Located in Annapolis, Maryland, the United States Naval Academy (USNA) is a premier college choice for any student considering entering a marine engineering program or, as it's titled at USNA, an ocean engineering program. While entrance requirements are substantial and acceptance is by appointment only, a graduate of USNA will be assured a position in his or her field and the substantial benefits of a secured career as a military officer. Graduates receive a bachelor's degree and are commissioned as lieutenants in the United States Marine Corp or ensigns in the United States Navy. USNA graduates must serve five years in their branch of choice upon graduation.
The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) in Kings Point, New York, has an entrance application process that is similar to that of other military academies. Students follow a specific application process and those that are accepted are considered to be appointed as midshipman to USMMA. The marine engineering program is one of the finest in the country. Graduates of USMMA earn a bachelor's degree and are commissioned as ensigns in the United States Maritime Service.
Located in Glen Cove, New York, with a total student body of 90 students and a full-time teaching staff of 10, the prestigious privately owned Webb Institute specializes in one curriculum only. All of its graduates do so with a double major in naval architecture and marine engineering. The institute boasts a job placement rate of 100%. Just that information alone would make Webb atypical of most colleges, but there is more. All students accepted at Webb do so with a full four-year scholarship, needing only to fund classroom essentials, room and board.
For those students that are accepted, Webb is unique in many ways. All students, no matter what prior college experience they have or what college credits they may have earned, enter as freshmen. Webb students work in the maritime industry during winter months and live and study in a mansion on Long Island Sound. Those 10 faculty members are with the students in both the classroom and in the laboratory. There are no teaching assistants at Webb.