Academic Content

Training Tomorrow’s Ocean Leaders

The South African Master of Ocean Sciences (SAMOS) intends to co-develop a new Master programme in the field of Ocean Sciences within a consortium of 9 South African universities and 5 international partners. The aim of this Masters Programme is to form a new generation of multidisciplinary skilled scientists capable of operating in the marine sciences services sector on operational, conservational and research activities. This unique curriculum embraces the global move towards interdisciplinarity in research and teaching, and makes best use of scattered expertise within South Africa. It includes coursework and a minor-dissertation. The coursework structure will expand on the established University of Cape Town (UCT)’s Applied Ocean Sciences (AOS) Masters degree, with the opportunity for students to benefit from the universities and experts, drawn from across the South African and international marine landscape. Those who wish to acquire the knowledge, skills, competencies, attitudes and values which are required to contribute to a sustainable Blue Economy, are encouraged to apply.

For the 2026 launching phase, applicants will register at, and receive the degree from the University of Cape Town (UCT)’s Applied Ocean Sciences (AOS) Masters. Most of the coursework will take place at the Nelson Mandela University Ocean Sciences Campus, in Gqeberha. The Ocean Sciences Campus provides modern and equipped teaching and research facilities. Students will then be given the opportunity to conduct their minor dissertation within one of the SAMOS South African partner universities.

AOS-SAMOS Course Structure

The AOS-SAMOS Masters is a taught Master programme with a research project component. It is a full-time (180 credits) programme commencing in February 2026 and comprising coursework (90 credits) and a minor dissertation (90 credits). Students will also benefit from a number of activities, including a seminar series from international and national experts and site visits to public and private sector stakeholders.

The coursework provides interdisciplinary vocational training in applied aspects of oceanography and marine biology for future ocean professionals. The course is designed for both recent graduates as well as those with minimum five years’ work experience*. Students will gain skills to operate in the ocean services sector, with a focus on operational,  conservational and consulting activities in ocean ecosystem’s characterisation,  food, water quality and other aspects of the Blue Economy.

*Candidates who don’t meet the academic requirements can apply for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) if they meet the requirements which includes a minimum five years’ work experience. Visit the Recognition of Prior Learning Overview page for more information.

The course code BIO5012W represents the overall coursework component and will reflect the overall coursework result. This full-time Master with coursework and minor dissertation is offered over one or two years, with SAMOS-funded students being able to defer the minor dissertation component to the second year.

The curriculum offers a choice of two streams: Applied Marine Biology (BIO5014Z) and Operational Oceanography (SEA5011Z), both of 40 NQF credits, with a common course in Foundations of Applied Ocean Sciences (BIO5013Z) of 50 NQF credits.

The coursework component will mostly be delivered at Nelson Mandela University, Ocean Sciences Campus, Gqeberha over 15 weeks between February and June 2026. Students will be required to be physically present in Gqeberha for the duration of the coursework.

BIO5013Z: Foundational Modules

This core module focuses on paths to achieving sustainability in marine social-ecological systems. It will address the complexity of the task, and introduce students to varied concepts and approaches, using African examples where possible. The treated topics include project management, economics, law, socio-cultural systems, and institutional and governance arrangements.

This core module ensures all students have basic knowledge of key physical, chemical, geological and biological concepts to help them understand how marine ecosystems function. Ecosystems will be covered in an interdisciplinary context, using African examples from eastern boundary, western boundary, tropical and polar regions.

This core module will provide introductory numerical skills in handling and analysing data. It will cover major statistical concepts and provide background knowledge of scientific programming, data management, and data visualisation (including mapping), focusing on the main applications found in ocean sciences. Key packages to be used will be Ocean Data View, R and Python.

BIO5014Z: Specialised module – Applied Marine Biology

SEA5011Z Specialised modules: Operational Oceanography

Minor Dissertation (90 Credits)

The purpose of this module is to provide students, who want to specialise in a field of ocean sciences, with research design and research project execution knowledge and skills to deal with and address issues and demands related to different ocean sciences disciplines. Students can choose to register for the minor dissertation in a number of disciplines offered by the SAMOS partner universities.

Note that students applying for NRF funding must identify a supervisor in order to elaborate a research proposal prior to their application. Therefore, students who were registered in 2025 within one of the South African Universities of the SAMOS consortium should contact directly the SAMOS reference person of this university (see list further down the page). For other students, the Research thematics page provides a non-exhaustive list of potential research projects and supervisors within the SAMOS consortium.

Please visit the Research thematics page for a list of expertise and potential research thematics available across the partner universities.   

  1. Apply a whole-of-systems approach to sustainability within an ocean sciences context
  2. Integrate knowledge of the dynamics of regional marine ecosystems to construct new knowledge and address ocean sciences problems
  3. Apply quantitative skills in collecting and analysing ocean sciences data
  4. Select and research an appropriate topic based on a theoretical or practical problem that is relevant to the ocean sciences and that will result in some form of theoretical or practical contribution to knowledge in an ocean sciences related field in the form of a treatise or journal article
  5. Apply analytical and computational tools that require enhanced understanding to ocean sciences related data sets
  6. Apply models in ocean sciences, with specific examples of applications in different disciplines
  7. Apply some of the increasingly complex tools and technologies being used in ocean sciences
  8. Use baseline information and methods for monitoring change to understand and monitor the impacts of human activities in the ocean
  9. Investigate approaches to sustainable development linked to various economic sectors
  10. Deconstruct “hot topics” that threaten ocean sustainability or provide new opportunities for economic activities, particularly those arising from global change
  11. Be proficient in working in multi-disciplinary teams to address problems and issues in ocean sciences