It is devoted to scientific research leading to MS and PhD degrees in phycology, marine biology and related fields.

The current director, Professor Izumi Kinoshita, supervises and coordinates the JICA training program.

UMBI graduate students are supported by various financial aid schemes, especially the Monbukagakusho MEXT International PhD Program.

Emeritus Professor Masao Ohno was the first person in Japan to use an artificial seeding method for the commercial cultivation of green algae.

Contemporary marine phycology research in the UMBI focuses on culture studies to establish life-histories of Ulvophycean algae (Ulva and Monostroma), tank cultivation of Ulva using deep seawater (conducted jointly with the Deep Seawater Research Center, Muroto, Japan) and the ecology of Ecklonia and Sargasm species in the Pacific Ocean.