Overview
Do you have a passion for marine and environmental science and a yearning for an educational experience that goes beyond the ordinary? If so, your journey toward an exceptional college education might lead you to Eckerd College, where the shimmering Gulf of Mexico becomes your classroom, and the pursuit of knowledge is synonymous with adventure. Nestled in the heart of sunny St. Petersburg, Florida, Eckerd College offers a unique and inspiring environment for budding marine and environmental scientists. In this blog post, I invite you to dive into the world of Eckerd College, where academic excellence meets a profound connection with nature and community. So, grab your snorkel gear and prepare to explore a college experience like no other.
The Vibe
Eckerd College attracts a sociable cohort of students who seek to find joy and fulfillment in every aspect of their lives, including academics.
Eckerd’s marketing slogan, “Think Outside,” hints at the al fresco lifestyle many Eckerd students enjoy. On any given day, students can be found spending their seemingly copious amounts of downtime sailing, kayaking, wakeboarding, fishing, playing beach volleyball, skateboarding, playing soccer, enjoying an evening campfire, or doing yoga in the sand. Eckerd students are active and eager to soak up every minute of Florida sunshine. Eckerd’s waterfront location on Tampa Bay, where Frenchman Creek spills into Maximo Channel, allows students easy access to water sports and recreation. Eckerd’s waterfront Wallace Boathouse and Activities Center is a center point of the Eckerd social scene. Students can rent boats and gear, sign up for aquatic excursions, or take water sports classes at the boathouse. The Waterfront Program hosts the annual Fins Up Dock Party – a popular beach party (think swimming in December!).
Perhaps it isn’t only the sunshine and salt water that makes Eckerd students so happy – it’s also frequently ranked as the number one pet-friendly college. Not only are dogs welcome to explore campus with their student owners, but they, along with cats, ferrets, hamsters, lizards, fish, birds, and other small pets, are also welcome in campus housing (restrictions apply by pet type, housing community, and length of ownership). Not surprisingly, Eckerd students are passionate about their pets and often participate in the Pet Blessing Ceremony in October and Pet Graduation in May. Many Eckerd pets even have their own Instagram accounts. Who wouldn’t feel relaxed with their best friend by their side for their college years?
Eckerd students don’t keep all this joy to themselves. Dedication to service is a core campus value that dates back to the College’s founding in 1958. Service learning is built into the curriculum at every stage, and all students must complete reflective service learning coursework and a minimum of forty hours of community service before graduation. This focus on service ensures that Eckerd students feel deeply connected to the St Petersburg community and often forge meaningful connections beyond the boundaries of the campus. Alums frequently credit service learning connections when discussing how they found their first jobs after graduation.
With all these fun channels for student engagement, it would be easy for academics to slip through the cracks, but if there is one thing that Eckerd students are serious about, it’s combining a broad liberal arts education with hands-on, practical learning. Reflective service learning is only one piece of the Eckerd learning approach. All students also meet regularly with supportive faculty mentors and must complete a capstone project where they “reflect on [their] college education in an integrative fashion.” Eckerd students are proud to share that much of their learning occurs outside the traditional classroom. For example, students in one of the school’s most popular majors, marine science, regularly find themselves out on the water and the shores of the Bay conducting research as a regular part of their coursework.
When I asked current students who would thrive at Eckerd, they commonly responded that people who were open-minded, passionate, and “willing to try anything” would feel most at home. One student reflected that she and many of her peers are “a little weird in a good way” and appreciated this characteristic in others.
Overall, Eckerd students seem to enjoy themselves in the classroom, the community, and the great Florida outdoors. Students who seek a supportive, laid-back environment that balances fun in the sun with service and hands-on learning may find a happy home at Eckerd.
Opportunities for Students Interested in Marine & Environmental Fields
Academic Majors & Programs
Eckerd College offers the following undergraduate majors for students interested in marine and environmental fields:
- Animal Studies (B.A.)
- Environmental Studies (B.S.)
- Geosciences (B.S., B.A.)
- Marine Science (B.S.), with areas of specialization in Marine Biology, Marine Chemistry, Marine Geology, and Marine Geophysics
Field Stations & Facilities
Campus
With nine onsite National Wildlife Federation-certified wildlife habitats, Eckerd’s campus is an ideal learning laboratory for nature lovers. Birders will delight at the nesting Great Horned Owls and the plethora of sea and shore birds that call Eckerd’s campus home.
Marine enthusiasts will take joy in walking the campus seawall at low tide or taking one of the school’s small watercraft out on the Bay in search of local marine life. Students are actively engaged in preserving special habitats on campus, including protecting pinelands/freshwater marsh space and engaging in landscaping projects to support pollinators.
The on-campus Galbraith Marine Science Lab building, where marine science students will take most of their classes, is just steps from the beach and pumps filtered seawater through research labs and aquarium tanks for hands-on learning.
Students interested in sustainable food systems will find a home at the Eckerd farm, where they can get their hands dirty while delivering farm-fresh produce to campus food services and community partners.
Field Stations
Students also have access to Eckerd’s marine field station, the Keys Marine Laboratory – which provides a launching pad for studies in the Everglades, Florida Keys, and Florida Bay.
Research Vessels
Eckerd College has an extensive fleet of small craft for getting out on the water in Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Explore their fleet here.
Research Opportunities & Experiential Learning
In addition to the many opportunities to engage in hands-on research at Eckerd, students are encouraged to get involved with research off-campus through partnerships, study abroad, and internships. Students often get involved with projects at the Mote Marine Lab, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Research Institution, the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, and the Bimini Biological Field Station Foundations’s Shark Lab in the Bahamas.
Students can also apply to the Eckerd College Natural Sciences Summer Research Program, which provides funding to support collaborative research projects between students and faculty. Students who conduct research outside of their coursework are invited to share their research at the annual Student Research Symposium.
As far as marine and environmental science undergraduate research is concerned, Eckerd must be doing something right because they are one of the nation’s top producers of Hollins Scholars, a prestigious and competitive undergraduate research scholarship program run by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Relevant Student Organizations & Clubs
- Marine Science Club
- Community Farm
- Eco-Reps
- ECOS Environmental Responsibility Committee
- Garden Club
- Marine Life Adventure Society
- Ornithological Society
- Reduce Single-Use Project
- Save Our Seabirds
- SCUBI Jew: EC Environmental Divers
Students also engage in the annual Trash to Treasure Project, which focuses on reducing waste, raising money for sustainability efforts, and providing an affordable way for students to outfit their dorm rooms by reselling items abandoned at the end of the year to students returning to campus in the fall. What’s not to love?
Campus Sustainability
Eckerd College’s commitment to campus sustainability permeates all aspects of campus life. Why many campuses offer robust recycling and composting programs, water bottle filling stations, and reusable dining hall packaging, Eckerd takes these services one step further by providing fishing line recycling containers.
Learn more about Eckerd College’s Sustainability and Climate Change Resiliency plan.
