Current CCU Statement on Residency

 

The minimum residence requirement for the master’s degree is two regular semesters or the equivalent in summer sessions.  Six semester hours of work in a 5-week summer session constitute a full load; 9 to 12 semester hours constitute a full graduate load in a regular session.

 

The value of graduate study is enhanced by the pursuit of a unified program, the intellectual stimulus derived from contacts with fellow students, and close association with faculty.  In consequence, candidates for the master’s degree who are not enrolled for a full program of study during the regular academic year should meet residence requirements by pursuing their studies on a full-time basis in the summer sessions.

 

Recommended Change

 

The residence requirement for the Master of Science degree program in Coastal Marine and Wetland Studies is three hours credit in the semester of the thesis defense.

 

Course Deletions:

 

CMWS 515  Applied Experimental Designs & Analyses (3)

CMWS 575  Wetland Delineation (3)

CMWS 660  Coastal and Estuarine Oceanographic Processes (3)

CMWS 670  Wetland Environments and Processes (3)

 

 

Change in Course Description and Title:

 

CMWS 610  Multivariate Quantitative Methods

 

Old Title and Description:  CMWS 610  Multivariate Quantitative Methods. (3) (Prereq: Graduate status and  STAT 210 or equivalent)  An applied course in the design and analysis of multivariate studies including significance and power considerations.  Topics include:  Multivariate Regression Analysis, Multivariate Analysis of Variance, Principle Component Analysis, Discriminant Analysis, Factor Analysis, and Hierarchical Loglinear Analysis.

 

Proposed Title and Description:  CMWS 610  Applied Experimental Designs & Analyses. (3) (Prereq: Graduate status and STAT 210 or equivalent) A comprehensive course covering topics in observational and manipulative experimental design (e.g., sample size determination, power of the test) and surveying the variety of available statistical techniques and analyses (e.g., MANOVA, PCA, Loglinear models, Bayesian statistics).

 

Rationale:  Change the course title and catalog description to represent more closely the course as currently taught.

 

Proposals for New Courses:

 

CMWS 675 Wetland Regulation and Delineation. (3) (Prereq: permission of instructor)  The course includes the legal definitions and regulations relevant to wetlands and the methods used to delineate wetlands.  Lectures are augmented with practical field experience identifying various indicators of hydrology, soils and vegetation in riparian, estuarine and pocosin wetlands.

 

MSCI 545  Coastal Processes. (3) (Prereq: MATH 161, MSCI 301 or permission of instructor)  A comprehensive study of the physical and geological processes controlling the morphology and circulation within estuaries and the coastal ocean.  Beach, estuarine and shelf processes are examined in detail as to their importance to coastal management and protection.  Focus is on application of standard process models and morphodynamic concepts.

 

MSCI 545L  Coastal Processes Laboratory. (1) (Prereq: permission of instructor)  The laboratory demonstrates the topics and principles presented in lecture.

 

MSCI 558  Fisheries Science. (3) (Prereq: permission of instructor)  An introduction to the practices and techniques of fisheries science.  Topics include analytical and empirical models, stock assessment, age and growth analysis, mortality, recruitment and yield, production and early life history, harvesting techniques, and detailed study of important fisheries.

 

MSCI 558L  Fisheries Science Laboratory. (1) (Prereq: permission of instructor)  The laboratory demonstrates the topics and principles presented in lecture.

 

MSCI 574  Marine Ecosystem Analysis. (3) (Prereq: permission of instructor)  The lecture and laboratory are integrated with a survey of the theory and techniques of ecosystem analysis.  Undergraduate students only use Stella II simulation modeling of existing models while graduates are exposed to additional techniques and develop their own model that supports their thesis research.

 

MSCI 574L  Marine Ecosystem Analysis Laboratory. (1) (Prereq: permission of instructor)  The laboratory demonstrates the topics and principles presented in lecture.

 

MSCI 579  Marine Benthic Ecology. (3)  A comprehensive review of the structure and function of soft bottom marine communities.  Taxonomic coverage ranges from microbial members (bacteria and microphytobenthos) to megafauna and demersal fishes.  Covered topics include:  intertidal communities, roles of predation and competition, cryptic coloration, biodiversity, benthic pelagic coupling, landscape ecology, anthropogenic impacts, and more.  Three lecture hours per week.  Graduate credit for this course requires 5000 word essay on a topic of the student’s choosing within the field of benthic ecology.  Every other year, Spring.

 

MSCI 579L  Marine Benthic Ecology Laboratory. (1)  The lab component of the course involves one or more field studies after description and demonstration of some common methods.  Every other year, Spring. (no syllabus or course outline submitted)

 

BIOL 526  Ichthyology. (3) (Prereq: permission of instructor) (Coreq: BIOL 526L)  Morphology, classification, evolution and distribution of fishes with emphasis on South Carolina marine and freshwater species.

 

BIOL 526L Ichthyology Laboratory. (1) (Prereq: permission of instructor) (Coreq: BIOL 526)  Laboratory and field exercises emphasizing the topics covered in BIOL 526. Students will be required to make and turn in a collection of preserved fish specimens.

 

BIOL 536  Animal Behavior. (3) (Prereq: permission of instructor) (Coreq: BIOL 536L)  This course traces historical and modern developments in the study of animal behavior and emphasizes the evolutionary, ecological, physiological determinants of behavior.

