Here below you can find all master courses the University Centre offers. All courses are taught in 1-3 week modules running from August through June. See how the courses are organised in the teaching schedule for both programs. Usually 2-3 courses are taught at the same time, but students may only enroll in one course at a time.
The master courses are available to you whether you plan to pursue a degree or just take a course or courses. Please review the options for guest studies to determine how you can apply.
For further information, contact the Administrative Director of Education and Teaching.
Applied Methodology
- Spring 2026
- Instructor: Dr. Brack Hale
About the course
The core idea of the methods course is really about how to ask good research questions, and then how to answer those questions. The first section of the course covers research design specifically oriented towards UW master's thesis types (i.e., natural and social science field studies, feasibility analysis, business plans, literature analysis, laboratory studies, metadata exploration, etc) but these research design skills are also relevant for the working world and therefore the course covers proposal and grant writing tips. The statistics and social science sections of the course offer the foundation for a variety of methods used in coastal studies research and help students to learn how to conduct and identify high quality research for their thesis as well as their future careers as regional developers or coastal managers. The course ends with an elevator pitch where students practice communicating research ideas effectively and give each other feedback.
Instructor
is the Academic Director of the Coastal and Marine Managment program at UW.
Brack holds a Ph.D. in Land Resources from University of Wisconsin-Madison and a M.E.M. degree in Water Resources from Duke University. Before joining us at UW, he was a full professor of Biology and Environmental Science, and division chair of the Division of Environment, Math, Psychology, and Health at Franklin University Switzerland. He also served as interim Dean of Academic Affairs for one semester before coming to UW.
Dr. Hale has extensive experience in academic administration, curriculum development, teaching and quality assessment, as well as leadership and management. He has been engaged in various collaborations with UW since 2014, bringing student groups and spending a semester on sabbatical at here in 2017.
Learning outcome
The course provides students with knowledge, skills and competence in applied methods. The course explores key methods used in coastal studies and covers topics such as sampling design, data collection, processing and interpretation. Strength and limitations of relevant methods are discussed. The course includes a series of guest lectures presenting the range of methods used in the field. In addition, connections among methodologies and theoretical issues are addressed.
In practical sessions, students discuss research articles in relation to coastal studies and their methods. Throughout the course, students apply different methods and acquire the tools for conducting a scientifically sound survey.
On completion of the course, a student:
- can recognize and explain the most commonly used research methods within coastal studies.
- can prepare, conduct and interpret surveys and interviews.
- can identify appropriate methods to address different research questions and to increase research quality.
- can identify limitations in research execution and methods.
- can summarize and criticize existing research methods within coastal studies.