Vision for the minor
Marine and coastal scientific and management issues are technically and socially complex, involving many forms of science, interests, perspectives, and stakeholders. There is much uncertainty in modeling forecast and policy outcome associated with climate change and global markets. This interdisciplinary minor will provide graduate students with knowledge and skills to quantify and communicate risk and uncertainty derived from the analyses of large data in earth system science. The minor is focused on marine science and resource management, yet will be relevant to students from a variety of fields. Students will extend their ability to perceive and solve problems in a transdisciplinary context related to statistical inference, uncertainty quantification, risk analyses, earth system science, and social systems. Students will also acquire professional skills in communication and collaboration. The world is changing. Join us in becoming more resilient. The minor is open to all OSU graduate students.
Learning Goals
SOCIAL SYSTEMS
The “social or human system” component is one of the key elements of a coupled natural human system. Specifically, it encompasses the social, cultural, economic, management, and policy aspects of the system, and how they interact with each other and with their environment. Disciplinary approaches to the human system include Anthropology, Sociology, Policy, Economics, etc. The goal of the “social systems” training component of the graduate RU minor is to learn about social science methods, theory and/or applications as they relate to a marine, coupled natural human system. We expect RU minor students to complete the requirements by taking at least one course in this area. The course must allow students to: (1) Recognize the perspective of the particular discipline or area of study, (2) Understand and respect the various methodological approaches used in the social sciences (qualitative and/or quantitative), their possibilities and limitations, and how these may be best integrated to the earth systems, big data or R&U component of the minor, (3) Explain and extract the scalar nature of the course material, whether it is related to cultural, social, institutional, management, or policy aspects of a system, (4) Critically assess gaps or opportunities for inclusion of social, cultural, or economic elements of a natural system, and vice versa.
RISK AND UNCERTAINTY
The goal of the risk and uncertainty quantification training component of the graduate RU minor is to understand and acquire mastery of some of the fundamental mathematical/computational and statistical methods for quantifying uncertainty and analyzing risk for decision making. NRT students seeking the graduate minor are expected to acquire (mathematical/computational/statistical) tools that can be used to describe and assess risk and uncertainty in problems related to the marine, coupled natural human system. Students have options to choose from a variety of courses dealing with the mathematical foundations of risk and uncertainty involving mathematical techniques in (i) decision making under uncertainty (ii) ruin probabilities (iii) measures of variability (iv) probabilities of rare events and large deviations (v) Monte Carlo simulation (vi) optimization and dynamic programming (vii) stochastic models in biology pertaining to spread of disease and related phenomena. Students are expected to acquire experience in a combination of computational, simulation and/or theoretical approaches. NRT (National Research Traineeship) students with a social science or human dimension component will be expected to understand and become literate and conversant in the quantitative aspects of risk and uncertainty quantification.
EARTH SYSTEMS
Students will develop an integrated understanding of the Earth System, including biological, physical and geological mechanisms that affect earth climate, species dynamics and interactions, elemental cycles and ecosystem services. The emphasis will be on understanding the linkages between physics, biology, geology, and chemistry from a system theory perspective, and on how these linkages affect earth’s biogeochemical processes. Disciplinary components of the Earth System module include biological, chemical and physical oceanography, biogeochemestry, geology, climate and atmospheric sciences, and ecology.
BIG DATA
Issues surrounding massive data sets (“big” data) are intertwined with data-enabled science and engineering. The goals of the big data training component are for students (1) to acquire computational and data-management skills necessary for handling and processing large data sets, and (2) to assess the value of information obtained from big data with respect to such issues as observation bias, signal versus noise, spurious relationships, and incidental endogeneity. Much of the training in big data management and processes is acquired through hands-on experiences. Specific components of the big data module include handling and processing massive datasets; being able to identify and articulate the limitations of big data sets; implementing classification, clustering and/or network analyses as appropriate.
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Requirements:
Graduate Ph.D students are required to complete at least 18 credit hours, M.S. students are required to complete at least 15 credit hours for the minor.
All students complete the professional development (6 credits) requirement.
Ph.D students take 1 course from each of the 4 remaining areas (Big data and uncertainty quantification, Risk analyses, Earth systems, and Social systems).
M.S. students take 1 course in Social systems and 1 in Earth systems and choose 1 course from either Big data and uncertainty quantification or Risk analysis.
There must be a minor professor in the student’s committee. The minor professor is in any of the fields where course designators fall but must not be from student’s major or college.
Additionally, NRT trainees will fulfill research and professional development requirements listed in Training elements table.
There may be class substitutions in some cases.
