The International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS) in Rhode Island offers a boat building and restoration program for mastering the fundamentals of wooden boat building. Students learn the plank-on-frame technique of yacht design and construction. Master shipwrights and other trained instructors work with the students to give them hands-on experience in restoring boats. At IYRS, students attend classroom lectures, perform drawing and design exercises, and participate in off-campus excursions to places such as boat building and repair facilities and maritime libraries. After the successful completion of this 20-month program, students earn a certificate in yacht restoration.
The Thompson School of Marine Transportation at the Maine Maritime Academy offers studies in vessel operation and navigation along with courses in associated topics related to the maritime industry. Students who successfully complete the marine transportation operations major or the small vessel operations major receive a bachelor's degree. Students who successfully complete two years of study in small vessel operations receive an associate's degree. The school offers associate's degree programs in small craft design and small craft systems in cooperation with the Landing School in Kennebunkport.
The New England Institute of Technology in Rhode Island offers an associate's degree in marine technology. The program offers theoretical and practical training in marine electricity, marine mechanics and marine business concepts. Through hands-on training, students learn how install and repair vessels used by commercial and recreational vessels. After completion of training, students are qualified for careers in areas such as vessel manufacturing, marine electronics installation, engine repair and support services for commercial vessels. It takes as little as 18 months for a student to complete the program.
In Washington state, Skagit Valley College marine maintenance technology program focuses on repairing and maintaining recreational and small commercial craft. Mechanics courses, hull repair courses and rigger courses prepare students for careers in the marine trades. Students gain general knowledge of the marine trades during their first year, and then select a specialty in their second year. The program offers a marine composites technician certificate, a marine propulsion diesel technician certificate and a marine systems electrical technician certificate.