VIMS is unique among marine science institutions in its legal mandate to provide research, education, and advisory service to government, citizens, and industry. Graduate students in William & Mary's Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences at VIMS have an unparalleled opportunity to conduct research that matters. Research at VIMS extends from inland watersheds to the open ocean, with an emphasis on coastal and estuarine science.
At VIMS, we invest in the intersections—in the places where rivers meet oceans and shorelines seek the sea. We transform data into policies, students into leaders, and theories into tangible change. We find solutions to global problems, work to restore marine life, and freely share the answers we find. We are people who love the Chesapeake Bay, and the great wide world with which it intersects. Watch our video to learn more.
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VIMS provides research, education, and advisory service in marine science to Virginia, the nation, and the world. Learn more.
3 presidents of leading marine science societies since 2000
Winners of the President’s Award from the National Marine Educators Association for the Bridge website
Winners of NOAA’s Coastal America Spirit Award and Environmental Hero Award
The Batten School has an enviable record of producing graduates who take on leading roles in academia, government, and the private sector. Batten School grads have headed up the University of Maryland Center of Environmental Science, the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, one of the leading environmental consulting and engineering firms in the northeastern U.S., and the Smithsonian’s Ocean Hall, among many other leadership positions. Read our alumni profiles for selected highlights.
Our Seawater Research Lab is the largest facility of its kind in the nation, providing 800 gallons per minute to an acre of research tanks and lab space
Storm-resistant research pier reaches 300 feet into the York River
The William J. Hargis Library houses more than 88,000 volumes, 70,000 pages of scientific reports by VIMS and other agencies, and provides electronic access to marine literature worldwide
Visitor Center with aquaria and life-sized models shows how VIMS research benefits the Chesapeake Bay and the ocean
Chesapeake Bay Hall and Andrews Hall provide state-of-the-art lab and teaching space in marine science
Our fish collection features more than 125,000 specimens in 247 families from the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding waters
Boat Basin provides a safe harbor for the VIMS fleet.
Diving facility includes diver training room and classrooms to support our 20-member AAUS-certified dive team
Geotek® core logger allows the study of past climates, seafloor erosion, and the bottom-dwelling communities that nurture marine food webs
VIMS is home to 3 federally funded marine programs whose expert staff, cutting-edge facilities and equipment, and highly regarded information products help enrich and expand VIMS' own mission of research, education, and advisory service:
Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Virginia (CBNERR-VA)
VIMS has a fleet of 40+ research vessels, including its 93-foot flagship R/V Virginia. VIMS also operates the Virginia Estuarine and Coastal Ocean Observing System, the Dataflow and Acrobat sensors, and 2 Slocum gliders, autonomous underwater vehicles that collect data that are then sent via satellite to a ship or shore-based lab.
Established in 1940 as the Virginia Fisheries Laboratory
Our 1950s oyster research remains the seminal work on the ecology of these shellfish
VIMS scientists were leaders in establishing the national Sea Grant and Coastal Zone Management programs in the 1960s
Established Eastern Shore Lab in 1962, research there jumpstarted Virginia’s now multi-million dollar hard clam industry
Began our annual shark survey in 1973; it’s now the world’s longest-running
Our seagrass restoration efforts are the most successful in the world, with nearly 9,000 acres restored to Virginia’s coastal bays
We continue to lead the way in developing oyster aquaculture in the Chesapeake Bay and the mid-Atlantic seaboard
Our 42-acre main campus in Gloucester Point, Virginia is located near the confluence of the York River and the Chesapeake Bay, with ready access to the Atlantic Ocean
Gloucester Point is part of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network, a system of parks, wildlife refuges, and historic sites administered by the National Park Service
Campus views include the Coleman Bridge, the world's largest double swing-span overpass
Yorktown, site of the decisive battle of the Revolutionary war, lies just across the York River
Battleships and the occasional submarine regularly sail past on their way to the US Naval Weapons Station
Our Eastern Shore campus provides ready access to Virginia’s pristine barrier islands and lagoons
Our Kauffman Aquaculture Center provides state-of-the-art quarantine facilities for work with non-native species
