Typically, marine engineering admission requirements vary according to prospective students' circumstances. For instance, incoming freshmen admission requirements involve an application, submission of high school transcripts, a maritime supplemental application, letters of recommendation and standardized test scores such as SAT scores. Marine engineering colleges have different standardized test score requirements. For example, SUNY Maritime College requires students to write a personal essay and have an SAT minimum score of 500 in math and 500 in critical reading or an ACT minimum score of at least a 22.
According to the website Education-Portal.com, there are only 10 colleges that offer marine engineering degrees, as of 2011. For instance, students can enroll in the United States Coast Guard Academy, which allows students to earn a bachelor's degree in the field and provides fieldwork on coast guard research vessels. Students can choose the United States Naval Academy to earn a bachelor's degree in marine engineering. SUNY Maritime College, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Maine Maritime Academy and the United States Merchant Marine Academy also offer marine engineering degrees.
Students at marine engineering colleges take a combination of basic and core classes during their course of study. Some basic courses include physics, mechanics, thermodynamics and history. Many colleges have classes such as ocean dynamics, propulsion, marine design, fluid mechanics and introduction to marine engineering or naval architecture as part of the core course curriculum. Marine engineering colleges also may require students to complete a senior design course where they work in teams to design a ship, according to DegreeDirectory.com.
Prospective students interested in a marine engineering degree should be able to work well both with a team and independently, and should have a strong understanding of math and physics. Students wanting to pursue a military career in addition to earning a marine engineering degree can go to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. It is the only branch of the U.S. Armed Forces that offers the marine engineering degree and a military career, according to Education-Portal.com.