Programme

Master Degree (M.Sc.)

About Course Programme

Department of Marine Sciences was established in the year 1978 in Berhampur University. Berhampur University is the only university in the state which offers M.Sc, M.Phil. and Ph.D/D.Sc. courses in Oceanography and Marine Biology. The prime objective to establish such a department was to prepare quality manpower in the field of Marine Sciences, both through teaching and research, to meet the demand of the state as well the country. Orissa has a long coastline of 480 Km. and is bestowed with unique ecosystems, estuaries, coastal and marine living and non-living resources and beautiful sandy beaches. Developmental activities such as construction of ports and harbors, aquaculture and other industries, tourism etc. are mostly concentrated along the coastal belt. But coastal hazards such as cyclones and floods, which very often ravage the Orissa coast, retard the developmental activities to a large extent. Keeping in view the strategic importance of the coastal areas of Orissa for defence, tourism etc., the Govt. of Orissa in co-ordination with the Central Government has initiated the integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) programme for all round development of the state. Therefore to promote such activities and to make sustainable management of the natural and physical resources of the coastal environment, and to provide the right momentum to the developmental activities, there is an imminent need to involve skilled manpower in the field of Marine Sciences. The Department of Marine Sciences has been striving to achieve this goal since its inception. Besides the development of the state, the students of Marine Sciences are actively involved in the national and international development and a few of them have proved themselves as leaders in the field of Marine Sciences and allied subjects. While pursuing master degree in Oceanography students are trained in the advanced areas of Chemical, Geological, Physical and Biological oceanography, Meteorology, Mathematics & Statistics and Remote Sensing. Marine Biology students are trained in the fields of General Oceanography, Mathematics & Statistics, Fishery Biology, Fish Technology, Aquaculture, Marine Ecology and Pollution, Plankton and Productivity. Besides they are also trained in remote sensing applications.

Mission

• To provide quality education in the field of Oceanography, Marine Biology and allied fields and produce skilled manpower
• To provide academic support to post graduate / M.Phil / Research programmes of the university in the discipline of Marine Sciences.
• To provide extension services to the user agencies in advisory capacity or by undertaking operational projects as service provider.
• To undertake cutting edge R&D projects and organize workshop/ seminars / trainings to promote the courses of Marine Sciences.

How to Enter into the Course Programme

Dept. of Marine Sciences is offering two years (4 semester) Post Graduate Programme in Oceanography and Marine Biology. The admission to this programme is being done on the basis of the marks secured in the qualifying B.Sc Examination and carrier marks taken together.

1. Eligibility condition for OCEANOGRAPHY: Students with B.Sc degree in Physics and Chemistry/ Geology/Mathematics/Environment/Water management/Environmental Science/Geography/Computer Science are eligible for admission to Oceanography.
2. Eligibility condition for MARINE BIOLOGY: Students with B.Sc. degree in Botany and Zoology/ Chemistry/Biological Techniques/Specimen preservation/Environmental Science are eligible for admission to Marine Biology.

Class Schedule

There are six working days in a week. The classes are held as per the time table for each semester.

M.Phil

About Course Programme

No of seats in M. Phil

Oceanography: 1

Marine Biology: 1

How to Enter into the Course Programme

A candidate having M.Sc. degree in Oceanography and Marine Biology is eligible to take admission into the respective streams after successful completion of entrance test conducted by the university followed by an interview. The entrance test comprises of one paper of 100 marks (50 marks objective type questions and 50 marks for short answer type questions).

Class Schedule

There are six working days in a week. The classes are held as per the time table for each semester. Besides, the students also take advice of the concerned guide and prepare their dissertations.

Ph.D.

About Course Programme

Ph. D degrees are offered in Marine Sciences ( Oceanography and Marine Biology). The Ph. D studies are being undertaken in the fields of Physical Oceanography, Chemical Oceanography, Geological Oceanography, Meteorology, Remote Sensing and GIS applications to Coastal Zone Management, EIA studies, Marine Fisheries, Biological Oceanography and Pollution etc..

How to Enter into the Course Programme

Marine science is an interdisciplinary subject. A candidate with at least 55% marks or an equivalent grade and 50% of marks or an equivalent grade for SC & ST and Physically challenged candidate in relevant subjects at M.Sc. level is eligible to appear at the university research eligibility test (URET).

Course Schedule

After admission into the Ph. D programme a candidate is required to undertake course work on a regular basis for a minimum period of one semester. The course work shall comprise of three papers of 100 marks each and two papers of 50 marks each.

D.Sc.

Candidates are eligible to undergo D.SC. programme after completion of Ph. D in the relevant subjects and should have at least three research articles published in international/national peer reviewed journals of repute.

There is no course work for D.Sc.

