ECU Outer Banks Campus
ECU’s Coastal Campus
The ECU Outer Banks Campus, home to the Coastal Studies Institute, is a multidisciplinary center for coastal research, education, and community engagement located on Roanoke Island in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Surrounded by the dynamic coastal environments that define the region, the campus provides a unique setting where scientists, students, educators, community members, and partners come together to study the coast and explore solutions to the challenges facing coastal communities.
Research and academic activities at the campus span a wide range of disciplines, including coastal processes and resilience, marine and estuarine ecology, oceanography, renewable ocean energy, maritime heritage, and the development and application of new technologies for coastal and marine research. With specialized laboratories, classrooms, research vessels, and direct access to the surrounding sounds, estuaries, and Atlantic Ocean, the campus provides exceptional opportunities for field-based research and experiential learning.
Education and outreach are also central to the campus mission. K–12 programs, summer camps, undergraduate and graduate research experiences, internships, field-based courses, public programs, workshops, and special events provide opportunities for learners of all ages to engage with coastal science. By bringing research, education, and community engagement together in one place, the ECU Outer Banks Campus helps advance our understanding of coastal systems, prepares the next generation of scientists and leaders, and connects communities with the knowledge and resources needed to understand and respond to a changing coast.
Coastal Studies Institute
The ECU Outer Banks campus is home to the Coastal Studies Institute, a multi-institutional research and educational institute led by East Carolina University in partnership with North Carolina State University, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC Wilmington, and Elizabeth City State University. CSI focuses on integrated coastal research and education programming centered around the needs, issues, and concerns of coastal North Carolinians. CSI research expertise span a variety of coastal disciplines including coastal dynamics, ecology, biology, economics, environmental geography, social and behavioral sciences, and engineering. Engagement is core to the mission and CSI has a robust outreach program with staff that are actively engaged with coastal communities through meaningful education offerings for the general public, life-long learners, and K-12 students and teachers.
ECU Faculty at the Coast
East Carolina University’s Department of Earth, Environment and Planning (DEEP), housed within the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences, brings together faculty and students from a range of disciplines to better understand the natural and human systems that shape our communities and environment. Faculty expertise spans areas such as coastal and marine science, geology, geography, atmospheric science, environmental science, planning, and related fields, creating opportunities for interdisciplinary research and education. Many faculty from DEEP are affiliated with the Coastal Studies Institute and conduct research, teach, mentor students, and collaborate with partners at the ECU Outer Banks Campus. This connection strengthens ECU’s capacity to address complex coastal and environmental challenges while providing students with opportunities for hands-on learning and research in the dynamic environments of North Carolina’s coast.
Faculty from East Carolina University’s departments of Biology and Engineering are also affiliated with the Coastal Studies Institute, bringing additional expertise and perspectives to research and education at the ECU Outer Banks Campus. Biology faculty contribute expertise in areas such as coastal and marine ecology, environmental biology, fisheries, and the study of organisms and ecosystems, while Engineering faculty help advance innovative technologies and solutions for challenges in coastal and marine environments. Through their affiliations with CSI, these faculty collaborate across disciplines, mentor students, conduct field and laboratory research, and contribute to projects that connect fundamental science with real-world applications. Their involvement strengthens the interdisciplinary nature of the ECU Outer Banks Campus and expands opportunities for research, education, and innovation along North Carolina’s coast.
INTEGRATED COASTAL SCIENCES PH.D. PROGRAM
The Integrated Coastal Sciences Ph.D. program is a research-intensive doctoral degree program at ECU that educates students to resolve complex problems facing coastal systems, using multidisciplinary solutions that integrate across both natural, health and social science disciplines.
The program provides a unique, integrated, multidisciplinary approach to coastal studies that emphasizes students obtaining expertise through coursework as well as hands-on research. Students receive state-of-the-art training in the acquisition, interpretation, and synthesis of scientific information on coastal environments and populations. Instructors and mentors foster the pursuit of individual interest in the context of a structured, but flexible, program of classroom instruction, field research, work experience, and a doctoral dissertation. Upon completion of their dissertation research, students will be well-poised to solve the wicked coastal problems of the future, with careers in government agencies, private firms, nonprofit organizations, and academic research and educational programs.
ECU Office of Diving and Water Safety
ECU’s Diving and Water Safety program provides on the water support for ECU and its partners. In addition, ECU Diving and Water safety staff provide rigorous scientific diver training to AAUS standards for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as ECU and CSI faculty and staff. The program manages a fleet of vessels available for research and education and provides dive support for ongoing research activities at ECU.
The ECU Outer Banks campus is home to the Coastal Studies Institute.
Based at the Coastal Studies Institute (CSI), the North Carolina Renewable Ocean Energy Program (NCROEP) advances inter-disciplinary marine energy solutions across UNC System partner colleges of engineering at NC State University, UNC Charlotte, and NC A&T University. Click on the links below for more information.
