What is the MBC concept?

Marine Biology & Conservation is an Advanced Studies Program that provides university students, government agencies or private companies with a practice-oriented education experience. While the MBC by itself is not a master or PhD program, all the courses included in MBC are certified and will produce ECTS credits that can be used by present and future students participating in MSc or PhD programs at Aveiro and Minho Universities. It is expected that with time more universities may joint this Advanced Studies Program.

Advanced courses in each of the selected topics will vary in their size ranging from small courses (2-3 days) to long courses (2 to 3 weeks). Some of the courses will be more theoretical based in case studies, while others will be dominated by field work. All courses will integrate lectures, lab, and field activities.

Students participating in any of the courses will increase their theoretical knowledge in marine biology, but they will also become familiar with techniques that are necessary and critical for the Conservation of Marine Biological resources. One of the main goals of this program is that students will know how to do science rather than simply how to understand it.

The structure of our curriculum allows students with only an intermediate exposure to the biological sciences to emerge from the program ready to plan and execute marine research, whether in graduate school, in a master program, in a PhD program or in a career with government agencies or private consulting firms.