Download Curriculum / Syllabi

People

Dr. Tamoghna Acharyya
Associate Professor and Head
M.Sc., Ph.D.
Marine biogeochemistry
Email:[email protected]
Home Page | Publication

Dr. Tamoghna Acharyya joined as an Associate Professor of Oceanography (Marine Geochemistry), at the Post Graduate Department of Marine Sciences, Berhampur University in November 2022. Before joining Berhampur University, he served nearly seven and half years at the School of Sustainability, XIM University as Assistant Professor and later Associate Professor. Dr. Acharyya pursued his doctoral studies in Oceanography at Andhra University as a CSIR Shyama Prasad Mukherjee fellow after securing the top rank in CSIR- Earth Science NET examination. During his Ph.D., he qualified for Earth and Environmental Science NET conducted by CSIR (Dec 2006, June, and December 2008), UGC (June 2007), ICMR (July 2007), and ICAR (March 2014). He has more than 15 years of research experience in estuarine and coastal biogeochemistry in the western Bay of Bengal and estuaries. He has published several articles in various international journals with a high impact factor. He was selected as Dr. Kothari Post � Doctoral fellow, a fellowship scheme of UGC in the subject category of Earth and Ocean Sciences, in February 2015. His areas of research interest include marine biogeochemistry, pigment chemotaxonomy, phytoplankton trophodynamics, management of aquatic living resources, ocean colour remote sensing, and impacts of climate change on aquatic ecosystems. Recently, he successfully completed two major research projects in Mahanadi estuary and Chilika lagoon funded by DST- SERB and the Ministry of Earth science, respectively.

Dr. Shesdev Patro
Assistant Professor
Ph. D
Email:[email protected]
Home Page | Publication

Dr. Shesdev Patro has completed his Ph.D. degree in marine biology and oceanography from Pondicherry University, Port Blair Campus, Andaman. His specialization was on Marine Biotechnology, including laboratory culture of fouling organism like barnacles, culture of live feed, extraction and purification of bioactive compounds, bioassay tests etc. He joined as a lecturer in Department of Marine Sciences, Berhampur University in 2016. Prior to join in Berhampur University, he was working as Scientist B in National Centre for Sustainable Coastal management under Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change during 2013 to 2016. He has done extensive surveys in various coastal ecological habitats such as coral reefs, mangroves and salt marshes spread along the nation including islands of Andaman and Nicobar. He has many national and international publications published in peer reviewed journals and as book chapters to his credit. Additionally, Dr. Patro is an Advanced Open Water Scuba Diver certified by PADI, Australia and conducted many under water surveys in coral reef and seagrass ecosystems of Andaman, Maharashtra, Goa and Tamil Nadu.

Dr. Suchismita Srichandan
Assistant Professor
M.Sc., M.Phil. and Ph.D
Expertise: Plankton Ecology, Algal Pigment Chromatography, Coastal Hydrobiology
Email:[email protected]
Home Page | Publication

Dr. Suchismita Srichandan is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Marine Sciences since October 2021. She has completed her M.Sc., M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees in marine sciences from Berhampur University. Dr. Srichandan has oceanographic teaching/research experience of more than one decade. She has acquired specific skills in plankton taxonomy, algal pigment chromatography, and analysis of several hydro-biological variables. Her research interests include plankton ecology, environmental determinants of algal bloom, trophodynamics in coastal systems, aquatic pollution, and ocean colour remote sensing. She has taken part in several research expeditions in the Indian seas and coastal environments. She has participated in several national/international conferences, symposiums, workshops, and training programmes. Dr. Srichandan has more than 50 research publications to her credit, published in several reputed peer-reviewed national/ international journals and as book chapters. Dr. Srichandan is also a recipient of the DST-SERB National Post Doctoral Fellowship. Before joining Berhampur University, she has successfully carried out research at IMMT (Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology), CDA (Chilika Development Authority), INCOIS (Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services), and CUTM (Centurion University of Technology and Management). Dr. Srichandan is an active member of NF-POGO (Nippon Foundation-Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean).

Dr. Nibedita Behera
Assistant Professor
M. Sc. and Ph. D.
Physical Oceanography and Ocean dynamics
Email:[email protected]
Home Page | Publication

Dr. Nibedita Behera has completed her Master degree in oceanography from Berhampur University. She has completed her PhD from Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar. Her specialization was on physical oceanography, dynamical oceanography, ocean currents and circulation, Bio-physical interaction with in the ocean and atmosphere etc. She joined as assistant professor in Department of Marine Sciences, Berhampur University in October 2021. Prior to join in Berhampur University, she was working as Project Scientist B in Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services under Ministry of Earth Science during September 2019 to September 2021. �She has taken part in two research expeditions in the Bay of Bengal. She has participated in several national/international conferences, symposiums, workshops, and training programs. She has many national and international publications published in peer reviewed journals to her credit. She qualified the National Eligibility Test for Junior Research Fellowship, conducted by Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) exam held in Dec- 2013.

