Lecce, Italy
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 1,300 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* tuition fees €1000; additional costs: €300. Contact us for scholarships info
Key Summary
Introduction
Designed for students passionate of Biodiversity and Ecosystems, the Coastal and Marine Biology and Ecology (CMBE). The course delivers qualified education on fundamental and applied biological and ecological marine sciences, integrating eScience and more traditional approaches with the aim of understanding the fundamental ecological mechanisms underlying phenomena occurring at various scales in coastal, transitional, and marine ecosystems.
CMBE is a two-year, second-level course. It offers two alternative curricula: Marine Biology and Ecology (MBE) focusing on theoretical and experimental multidisciplinary training in marine biology and marine ecosystem sciences or E-Biodiversity and Ecosystem Sciences (EBES). Focusing on the theoretical foundations of biodiversity organization and ecosystem functioning and devoted to the issue of eco-informatics, recognizing the biodiversity-ecosystem nexus as an information enterprise, requiring analytical and synthetic capabilities in the generation of services for solving environmental challenges (climate change, emerging ecosystem threats, biodiversity loss, waning natural resources) and the promotion of sustainability.
Career Opportunities
The CMBE degree will allow graduates to:
- Access to postgraduate courses (on competition)
- Access to Ph.D. courses (on competition)
- Work in public and private laboratories dealing with environmental issues, holding positions of responsibility as researchers and/or consultants
- Practice the profession of environmental-focused biologist
- Work as members of environmental offices in the Municipalities of coastal towns
- Become officers or Staff members of Marine Protected Areas and any other public environmental agency or office
- Create/participate start-ups and other types of private companies of environmental-related services to the private and public sectors related to the marine and maritime domain
Gallery
Curriculum
Curriculum in E-Biodiversity and Ecosystem Sciences
First Year
- Biodiversity And Ecosystem Functioning (Bio/05) 6 Credits - Compulsory
- Community Ecology (Bio/07) 6 Credits - Compulsory
- Environmental Chemistry (Chim/12) 6 Credits - Compulsory
- Environmental Microbiology (Bio/19) 6 Credits - Compulsory
- Environmental Physiology (Bio/09) 6 Credits - Compulsory
- Evolutionary Biology (Bio/05) 6 Credits - Compulsory
- Fundamentals Of Ecological Informatics (Bio/07) 6 Credits - Compulsory
- Mathematical Modelling In Ecology (Secs-s/02) 6 Credits - Compulsory
- Plant Biodiversity (Bio/02) 6 Credits - Compulsory
- Theoretical Ecology (Bio/07) 6 Credits - Compulsory
Second Year
- Final Test (Profin_s) 40 Credits - Compulsory
- Job Market Orientation (Nn) 1 Credits - Compulsory
- Laboratory Of Ecological Informatics (Bio/07) 10 Credits - Compulsory
- Curriculum In Marine Biology And Ecology
Curriculum in Marine Biology and Ecology
First Year
- Biodiversity Of Coastal And Marine Vegetation (Bio/02) 10 Credits - Compulsory
- Community Ecology (Bio/07) 6 Credits - Compulsory
- Ecological Indicators And Biomonitoring (Bio/07) 6 Credits - Compulsory
- Ecology And Biology Of Transitional And Marine Waters 12 Credits - Compulsory
- Environmental Microbiology (Bio/19) 6 Credits - Compulsory
- Marine Life Cycles And Symbiotic Associations (Bio/05) 8 Credits - Compulsory
- Oceanography Of Marginal Seas And Of The Coastal Zone (Geo/12) 6 Credits - Compulsory
- Pelagos Biology (Zooplankton And Nekton) (Bio/05) 8 Credits - Compulsory
Second Year
- Environmental Chemistry (Chim/12) 6 Credits - Compulsory
- Environmental Physiology (Bio/09) 6 Credits - Compulsory
- Experimental Design And Methodologies For Marine Biology (Bio/05) 6 Credits - Optional
- Final Test (Profin_s) 30 Credits - Compulsory
- Job Market Orientation (Nn) 1 Credits - Compulsory
- Marine Biodiversity And Ecosystem Functioning (Bio/05) 6 Credits - Optional
The final examination for the achievement of the LM in Coastal and Marine Biology and Ecology consists of the presentation and discussion in public, in front of an appointed commission, of a written text (thesis). The topic will be agreed upon with a docent of the Course of Coastal and Marine Biology and Ecology and must be the result of original experimental research carried out during the stage time (corresponding to 30 ECTS/CFU for the MBE curriculum or to 40 ECTS/CFU for the EBES curriculum).
The thesis work should be carried out under the guidance of a thesis supervisor and can be carried out in the laboratories of the University of Salento or in public and/or private research institutions, located in Italy or abroad. If the thesis is carried out in external structures (out of the University of Salento) it is necessary to appoint an external rapporteur, as well as the internal one. By the final test, the student must demonstrate cultural maturity, the ability to personal computing, and the ability to effectively communicate the theme addressed.
Admissions
Program Tuition Fee
Scholarships and Funding
All international students are entitled to the same student assistance services as Italian students and can apply for scholarships, student loans, housing assistance, canteen meal tickets, and so on.