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Texas Scuba Academy
SDI Research Diver
Open Water certifiedSDI Certified

SDI Research Diver

Learn the survey, mapping, and data-collection techniques real dive research teams use.

$249.00Enrollment Open
Have questions? Call (512) 489-4404
  • ✓eLearning access as soon as you check out
  • ✓We’ll be in touch to schedule your sessions
Taught by Brady Huddleston
SDI Course Director & Instructor Trainer · PADI IDC Staff Instructor · American Red Cross Instructor
Meet the team

What's included

✓SDI eLearning and course materials
✓Personal instruction from a certified SDI Instructor
✓Open water training dives practicing survey and mapping techniques
✓Lifetime SDI certification, recognized worldwide
✓Flexible scheduling — pool sessions at your location, open water dives at local Texas sites
“Best decision I made. The instructors were patient, the small class size meant real attention, and I booked everything online without a single phone call.”
— Recent Open Water graduate

Who it's for

This course builds on prior certification and experience — here's what you'll need before you start.

✓
SDI Open Water Scuba Diver, or equivalentBase certification required
✓
Minimum age 1815 years old with parental consent

What you'll learn

Knowledge Development

✓Water environments, fresh and salt: ecology, food chains, habitat, niche, and interactions between organisms
✓Basic oceanography across coral reefs, kelp forests, bays, and open coast
✓The marine animals: fishes, mollusks, invertebrates, mammals, and dangerous species to be aware of
✓Diving methodology for research: collection of data, detailed mapping techniques, survey methodology, marking and capturing, and conservation

Practical Training

✓Planning a research dive and testing/checking all equipment
✓Compass usage and area survey/research techniques
✓Familiarization with the area and local ecology before a survey dive
✓Marine life identification during a dive
✓Recording data and logging dives to a research standard

Frequently asked questions

Not at all — this course teaches the practical skills from the ground up. It's a great fit for divers who are just curious about research diving, not just scientists.

Simple process

How it works

💻

eLearning at home

Complete the academic portion online at your own pace — videos, quizzes, no classroom required.

🌊

Open water dives at the lake

Skills and dives happen at a local dive site, on a date we set with you.

🎓

Get certified

Finish your dives and we issue your certification — card in hand, recognized worldwide.

Ready?

Ready to get in the water?

Book online in minutes. eLearning starts instantly. We’ll be in touch to schedule.

Call (512) 489-4404

Already certified? Advanced Adventure Diver is a popular next step.