MUSE - Marine Undergraduate Soundwaters Experience Departmental Brochure

As an undergraduate with an interest in marine science, environmental studies, and/or education, you will have the unique opportunity to enroll in MUSE, an integrated program that combines coursework, research, independent study projects, and opportunities to teach younger students, using the resources of Fairfield University and SoundWaters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of Long Island Sound and its watershed. You will be able to use the Sound itself as a living laboratory and sail aboard the 80-foot schooner, SoundWaters, which serves as a floating classroom for a variety of environmental education programs. Your work in this program will increase your understanding of many environmental issues and your ability to lead and promote responsible efforts to preserve marine life in and around the Sound.

Course of Study

 

You can obtain 15 to 17 college credits (certified by Fairfield University) through the Marine Undergraduate SoundWaters Experience (MUSE) program by taking two courses for six to eight credits in marine science at Fairfield, completing an independent research project at SoundWaters for three credits, and completing an internship at SoundWaters for six credits. The marine science offerings at Fairfield include:

• Introduction to Marine Science
• Tropical Marine Biology
• Marine Invertebrate Zoology
• Coral Reef Ecology
• Aquaculture
• Pollution in the Environment

If you have already completed two of these courses or the equivalent, you may elect to take any two courses required for your major or core curriculum.

Opportunities

Your work in the MUSE program will add a unique dimension to your education. If you intend to be an elementary or secondary school teacher, you will have a fundamental grasp of important issues concerning the environment and understanding, based on experience, of how you might teach these to young people. If you are interested in marine/environmental science as a career, you will learn valuable research techniques. If you are thinking of another profession – law, communications, business, etc. – you will have insights into environmental matters and the workings of a non-profit organization. Regardless of any impact on your professional life, the program will help you to become a better, more aware citizen with an interest in safeguarding important elements of our environment.

The Faculty

The principal teachers and supervisors you will encounter in the MUSE program are:

Diane J. Brousseau, Director

Diane J. Brousseau
Ph.D., Zoology, University of Massachusetts - Amherst
Fairfield University, Professor of Biology
Director of Environmental and Marine Science

Carla Schneider
B.S., Biology/Marine Science, Fairfield University
SoundWaters, MUSE Coordinator

Kathy Rhodes
M.S., Zoology, University of New Hampshire
SoundWaters, Director of Education

Leigh Shemitz
Ph.D., Environmental Health, Yale University
SoundWaters, Executive Director

Independent Research

You will design your own research project with faculty assistance and approval. The project may involve scientific observation, testing, and analysis, such as a study of water quality in Holly Pond or Long Island Sound. It could be primarily educational, such as preparing exhibits or environmental lesson plans, or an opportunity to develop public relations materials for SoundWaters.

Long Island Sound offers a great variety of subjects for research because it is an ecosystem harboring birds, finfish, shellfish, sea turtles, marine mammals, and other wildlife. It is also impacted by the environments of major urban areas on its shores and by heavy commercial and recreational usage. Fairfield students have been engaged in significant studies of the Sound and its ecology over the years, sometimes joining faculty as co-authors of research papers published in professional journals.

 Internship

As an intern at SoundWaters Community Center for Environmental Education, you will assist educators teaching ecology to urban elementary, middle, and high school students participating in SoundWaters' educational programs, and have the opportunity to attend environmental lectures in aquatic biology, environmental policy, and conservation issues.

These activities will give you an opportunity to interact with high school students, discussing college life and encouraging them toward higher education. You will also have the opportunity to teach aboard the schooner, SoundWaters, and learn the nautical skills required to participate in sailing the vessels.

SoundWaters

SoundWaters, founded in 1989, is a nonprofit organization in Stamford, Conn. Its mission is to educate children and adults about the wonders and beauty of Long Island Sound and its watershed. Through education, SoundWaters provides people with an understanding and awareness of the changes they can make in their lives and communities to restore, protect, and preserve Long Island Sound and the environment as a whole. Its programs are offered in the new Community Center for Environmental Education on Cove Island and aboard the  schooner SoundWaters.

SoundWaters
Cove Island Park, Cove Road
Stamford, CT 06902
Telephone: (203) 406-3309 Fax: (203) 967-8306
E-mail: connect@soundwaters.org
Web: www.SoundWaters.org

Profile

Kelly Steele
Biology major

"When I visited Fairfield University as a high school student, I heard Dr. Diane Brousseau discussing the MUSE program. Last semester, I was one of the students at MUSE, studying Atlantic Bay Scallops and teaching kids about marine life. My findings recently appeared in the Journal for Shellfish Research - which for an undergrad is pretty impressive. I never would have discovered that fish had varying personalities if it hadn't been for the Aquaculture course. We grew tilapia for one project, feeding them three times a day and cleaning the tank. You could say we bonded. For me, the best courses are those that are completely hands-on. Another was Marine Invertebrate Zoology, in which we went to Long Island Sound to collect up to 10 invertebrates from six different phylum and identify them on our own down to the genus species."

For further information, please contact:
Dr. Diane J. Brousseau, program director
Fairfield University
Fairfield, CT 06824-5195
Tel: (203) 254-4000, ext. 2739
E-mail: brousseau@mail.fairfield.edu