The University of West Florida is one of only a few institutions in the United States which offers a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology. Wetlands and estuarine marshes of the main campus, as well as the nearby Santa Rosa Island campus and the Gulf of Mexico, provide living specimens for study and serve as laboratories supporting elective courses. The University of West Florida is one of only a few institutions in the U.S. that offers a degree in Marine Biology at the undergraduate level. Ideally located to study the marine environment, the main campus includes 300 acres of estuarine marshes and wetlands with an additional 150 acres located on Santa Rosa Island on the Gulf of Mexico which contains beach dune, salt marsh, tidal flat, and sea grass ecosystems.