Life in Hawai‘i is defined by the Pacific Ocean.
The ocean is the bedrock of the economy and plays a significant role in local and Native Hawaiian culture. The state is an ideal place to study and research the marine world, and Chaminade University students now have the opportunity to do just that.
Beginning Fall 2027, students can apply to the new Bachelor of Arts in Marine & Oceanic Sustainability program. The new degree aligns with Chaminade’s strategic vision to improve academic excellence and marks a step change in the university’s embrace of its Pacific heritage, exposing students to the rigors of scientific discovery and thoughtful inquiry through humanities traditions.
“The new degree program prepares students for careers in the burgeoning ‘blue economy,’” said College of Arts & Sciences co-Dean Gail Grabowsky, Ph.D.
“According to the United Nations, as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, jobs in the blue economy are growing more rapidly than in other major fields,” Grabowsky explained.
The Marine & Oceanic Sustainability degree program is the only one of its kind in Hawai‘i, preparing students for careers in marine-oriented fields by combining studies in the natural sciences, including biology and oceanography, with humanities disciplines like psychology, law, and art.
“It is highly interdisciplinary, bringing together the sciences and humanities in meaningful and exciting ways,” explained Justin Wyble, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor of English at Chaminade University. “This program is quite unique for this reason.”
Wyble, who helped design the new undergraduate major with colleagues and university leadership, said the program’s coursework and schedule are designed to give students greater awareness and appreciation of Hawai‘i and Oceania while training them to conduct real, impactful marine science research and investigations.
The program is very much career-oriented, he stressed. Marine & Oceanic Sustainability students will be taught to apply their education and training toward clear career paths in the expanding marine policy, conservation, restoration, and tourism economies.
“This program is a great opportunity to highlight the unique ocean cultures of Hawai’i and the Pacific,” Wyble added. “It prepares our students for many popular ocean-related careers here and throughout Oceania.”
The coursework underpinning the Marine and Oceanic Sustainability major reflects this.
Pre-major courses include a first-year science seminar. That foundation prepares students for subsequent class and lab work in marine science, environmental science, fisheries science, biology, oceanography, and conservation science.
Upon becoming better grounded in natural sciences, students are then immersed in the rich humanities fields as they relate to the Pacific and the world’s oceanic environments. For instance, the path also includes coursework in law, anthropology, and psychology.
The major also incorporates study of oceanic arts and literature–how the oceans are depicted in popular fiction and film. Housed within the new College of Arts & Sciences, the Marine & Oceanic Sustainability major is as practical as it is artistically enriching.
Foundational study of the sciences and humanities combined prepares Marine & Oceanic Sustainability majors for further fine-tuned training in marine policy, regenerative tourism, data science, and communications, among other offerings.
Wyble said that planners are emphasizing a strong balance between disciplines.
“As we were developing the curriculum for this program, we were committed to finding an equal balance between the science courses and the humanities courses, as well as related disciplines from the other colleges,” he said. “I see it complementing other major and minor programs across campus, especially Environmental Science; Environmental Studies; Law, History & Culture; and Applied Arts & Digital Media.”
Graduates of Chaminade’s Marine & Oceanic Sustainability program will be qualified to pursue work in fisheries management and science, natural resources management, coastal management and restoration, coastal recreation, ecotourism, coral reef restoration, education, advocacy and conservation, and even marine and coastal journalism, among a host of other potential paths.
The major also leans on the best of Polynesian and Native Hawaiian knowledge and experience to ground students with a better sense of purpose, place, and community wellbeing, in keeping with Chaminade’s 2030 strategic plan.
“We want them to know the ocean,” said Grabowsky. “We want them to know the ocean from the Pacific Islanders’ perspective as much as possible; that the ocean is a connector for them.
“It’s the blue continent, not a divider.”
Wyble says he hopes the new major will attract students looking to effect real and positive changes at home and abroad, considering the tremendous challenges facing the world’s ocean environments and communities.
The program’s organizers expect it to draw interest from not only Hawai‘i, but across the Pacific Rim and Oceania, especially from people “who want to give back to their home island’s cultures, economies, and ecologies after graduation,” Wyble said.
“If you love and care about the ocean, this major will prepare you to give back to it in meaningful ways: environmentally, economically, and culturally,” he said.