Abstract Changes and needs in marine science (and natural science in general) training over the past six decades are discussed. Among these are: new technological advances; the loss of -ology courses; the loss of field courses and sense of place opportunities for students; the need for a more interdisciplinary approach to training natural science students; a need to better expose our students to threats to Earth’s biocultural diversity; a need to include more humanities in our student training, including addressing diminished readership and appreciation of the great books; the nature of creativity; the perils of the internet; and university emphasis on faculty overhead dollars and high-profile publications at the expense of student training and more creative research.