Scripps Oceanography Master's program in Climate Science and Policy

🧪Testing the Waters (literally):

MAS CSP student Naomi Howard (.nh_) conducting sampling as part of the Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring Alert Program (California HABMAP). 🌊

The Coastal Ocean Observing Lab here at Scripps maintains weekly sampling at the Scripps Pier in order to observe a number of core measurements, including taxonomy and abundance of harmful algal bloom species, as well as domoic acid concentrations. Domoic acid is a potent neurotoxin generated by some species of Pseudo-nitzschia (a species harmful algal bloom) that can cause shellfish poisoning. 🦠

This testing is critical for determining safety precautions related to marine economies, ecosystems, and the public. 🌏

In the spirit of the giving season, we’re gifting you additional information sessions for more chances to learn about the MAS CSP Program!🎁

Join us for a session before our application deadline — link to register is in the Linktree in our bio!🎉

🌎Priority Deadline: January 21st, 2026
🌎Regular Deadline: March 18th, 2026

Happy Halloween!🎃👻🦇

While climate change might be scary, you don’t have to face it alone. Our program helps you take action — no tricks, just the tools, skills, and community to make a meaningful impact (and that’s a real treat!🍬)

Ready to be part of the solution?

Applications are open now! 👻🌎 Check out the link in our bio to learn more!

With the summer session wrapping up last week, here’s a little throwback to one of our “Climate Policy” week discussions!

🌀The MAS CSP cohort ended their Climate Policy centered week of summer session with an interactive and thought-provoking policy discussion.

The annual activity centered around the New York Times article “Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change” by Nathaniel Rich. The article describes the failed attempts by scientists and politicians to address the climate crisis and pass legislation in the 1980s.

Students were each assigned a character from the article (which they were encouraged to dress up as), ranging from Scripps faculty member Roger Revelle to Senator Al Gore, and were tasked with relaying that character’s viewpoints from the story. The activity provided understanding of why events played out how they did, and gave insight into the minds of past decision-makers.

We are immensely proud of our student’s hard-work and dedication this summer (and the dedication to the embodiment of their Losing Earth characters deserves a round-of-applause on its own)!🌀

Wishing the cohort a restful break before Fall quarter begins!🍂

As part of our 7-week summer session, our students spend one week getting a crash course in climate math and data analysis processes. This year, our cohort split up into groups in order to sample beach sediments at different locations along the San Diego coastline. Beach sediment species in the intertidal zone are known to vary significantly along the coast, but the degree and extent of this variation is not characterized well.

By collecting and analyzing samples across Oceanside, Mission Bay, and Coronado, our team investigated the emergence of spatial patterns, which mechanisms are dominant drivers of the observed distribution, and how these patterns change over time. This project will provide samples for over 120km of coastline, and has important implications for Scripps’ long-term beach monitoring. 🐚🏝️🌊

Our students also looked pretty cool with their beach sampling gear! 🦺

🌎Our 2026-2027 Application is officially OPEN! If you’re ready to take the next step in your journey towards a career making a difference in the face of climate change, this is the program for you. Our interdisciplinary, 11-month program is designed to meet you where you’re at, and provide you with the resources to forge a path forward in the climate space through professional training. To learn more about our curriculum, our alumni network, and the research that past cohorts have completed, please visit our website (in bio) or register for one of our monthly information sessions! 🌎🌱💙🌊⚡️

☀️With our application opening on September 3rd, be sure to sign up for an information session to learn more about the MAS CSP program!!

Register for any of the sessions above at the link in our bio to take the first step in pursuing your future in the climate space.🌱

We hope to see you there!🌎🌀

A big warm welcome to our incoming class of 2025 - 2026!🥳 We could not be more excited to welcome you all to the CSP and the Scripps community — each and every one of you has incredible talent and insight, and we cant wait to see the work you accomplish over the next year (and beyond)! Especially during this political environment, dedication to climate science and policy is necessary now more than ever. Thank you, 2025 - 2026 cohort, for taking the leap and stepping up to the plate. 🌎🌱 Here’s to a great year ahead!