Semester By the Sea

The SBS Fall 2023 application period is now closed. Please check back in January 2024 for the Fall 2024 application.

Students from throughout the University of Maine System are encouraged to apply, as are all advanced undergraduate or post baccalaureate students with a passion and background in science.

Please feel free to contact SMS Associate Director Wge Ellis or the DMC leadership with questions (scroll to the bottom for contact information). Thank you.

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Courses anticipated to be offered in 2023 include:

Scientific Diving (SMS 324)
SBS Seminar (SMS 350) – REQUIRED
Capstone Research (SMS 400)
Microbial Ecology (SMS 479)
Biology of Marine Invertebrates (SMS 480)
Estuarine Oceanography (SMS 484)
Marine Environmental Change (SMS 491)
Sensing the Sea (SMS 491)

Check out the full course descriptions here.

Note that all 2023 SBS students are required to enroll in the SBS Seminar. UMaine students are encouraged to meet with their academic advisor to ensure course selections fulfill their degree requirements. Non-UMaine students should contact Dr. William Ellis, Associate Director of SMS, for additional information.

Costs to Consider. There is a $850 course fee attached to SMS 350, which covers course expenses for all the SBS courses in which a student participates. Room and board are billed separately and in addition to this required course fee. Note that there is an additional course fee of $850 for SMS 324, Scientific Diving, which covers course materials and certifications. Semester by the Sea is a Residential Program – all students are required to live on campus in order to participate. The 2023-2024 room and board rates have not yet been posted by UMaine; we anticipate that there will be an increase from the Fall 2023 Room and Board rate, which was $6275 ($3009 for a double room, and $3266 for the required meal plan).

Prerequisites & Participation
Semester By the Sea courses are open to students with sophomore-year standing, or equivalent background, with one year of biology and one year of chemistry. Students admitted to the program must create a course wish list in MaineStreet. When registration for the fall semester opens, Jodie Feero will enroll students. Preference will be given to those students graduating in the 2023-2024 academic year, if we reach our enrollment capacity of 30 students. Semester by the Sea is designed as a residential program and all students are expected to live on campus unless the residential facilities of the Darling Marine Center are unable to support accessibility needs of an individual as determined by working with UMaine Student Accessibility Services and DMC staff.

2023 Dates to Remember

First week of April – Notification of acceptance to SBS courses
April 21 – Students receive welcome email and required forms from the Darling Marine Center
May 1 – Deadline for completion of all DMC forms. Students are expected to complete and submit all materials on time. Failure to do so will remove a student from the roster and a wait listed student will be moved into that seat.

For SBS academic information contact:
Dr. William Ellis • william.ellis @maine.edu • 207.581.4360
Jodie Feero • jodief@maine.edu • 207.581.4385

For DMC facility and research opportunity information contact:
DMC Director • dmc@maine.edu • 207.563.8144
DMC Programs & Communications Manager • dmc@maine.edu • 207.563.8144