 

BIOL 536L  Animal Behavior Laboratory. (1) (Prereq: permission of instructor) (Coreq: BIOL 536)  This lab course gives students the opportunity to further their knowledge of animal behavior through hands-on field and laboratory-based exercises. 

 

BIOL 542  Advanced Genetics. (3) (Prereq: permission of instructor) (Coreq: BIOL 542L)  This course will cover the molecular processes of genetic change within genomes, individuals, and populations over both short and long time-scales.  Furthermore, students will read current research in evolutionary genetics to better appreciate the benefits and detriments of genetic change in domesticated and natural populations of organisms.

 

BIOL 542L  Advanced Genetics Laboratory. (1) (Prereq: permission of instructor) (Coreq: BIOL 542)   Laboratory exercise to accompany BIOL 542. 

 

BIOL 551  Molecular Techniques. (4)  A research-based practicum on techniques of DNA analysis.  Laboratory exercises serve as an introduction to DNA purification, quantitation and sequencing, PCR, gel electrophoresis, enzyme digestion and cloning.

 

BIOL 555  Marine Botany. (3) (Coreq: BIOL 555L)  A field course in marine flora with emphasis on ecology and functional morphology.  Work will stress the roles of marine bacteria, fungi, algae, and angiosperms in coastal marine communities.

 

BIOL 555L  Marine Botany Laboratory. (1) (Coreq: BIOL 555)  The laboratory will demonstrate the topics and principles presented in lecture.

 

BIOL 561  Ornithology. (3) (Coreq: BIOL 561L)  The study of birds with emphasis on morphological and behavioral adaptations exhibited by birds in response to their environment.  Laboratory exercises introduce the student to the diversity of birds with emphasis on the avifauna of North America.  Topics include field identification of species, morphological and behavioral adaptations for feeding and locomotion, bird assemblages of the southeastern United States, and censusing procedures for estimating population densities.

 

BIOL 561L  Ornithology Laboratory. (1) (Coreq: BIOL 561)  Field experience and exercises to accompany BIOL 561.

 

BIOL 580  Vertebrate Zoology. (3) (Prereq: permission of instructor) (Coreq: BIOL 580L)  The classification and natural history of vertebrates with additional emphasis on adaptive features in the functional morphology and ethology of animals.

BIOL 580L  Vertebrate Zoology Laboratory. (1) (Prereq: permission of instructor) (Coreq: BIOL 580)  Laboratory and field experiences emphasizing the topics covered in BIOL 380.  Laboratories will be centered around field observations of local vertebrates and may include field trips at “unusual” times – nights, early mornings and weekends.

 

BIOL 581  Freshwater Ecology. (3) (Prereq: BIOL 370 or permission of instructor) (Coreq: BIOL 581L)  Interactions of physical, chemical, and biological properties of freshwater ecosystems (i.e., groundwater, wetlands, lakes, and streams).  Three lecture hours per week.

 

BIOL 581L  Freshwater Ecology Laboratory. (1) (Prereq: BIOL 370 or permission of instructor) (Coreq: BIOL 581)  Laboratory and field exercise devoted to understanding the interactions of physical, chemical, and biological properties of freshwater ecosystems.  Three laboratory hours per week. 

 

BIOL 582  Plant Ecology. (3) (Prereq: permission of instructor) (Coreq: BIOL 582L)  A survey of natural plant communities and theories of plant ecology including the interrelationships between plants and their environment.

 

BIOL 582L  Plant Ecology Laboratory. (1) (Prereq: permission of instructor) (Coreq: BIOL 582)  Applications of principles and techniques used in the study of plants and their ecology, both in the lab and in the field.

 

BIOL 583  Population Biology. (3) (Coreq: BIOL 583L)  This course focuses on learning core population characteristics, such as genetics, growth and intraspecific interactions.  There will also be an introduction to the metapopulations and the history of the field of population ecology.

 

BIOL 583L  Population Laboratory. (1) (Coreq: BIOL 583)  Laboratory exercises to accompany BIOL 583.

 

BIOL 584   Conservation Ecology. (3) (Coreq: BIOL 584L)  This course will provide students with a comprehensive framework of conservation ecology.  Students that successfully complete this course will learn the techniques used to study biodiversity and become familiar with the framework used to address problems in conservation biology.

 

BIOL 584L  Conservation Ecology Laboratory. (1) (Coreq: BIOL 584)  This lab course gives students the opportunity to further their knowledge of conservation biology through hands-on, field and laboratory-based exercises.

 

BIOL 588  Wetland Plant Ecology. (3) (Prereq: permission of instructor) (Coreq: BIOL 588L)  An introduction to wetland types, wetland processes, and wetland management.  Types of wetlands covered will include tidal freshwater, tidal saltwater, mangroves, interior freshwater, bogs, swamps, and riparian.  Processes covered will include hydrology, biogeochemistry, and biological adaptation.  Wetland management topics will include wetland definitions, classification, evaluation, manipulation, creation, and protection.

 

BIOL 588L  Wetland Plant Ecology Laboratory. (1) (Prereq: permission of instructor) (Coreq: BIOL 588)  Applications of principles and techniques used n the study of wetland plants and their ecology, both in the lab and in the field.

 

IV.                 Old Business

 

Continuation of discussion of the formation of the Coastal Carolina University Graduate Assembly, Fall 2004.