When did you go DIR

[Thalassamania]

I think that you'll find that there is no comparison possible. They have no similarity in structure or goal.

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

what is AAUS?

AAUS is the American Academy of Underwater Sciences. They are the de facto credentialing agency in the scientific and research diving community, where they establish standards and reciprocity agreements for their member institutions. If you want to do research diving anywhere in the US, whether it's with a university program, an aquarium, or a pure research institution (like Woods Hole, for example) then your organization must be a member of AAUS, and you must be certified under an AAUS sanctioned program.

The AAUS standards can be downloaded from their website. In most cases you must already be certified as a recreational diver before being enrolled into an AAUS training program, although some places that are heavy into diving research will bundle everything together in one course (as a couple folks indicated in their follow-up postings).

In any event, there is a TON more stuff that you have to do to be qualified as an entry-level Scientific Diver under AAUS standards, than under any recreational agency's standards. That's because their divers might potentially utilize many other types of equipment besides SCUBA. The entry-level AAUS course is typically 100+ hours of instruction, and may include training on Open Circuit Systems, Rebreathers, Surface-Supplied Systems, Hazmat, Data Collection, etc. That's obviously going to be overkill for most types of recreational diving activities.

That's not to say that the training wouldn't be valuable, and I would never try to discourage anyone from learning as much as they could about a topic or activity that interested them. It's just difficult to compare AAUS to a recreational agency, since their goals in training divers are so different.

 

[Thalassamania]

To clarify a few understandable misconceptions:

AAUS is the American Academy of Underwater Sciences. They are the de facto credentialing agency in the scientific and research diving community, where they establish standards and reciprocity agreements for their member institutions. AAUS is a consensual group that includes membership at multiple levels, including individual and institutional. It is not a credentialing or certifying agency. If you want to do research diving anywhere in the US, whether it's with a university program, an aquarium, or a pure research institution (like Woods Hole, for example) then your organization must be a member of AAUS,

There is no requirement that any organization be a member of AAUS, except that it is through such membership that an institution may gain access to the exemption from the OSHA commercial diving standards that the Department of Labor promulgated for scientific divers. Access to this exemption could also be gained through a memo signed by a responsible institutional officer directing that AAUS standards be met.

and you must be certified under an AAUS sanctioned program.

No individual must be certified (at least in the sense that the recreational diving community understands the term). Each diver must convince the Campus Diving Control Board that he or she is a competent diver and will not pose undue risk. One of the ways in which this may be accomplished is by successfully completing a sanctioned training program. Another way might be to present your credentials, have a conversation with the Diving Safety Officer, maybe take a written exam and a check dive.

AAUS standards can be downloaded from their website. In most cases you must already be certified as a recreational diver before being enrolled into an AAUS training program, although some places that are heavy into diving research will bundle everything together in one course (as a couple folks indicated in their follow-up postings). In any event, there is a TON more stuff that you have to do to be qualified as an entry-level Scientific Diver under AAUS standards, than under any recreational agency's standards. That's because their divers might potentially utilize many other types of equipment besides SCUBA. The entry-level AAUS course is typically 100+ hours oinstruction, and may include training on Open Circuit Systems, Rebreathers, Surface-Supplied Systems, Hazmat, Data Collection, etc.

Each institution is sovereign and meets the standards in the way in which it chooses. It was not the intent to bring in already certified recreational divers for additional training, though this option was left open. The intent was that training occur from the beginning through was is generally referred to as a "Scripps' Model Program," that is to say a minimum 100 hour entry level course that includes 12 open water dives and qualifies the diver to 30 feet with a similarly qualified buddy or to 60 feet when accompanied by a more qualified buddy. It was NEVER intended to include training on Open Circuit Systems, Rebreathers, Surface-Supplied Systems, or Hazmat. These "specialties" are often referred to as "Endorsements" and are issued by the Campus Diving Control Board and whatever basis they deem appropriate. But there is usually some Data Collection work.

That's obviously going to be overkill for most types of recreational diving activities.

The Scripps’ Model Course is not overkill for recreational diving activities (unless you limit recreational activities to, as Tim Cahill described it, "flopping off the boat like a dead tuna into gin clear water."), it reflects the level of training that was typical within both the scientific and recreational communities back before the training agencies. It is interesting to note that the exit skills of the Scripp's course were adopted as the exit skills for the original YMCA, LA County, NAUI (and thus PADI) Instructor Programs.

There are many cases were non-scientists took these courses and went on to pursue their interests in history or art or music or business administration. But on the side were the some of the best divers you’ve never seen. Some of them stayed involved by becoming research diving instructors, some got to travel all over the world as buddy divers for scientists, some just wanted to learn to dive and knew that this was the path to doing it right. Most research divers don’t tend to make contact with the recreational diving world; they tend to dive with similarly trained and equipped divers (sound familiar?).


If there is sufficient interest in AAUS and in scientific diving general, someone should start a new thread and I will be glad to answer any questions there. Remind me to tell you about the check out dive at the University of Puerto Rico by Walt Hendrick, Sr., it provides great insights in how to do it right.