Marine Transportation
Cal Poly Maritime Academy | College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences
Chasing adventure? Ready for real challenges, and a high-paying career as a civilian mariner with job offers waiting when you graduate? With a Marine Transportation degree, you’ll train at sea, learn to navigate and operate ships and gain a strong grasp of the global maritime industry. You’ll also earn two major credentials: a U.S. Coast Guard Third Mate Unlimited License and the international STCW certification, launching you into a global career at sea and beyond.
Solano Campus | Vallejo, California
The Marine Transportation major provides students with a broad understanding of the maritime industry, as well as navigation and ship-handling skills.
The curriculum includes three practical training experiences: two sea training periods aboard the Training Ship Golden Bear, and one sea training period aboard a commercial or military vessel.
To earn the degree, students must be enrolled in the Corps of Cadets.
This degree prepares students to take the U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Marine Officer licensing exam. Passing this examination, which results in the issuance of a Third Mate’s license, is essential for a student seeking employment as a licensed deck officer on a commercial vessel and is required to earn the marine transportation degree.
Deck Licenses
Deck licenses issued by the U.S. Coast Guard increase in rank as follows: Third Mate, Second Mate, Chief Mate and Master. A raise in grade is dependent upon the graduate’s ability to accumulate sea time, usually one year’s sea time in each license category, and to pass U.S. Coast Guard examinations of increasing complexity and difficulty.
The Marine Transportation curriculum incorporates hands-on, Learn-by-Doing instruction through labs in numerous topics.
The following list includes some of the topics that will be explored in lectures and accompanying labs.
Marine Transportation Labs
- Marine Survival
- RADAR/ARPA
- Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS)
- Navigation Piloting
- Marine Supervisory
- Marine Management
- Shipboard Medical
- Navigation I
- Celestial Navigation
- Advanced Navigation
- Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems
- License Seminar
About the Program
Marine Transportation blends real-world training with focused classroom instruction to launch your maritime career.
You’ll learn aboard our fleet of small vessels and the Training Ship Golden Bear and sharpen your skills in high-tech simulation labs. Courses cover shiphandling, radar, seamanship, celestial navigation and more. Graduates are fully prepared for the U.S. Coast Guard Third Mate Unlimited License exam and ready to take the helm — on the water or onshore.
Learn by Doing
Set sail each summer to put your skills to work. In your first and third years, you’ll train aboard the Training Ship Golden Bear, visiting ports like Tahiti, Hawaii, Japan and Central America.
Your second summer includes a paid internship on a working vessel — tanker, tug, cruise ship or containership. Graduation often comes with a job offer already lined up.
Our Graduates
Your degree sets the course for a fulfilling career as a professional deck officer.
You’ll graduate as a licensed Third Mate. From there, you’ll rise through Second Mate, Chief Mate and, eventually, Master by gaining sea time and passing U.S. Coast Guard exams. Each step brings more responsibility, more skill and greater opportunity across the maritime industry.
Graduates are employed across the world on all types of ships, including oil tankers, cruise ships, naval vessels, cargo ships and tugboats. Top employers include Chevron, Crowley, Military Sealift Command, Celebrity Cruises and Shaver Transportation. Other graduates work ashore for shipping companies or port authorities like the Port of Long Beach or Matson Shipping Company.