The University of Massachusetts Intercampus Graduate School of Marine Sciences and Technology (SMS) is an innovative graduate school, established in 2002. Its goal is to become a nationally and internationally recognized educational center-of-excellence which contributes to the scientific understanding, management, and protection of our coastal and ocean ecosystems and resources and the sustainable growth of Massachusetts' coastal communities. The school offers both M.S. and Ph.D. programs, preparing students for positions in academia, government, and the private sector concerned with marine science, technology, and policy. Emphasis is placed on the education of researchers and scholars who will contribute not only to basic research but also to the application of that research in a coherent approach to resource management and economic development issues.