Link to the minor in the OSU Course Catalog.
| Learning Outcomes | Class/Credit hours | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|
| Professional Development | MRM 525 Seminar in Transdisciplinary Research (6) (*2 credit hours each fall, winter, and spring terms) in: a.) (part 1) Marine and Earth Systems Science: Foundations in Risk and Uncertainty (2) b.) (part 2) Marine and Earth Systems Science: Collaborative Working Structures in Risk and Uncertainty (2) c.) (part 3) Marine and Earth Systems Science: Communication of Risk and Uncertainty (2) | Graduate standing ++Please note below |
| Big Data and Uncertainty Quantification 3-4 CREDITS REQUIRED | #ST 599 Special Topics in Big Data and Uncertainty Quantification (3) | Graduate standing |
| Big Data and Uncertainty Quantification | #ST 538 Modern Analytical Methods for Large and Complex Datasets (3) | TBD |
| Big Data and Uncertainty Quantification | GEOG 565-Spatio-Temporal Variation in Ecology and Earth Science (4) | ST 411 or ST 511 (Methods of Data Analysis) Recommended but not enforced |
| Big Data and Uncertainty Quantification | GEOG 566- Advanced Spatial Statistics and Gis-Science (4) | None |
| Big Data and Uncertainty Quantification | *CS 534-Machine Learning (4) | Graduate standing |
| Big Data and Uncertainty Quantification | *CS 515-Algorithms and Data Structure (4) | Graduate standing in computer science and an undergraduate course in algorithms |
| Risk Analysis 3-4 CREDITS REQUIRED | #MTH 599- Special Topics in Risk Analysis (3) | Graduate standing |
| Risk Analysis | MTH 567- Actuarial Mathematics (3) | MTH 463 or MTH 563 (Probability I) or ST 421 (Introduction to Mathematical Statistics) or permission from instructor |
| Risk Analysis | MTH 563- Probability I (3) | MTH 312 (Advanced Calculus) or instructor approval required |
| Risk Analysis | MTH 527-Introduction to Mathematical Biology (3) | MTH 256 or MTH 256H (Applied Differential Equations) and MTH 341 (Linear Algebra) |
| Risk Analysis | %ME 515- Risk and Reliability Analysis in Engineering Design (4) | None but probability and statistics recommended |
| Risk Analysis | FW 544 Quantitative Decision Analysis for Fish and Wildlife Management (4) | ST 511 and ST 512 or equivalent, basic background in animal population dynamics and management. |
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| Earth Systems | #OC 599- Special Topics in Earth System Science (3) | Graduate Standing |
| Earth Systems | *OEAS 540-Bio-Geochemical Earth (4) | One year of physics, chemistry, and calculus, or instructor permission |
| Earth Systems | *OEAS 520-The Solid Earth (4) | One year each of physics, chemistry, calculus, or instructor permission. |
| Earth Systems | *OEAS 530-The Fluid Earth (4) | One year each of physics, chemistry, calculus, or science background and permission of instructor; field course. |
| Earth Systems | OC 533-Coast and Estuarine Oceanography (3) | One year of college physics and one year of calculus |
| Earth Systems | OC 523-Ocean Ecological Dynamics (4) | None |
| Earth Systems | OC /FW 534 Estuarine Ecology (4) | None |
| Earth Systems | ATS 520-Principles of Climate (4) | MTH 252 and (PH 202 or PH 202H or PH 212 or PH 212H) students are required to also take OC 523 (Ocean Ecological Dynamics) and Bachelor's degree in scientific field or consent of instructor. OEB students are required to also take OC 523 (Ocean Ecological Dynamics) and OC 521 (Applications in Ocean Ecology and Biogeochemistry) as part of first-year Tier Two curriculum. COREQS: OC 521, OC 523 |
| Earth Systems | %GEO 550-Coastal Hazards: Processes, Response, and Adaptation (3) | College-level calculus, physics and geology recommended |
| Earth Systems | **GEO/SOIL 684-Global Biogeochemical Cycles (4) | One year of college-level physics and chemistry, including introductory biology or equivalent. One year of graduate course work in soil, earth, ocean, atmospheric, or forest science or equivalent or consent of instructor |
| Social Systems 3-4 CREDITS REQUIRED | #COMM 599- Special Topics in Social Systems (3) | Graduate standing |
| Social Systems | PPOL 546- The Policy and Law of United States Coastal Governance (4) | None |
| Social Systems | PPOL 545-International Marine Policy (4) | None |
| Social Systems | PPOL 548- Marine Policy (4) | None |
| Social Systems | SOC 581- Society and Natural Resources (4) | SOC 204 or SOC 204H |
| Social Systems | MRM 530 – Principles and Practices of MRM (3) | None |
| Social Systems | ANTH 581 – Natural Resources and Community Values (4) | 3 credits of social science |
| Social Systems | AEC/MRM 552 – Marine Economics (3) | AEC 351 or AEC 352 or AREC 351 or AREC 352 or permission from instructor |
*Classes where a more advanced class can be substituted.
** Ph.D. standing required
++ Students who take b.) must have taken a.). Students who take c.) must have taken a.) & b.)
# Class not yet offered
% Not offered until Winter, 2018
