Oregon Institute of Marine Biology

 

Study on the Oregon Coast

At the University of Oregon’s marine lab, the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, we combine world-class research in marine sciences with immersive undergraduate and graduate education and community engagement.

Students and teacher conducting research on marine life

Get a Degree in Marine Biology

The University of Oregon offers a rigorous undergraduate major in Marine Biology, as well as master’s and doctorate programs. Our marine biology majors spend a full academic year studying at OIMB.

Look How Far We’ve Come

A hundred years ago, the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology began as a humble camp on the coast. Today, watch as students in Dr. Rowan McLachlan’s Biological Oceanography class conduct a research cruise on the Megalopa, where they use a range of oceanographic equipment to sample seawater salinity, chlorophyll and phosphate concentration, zooplankton density, and more.

Group of researchers standing together in front of a research vessel

Engage in Marine Research

OIMB faculty and graduate students conduct world-renowned research in marine science. Students have numerous opportunities to conduct research in OIMB faculty’s labs, internships with local partners and our NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates program.

Lounge room filled with displays of marine life

Explore Marine Life

As the public outreach center of OIMB, the Charleston Marine Life Center highlights the diversity of marine life off Oregon’s coast and university research. The center offers public hours and both K-12 and public programming.

Cliffs and ocean with rocks in the foreground

Study Oregon Coast Habitats

OIMB is located in one of the most spectacular places anywhere to study marine organisms and ecosystems. From rocky intertidal and the Coos Bay Estuary to kelp forests and the deep-sea, OIMB has access to it all.

Oregon Institute of Marine Biology News and Events

MARINE BIOLOGY — After studying brittle star plankton larvae at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, researchers recently published research that deepens the understanding of marine life along the Oregon coast and connection to distant regions.
Highlights from the June 15 University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences commencement ceremonies at Autzen Stadium and Matthew Knight Arena.
BIOLOGY - Marine biologist Alan Shanks has a simple trap that allows him to predict the amount of Dungeness crab will be available for fisherfolk. For the past 25 years, Shanks has compared the yields of the winter commercial catch to the baby crabs his water-jug trap collects each summer. He’s found that the number of baby crabs that arrive on the coast can be used to estimate the size of the state’s commercial harvest of adult Dungeness crab years in the future, with a 12 percent margin of error.

All news »OIMB quarterly newsletter »

Great Oregon ShakeOut

Oct

15

Great Oregon ShakeOut

Oct 15
History Department Fall Term Coffee Hour

Oct

15

History Department Fall Term Coffee Hour

Oct 15 McKenzie Hall
Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Fall Open House

Oct

15

Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Fall Open House

Oct 15 Hendricks Lawn
History Dept. Seminar: “From Cabinets of Curiosity to Global Science: How Southeast Asia Shaped Modern Natural History”

Oct

15

History Dept. Seminar: “From Cabinets of Curiosity to Global Science: How Southeast Asia Shaped Modern Natural History”

Oct 15 McKenzie Hall
Jeremiah Public Lecture: "Finding Sustainable Transitions in Declining Japanese Municipalities"

Oct

15

Jeremiah Public Lecture: "Finding Sustainable Transitions in Declining Japanese Municipalities"

Oct 15 Knight Library
Career Tour - Tech + Design Edition

Oct

16

Career Tour - Tech + Design Edition

Oct 16 Ford Alumni Center
Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies: Welcome Event

Oct

16

Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies: Welcome Event

Oct 16 McKenzie Hall
Job Shadow Day Info Session

Oct

19

Job Shadow Day Info Session

Oct 19 Willie and Donald Tykeson Hall
Cinema Studies Fall Term Coffee Hours

Oct

20

Cinema Studies Fall Term Coffee Hours

Oct 20 Villard Hall
Your Future in Sustainability (Career Panel + Networking)

Oct

20

Your Future in Sustainability (Career Panel + Networking)

Oct 20 Willie and Donald Tykeson Hall

All events »

Land Acknowledgement

The Oregon Institute of Marine Biology is located on the traditional lands of the Miluk Coos people who have managed these lands for abundance since time immemorial. We recognize the continued connection of the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, the Coquille (ko-KWELL) Indian Tribe, and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians to these lands and waters and the Tribes’ ongoing stewardship of this important place.