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BSc (Hons) Marine Environmental Science

Peter DiCaprio

Peter DiCaprio Being a keen angler and sea kayaker, I have always had an interest in the sea. After my first son was born in 2005, I looked long and hard at my values and ideas and discovered how strongly I felt about issues connected with the oceans. I then decided to make my interest my career and applied to the University of Portsmouth.

Portsmouth was one of only two universities that were offering a Marine Environmental Science course. They also offered a Foundation year for those without the appropriate qualifications or for those like me, who had been out of education for a while. With a young family, the ability to attend Portsmouth was beneficial, as travelling or staying at another university would not have been an option.

After graduation, prospects look good, as there is a strong market for environmental scientists. My two main areas of interest are conservation and management of the marine environment and/or to further the work on microplastic fragments in the marine environment, which formed the basis of my year three project.

The course is excellent, delivering a full range of disciplines you would expect to come across in the environmental sector. Collecting data/samples in the field, analysing samples in the labs and presenting data in different ways, whether in poster presentations, computer models or report form. I have covered subjects from chemistry, biology and physics through to conservation, coastal management and environmental auditing. You are encouraged from the beginning to do everything in a professional and legal format. The course involves plenty of fieldwork, from local sites of interest to a week in Somerset in year one, a week in Malta in year two and a study tour in Belize in year three.

The S.E.E.S department is relaxed but professional. You are training to be a scientist and are treated as such. The labs have the most up-to-date analytical equipment, allowing you to gain hands-on experience on each technique. There is a lot of background reading, mainly primary literature from journal articles, for which the Library’s databases are excellent. Both on and off campus access is available and with two computer rooms in the department, computer access is not a problem. The E-Learning board system ‘Victory’ is a godsend, as all information from the lectures and the overall course can be placed and accessed easily again both on and off campus, with the ability of opening discussion boards on each subject.

The support on offer at the University of Portsmouth is outstanding; all you have to do is ask. For instance, the staff at the Student Finance centre should be held in the highest regard. They will do all they can if you need help and advice on money matters, especially when dealing with local authorities and government departments. The Purple Doors department will help with employment, recruitment and general CV information.

I am a keen kayaker and spend as much time as possible around the local harbours. I am also a Marine Mammal Medic with the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and hoping to become area coordinator for them. For the second year running, I am course Student Representative. I liaise between staff and students on all aspects of the course and help, or point fellow students in the direction of help, for academic or personal reasons.

Being a “local lad”, Portsmouth holds no real secrets, but I do enjoy seeing others discovering its variety of entertainment as there is something for everyone.