Wallops Island Marine Science Consortium Program at Shippensburg University
Shippensburg University and its faculty are proud to offer our students a number of opportunities to enhance their learning through field studies in a range of science disciplines.
A unique cooperative agreement between Shippensburg University and ~12 other academic institutions allows Ship to offer experiences through the Marine Science Consortium as a part of our regular curriculum. The Chincoteague Bay Field Station (CBFS) is a nonprofit corporation created by the member institutions in order to pool resources including: facilities, instructors, and equipment. The consortium facilities, located adjacent to Chincoteague Bay, the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, the Assateague National Sheashore, and NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility in Accomack County, VA , provide opportunities for research and study of geological, physical, chemical, and biological components of terrestrial, estuarine, salt marsh and normal marine environments - all within a short distance of the MSC facilities.
Primary facilities on the MSC campus include: biology laboratories, marine geology and chemistry laboratories, a number of classrooms, computer lab, library, administrative offices, cafeteria, equipment rooms, an aqua lab, plus housing for students (Pre-College and College) and faculty. In addition to physical facilities, there are also three vessels owned by the MSC and range in length from 38'-50'. These vessels are available for educational and research purposes both inshore or in the case of the R.V. Parker, for offshore investigations. Numerous small boats are also available for projects near the station. After nearly 30 years of extensive use by hundreds of high school and college students since 1974 when the MSC obtained the campus, the facilities at MSC are now in the process of major renovations. A new cafeteria has been built and demolition and construction of new dormitory facilities are currently underway.
You can make use of this amazing resource in one of three ways.
- You can take courses here at Ship that include field experiences at Wallops Island and the Marine Science Consortium (contact Dr. Pablo Delis and Dr. Richard Stewart in the Biology Department or Dr. Sean Cornell, in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences).
- You can take part by designing a faculty-student research project that encompasses use of these facilities.
- You can take summer courses at MSC, enroll through Shippensburg and receive credit on your Shippensburg University Transcript.
- Please check out the following page for more details http://ship.edu/msconsortium/
If you have any problems, please feel free to contact us:
Dr. Sean Cornell
Marine Science Consortium Coordinator
Department of Geography and Earth Science
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Shippensburg, PA 17257
Telephone: 717-477-1310
E-mail: srcornell@ship.edu
- or -
Dr. Pablo Delis
Marine Science Consortium Coordinator
Department of Biology
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Shippensburg, PA 17257
Telephone: 717-477-1092
E-mail: prdeli@ship.edu