Re: Oceanography Graduate Schools

"William Asher" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Alastair McDonald wrote:
>
> >
> > "Eric Rehm" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> > news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >> Can anyone give me some comparisons between US and UK graduate
> >> programs?
> >>
> >> US = {Scripps, WHOI, UW, URI, OSU, UH, etc.)
> >> UK = {SOC, ???}
> >
> >
> > Professor Marotzke, who was one of the leading members of the graduate
> > teaching program at Southamton, has now moved to the US. Does this
> > mean that the US and the UK are similar?
> >
> > Cheers, Alastair.
> >
>
> Everyone knows you choose a graduate school based on the quality of the
> school's football team.

I think you mean undergraduate school!

> By that metric, given the current BCS rankings
> you would want to go to:
>
> Miami
> USC
> Florida State (I think they have an Oceanography program)
>
> Those are the only three schools listed in the top 25 that I think have
> mich in the way of an oceanography program.  Of the remaining schools, UW
> just beat OSU and UH plays in the WAC not the PAC-10.  You never hear
> about URI but then I am on the west coast of the U.S. so my ranking them
> after UW/OSU/UH may be a regional thing.  Of course, UCSD/SIO is a school
> for surfers with the San Diego Chargers being the major college football
> franchise in San Diego and WHOI/MIT doesn't even have a football team so
> who would want to go there?  The wild card in this is TAMU and to a
> lesser extent programs like LSU.  The Aggies used to have a strong
> program but I never hear about them anymore so they may have fallen on
> hard times due to increased drug testing frequency and or sanctions and
> probation.  Again, regional differences in football coverage make it
> difficult for me to judge the quality of their program.  However, one
> cannot ever count out a Texas school in the bowl hunt so if you're a
> gambler, maybe you would take a roll of the dice and go there.  It's a
> tough call.
>
> In the UK, they play rugby.  Rugby.  I mean, how can a 350-lb steroid
> addled 21-yr old playing as freshman take a sport like rugby seriously?

You do mean undergraduate. You are talking about a freshman! Well
since the USA rugby team was beaten by Scotland, my native country,
by 39pts to 15pts in the World Championships being held in Australia,
I am not surprised you have a down on rugby!

> You don't even get to wear pads or a helmet or tight pants and the
> cheerleaders are as likely to break a beer stein over your head as give
> you head after the game.  On the plus side, you do get to kill people
> rooting for the opposing team in the pre- and post-game riots.  Even
> given that benefit, my opinion is that you would have to put SOC and UEA
> at the bottom of the heap, or scrum maybe.

The Southampton Oceanography Centre (SOC)  and the University
of East Anglia (UEA) are both in centres of soccer. Southamton FC
played in the European championships this year and Norwich FC,
(Norwich is the city where the UEA campus is situated) have also
earned a place in European competions.  I should point out though,
that although the UEA, like the SOC, is a world leading centre for
climate change, the UEA is not a centre for Oceanography. Norwich
is the centre of the Norfolk Broads which are drainage ditches for
the Fens, and are scarcely tidal!

HTH,

Cheers, Alastair.