College Life

Private Schools That Are Well Known for This Major

• Stevens Institute of Technology
• Webb Institute

State Schools That Are Well Known for This Major

• University of Michigan—Ann Arbor
• United States Naval Academy
• Texas A&M University
• Virginia Tech
• United States Coast Guard Academy

Classes in the Major

Engineering. It's right there in the name. Engineering is all about making machines do things that we humans either can't or won't. No human has ever swum across the Pacific Ocean with a whole pallet of shipping containers on their back. It's safe to say no one ever will. In the meantime, or until we create Aquaman technology, it's all about ships. Ships that need engineers. Without this class, who knows if anything you make will carry stuff. Or even float.

Introduction to Ship Systems. Ships are pretty complicated machines. It's not like their only purpose is "not sink." That's their primary purpose, sure. They also have to move from place to place relatively efficiently, not crash into icebergs, and if they do, not open up like a piñata. This class is going to teach you all the basics of what's going on with ships. What are all those flashing lights? Those beeping consoles? The guy who keeps screaming about sharks? Seriously, what is that guy's deal?

Craft Design Principles. There's one of these classes for each basic type of vessel. While some of the basics are the same, designing a big, motorized yacht is different than a graceful sailboat. This is true of any of them. You'll have a suite of classes on each different kind. Just because you know you only want to design aircraft carriers for use as concert venues, that doesn't mean you get to skip out on dinghy design. You'll know every last corner of your major, sir or ma'am.

Oceanography. You know where you see a lot of ships? The ocean. We know—always in the last place you expect. If you're going to make vessels to travel on the ocean, it's a good idea to know about the ocean. You'll learn about the hazards to expect, the kinds of punishment it will have to absorb, and the problems that arise in trying to keep it on the good side of the water line.

Marine Engineering. Making the perfect United States Marine. What? No? Oh, right. This is a specific subset of engineering. You need the basics you'll get early in the class, but you'll also need a deeper understanding of the specific challenges you're going to face. We're not going to lie to you: you're going to learn so much about propellers. Like, everything about propellers. Plenty of other stuff, too, like thermodynamics, matching loads, vibration modeling, and more things that will make so much more sense to you after you ace the class.