Marine Engineering

Types of Degrees Marine Engineering Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many marine engineering graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	326
Master’s Degree	33
Undergraduate Certificate	16
Graduate Certificate	8
Doctor’s Degree	6
Associate Degree	1

What Marine Engineering Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, marine engineering majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Marine Engineering Majors

Marine Engineering majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.

Skills for Marine Engineering Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to marine engineering:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for Marine Engineering Majors

As you progress with your marine engineering degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Marine Engineering Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with marine engineering:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720
Marine Architects	12.2%	$92,560
Marine Engineers	12.2%	$92,560

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Engineering?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 391 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marine engineering in 2021, making it rank #220 in popularity. This major tends to be male dominated. About 82% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of marine engineering majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	16
Black or African American	7
Hispanic or Latino	20
White	254
International Students	6
Other Races/Ethnicities	23

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Marine Engineering. About 1.8% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Marine Engineering

Some careers associated with marine engineering require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to marine engineering have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.5%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	3.9%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	3.0%
Some College Courses	1.8%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	1.0%
Bachelor’s Degree	47.8%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	3.8%
Master’s Degree	15.8%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.6%
Doctoral Degree	17.8%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.6%

Online Marine Engineering Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	1	0
Bachelor’s Degree	4	2
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	4	2
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Marine Engineering

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to marine engineering.

Major	Number of Grads
Mechanical Engineering	43,522
Electrical Engineering	27,809
Civil Engineering	20,728
Computer Engineering	18,973
Biomedical Engineering	14,006
General Engineering	12,241
Chemical Engineering	11,830
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering	9,220
Industrial Engineering	8,722
Systems Engineering	4,148
Materials Engineering	3,397
Other Engineering	3,221
Environmental Engineering	3,012
Electrical and Computer Engineering.	1,988
Operations Research	1,907
Robotics Engineering	1,759
Engineering Science	1,338
Agricultural Engineering	1,328
Construction Engineering	1,284
Architectural Engineering	1,090
Engineering Physics	1,047
Manufacturing Engineering	942
Petroleum Engineering	941
Nuclear Engineering	885
Biological Engineering	411
Geoscience Engineering	315
Mining Engineering	300
Textile Engineering	292
Ocean Engineering	290
Polymer & Plastics Engineering	290
Engineering Mechanics	209
Metallurgical Engineering	195
Energy Systems Engineering	187
Biochemical Engineering	141
Surveying Engineering	123
Ceramic Engineering	60
Forest Engineering	57
Paper Science & Engineering	48
Electromechanical Engineering	47
Engineering Chemistry	27

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.