Dr. Pratap Kumar Mohanty
Professor
M.Sc, M.Phil, Ph. D
Email:[email protected]
Home Page | Publication

Dr. Pratap Kumar Mohanty is a Professor at the Marine Sciences Department and presently the Director, IQAC Berhampur University, India. He obtained his Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He has been in the teaching profession for more than 28 years. Professor Mohanty is a Fellow of Commonwealth (U.K). He was a Visiting Scientist at the Walker Institute, University of Reading, U.K. from July-September, 2007. He has to his credit more than 85 research publications in reputed journals, edited volumes and conference proceedings. Most of his publications are in the fields of monsoon studies, coastal processes and climate change. Professor Mohanty has edited two volumes. One of those, published by Springer, is on "Monitoring and Modelling of Lakes and Coastal Environments". He has successfully completed more than ten research, development and consultancy projects. Professor Mohanty has participated in more than 15 different international conferences held in UK, China, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Newzealand, Thailand etc. He has delivered several invited lecturers in different overseas universities and research institutes (like Royal Society, London, Monash University, CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology, Australia, Cambridge University, Plymouth University, Reading University, UK and East China Normal University, China etc.) Professor Mohanty was a member of the state Coastal Zone Management Authority, Odisha during 2008-2011 and is presently nominated as a Member of the State Expert Appraisal Committee constituted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Nine scholars have already received/submitted their Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Mohanty. He is at present shouldering many other responsibilities in the Berhampur University like Director, International Collaboration, Director of Innovation-cum- Incubation Centre, and Coordinator, Special Assistance Programme (UGC).

Facilities

Seminar Library

Department has an independent Seminar Hall with audio-visual system where weekly students seminar are conducted under the supervision of a Teacher-In-Charge. Department has its own library with about 1200 books and several journals / newsletters. Once in a week the students are utilizing the library facility.

Computing

The department has a centralized computer laboratory equipped with internet facility, PC and Server. Softwares such as ERDAS Imagine, Arc-view, MATLAB, Surfer, Stitistica and other statistical packages are available.

Laboratories

The Department has six students' practical laboratories viz, Marine Biology, Fisheries, Marine Chemistry, Marine Geology, Physical Oceanography & Meteorology, and Remote Sensing.

Student Project Work

Students are assigned with project works and used to go to field for field work.

Study Tour

Study tour is a part of the course curriculum. The students visit various national institutes and laboratories relating to ocean science research. Field studies and study tours to different institutes / National laboratories in the area of Marine Sciences are conducted every year.

Research

Research Thrust Areas in the Department

Geochemistry, Remote Sensing and GIS Applications to coastal water, Coastal processes, climate change, EIA Studies, Coastal biodiversity, Coastal aquaculture, Primary Productivity and coastal pollution.

Project Execution in the Department (Ongoing and Completed)

Achievements:

Staff and their achievements

• Prof. P.K. Mohanty has been nominated as the Member of State Expert Appraisal Committee constituted by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Government of India, New Delhi from 2019 to 2022

Students/research scholars & their achievements

• Dr Rabindra Kumar Sahoo joined as Scientist D in the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India
• Ms. Sreepada Bal secured 1st position in the GeoScientist Examination conducted by the UPSC.
• Ms. Latika Patel, M.Sc. (Oceanography) has cleared C.S.I.R. NET LS (2018)
• Mr. Yudhistir Reddy, M.Sc. (Oceanography) has joined as Doctoral Research fellow at UQAM (Universite du Quebec a Montreal), Canada
• Mr. Chandanlal Parida, Ph.D. scholar of the department has joined as Research Associate in Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
• Ms. Ranjana Yadav, M.Sc. student of the department has joined National Institute of Oceanography, CSIR, Goa as Ph.D. Research Scholar.
• Ms. Arunima Panigrahy and Ms. Amita Choudhury were selected as Research Fellow in National Institute of Oceanography, Mumbai

Events

Distinguished Lecture Series

Sl. No.	Topic	Speaker	Download
1	Microsplastic Research in India	Pravakar Mishra, Scientist- F, NCCR, Ministry of Earth Sciences
2	Current Trends In Marine Fish Species Discovery In India	Dr. Anil Mohapatra, Scientist- E, EBRC-Zoological Survey of India
3	Marine Litter Monitoring & Management Programme	Dr. Danja Hoehn Adams

Seminars/Conferences/Workshops organized

Alumni

Alumni

Gallery