What is an Ocean Engineering degree?

Ocean engineering is about making waves through the study of the relationship among ocean phenomena, the marine environment, and human society and technology. Students dive into a diverse ocean engineering degree curriculum that combines essential courses in modern engineering and naval architecture with in-depth experimentation and hands-on design.

So whether you want to develop a new way of preventing coastal erosion, design jetties and seawalls, or become a naval architect, you can get there with a ocean engineering degree from Florida Tech. Here, you'll develop a strong background in engineering and get hands-on experience in environmental science and instrumentation.

Our ocean engineering degree program is dynamic and focused. You'll get started right away, taking core courses like Oceanography and Introduction to Ocean Engineering as a freshman. Guided by highly qualified faculty who care about your success, you'll hone your strengths and begin specializing as early as sophomore year.

Ocean engineering is based in five areas of concentration: coastal engineering, hydrographic engineering, marine vehicles (naval architecture), marine materials and corrosion, and underwater technology. Hands-on experience in these fields prepares our ocean engineering degree graduates for professional careers.

Advantages

Why Florida Tech: The ocean engineering degree at Florida Tech includes

• Program places emphasis on the solution of engineering problems through the application of advanced knowledge that spans various disciplines
• Close proximity to Atlantic Ocean and other marine environments enables real world application of knowledge
• Excellent faculty involve undergraduate students in research initiatives and projects
• Hands-on experience with high-tech instruments
• Interdisciplinary approach gives students the diversity of experience employers look for
• ProTrack Co-op program, which incorporates 3 professional work experiences into your four-year degree curriculum

Facilities: Florida Tech has marine laboratories and field research sites both on the Indian River Lagoon and at the Vero Beach oceanfront marine research facility. The Ralph S. Evinrude Marine Operations Center houses a fleet of small craft. Small boats are available for class work and research, and scuba diving can be incorporated in research and course work. Other teaching facilities include a computer-aided design center, and numberical modeling and computer facilities for data analysis. The Marine Geology and Geophysics Laboratory provides facilities for core boring and sediment analysis, beach and hydrographic surveying, and oceanographic instrumentation for coastal research activities. The Underwater Technologies Laboratory has a 500-square-foot electronic workship with all of the systems necessary to design and maintain autonomous underwater vehicles. In the Surf Mechanics Laboratory, students have access to two wave tanks for theoretical and experimental measuring of water waves.

Learning

Clubs and Organizations: Marine Technology Society

Research: Every ocean engineering degree undergraduate has the opportunity to work with professors on funded research projects. Recent science and engineering projects include:

• the design and construction of a 30-foot high-speed research boat, a 30-by-20 twin hull
• research platform and a boat-mounted underwater camera
• testing of antifouling coatings
• instrumentation system design for waves and weather
• artificial reef designs and monitoring
• ocean instrumentation development
• Numerical models of hydrodynamics and sediment transport
• Ship motions in shallow water harbors
• High-speed small craft hydrodynamics
• Maintenance of the living seas structure
• Ship corrosion and biofouling
• Artificial reefs of the Mexican Caribbean
• Design and construction of a remotely operated surf rover
• Design and construction of an autonomous underwater vehicle
• Seakeeping testing in open waters

Internships and Cooperative Learning: Students majoring in oceanography, ocean engineering, meteorology and environmental science at Florida Tech are able to choose from a variety of hands-on internships. Undergraduates have recently completed internships at:

• American Airlines
• Brevard County Natural Resource Management
• Caribbean Marine Research Center
• Disney World's The Living Seas
• Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University
• Florida Department of Environmental Protection
• Mote Marine Laboratory
• National Park Service
• National Weather Service, Melbourne Forecast Office
• NASA's Kennedy Space Center
• NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and meteorological Laboratory
• Sea World
• Sierra Club
• Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce
• St. John's River Water Management District
• Army Corps of Engineers

Future Outcomes

Outcomes - Grad School: 20% of ocean engineering degree and DMES graduates go directly onto graduate school, many of them continuing their studies at Florida Tech. Recent graduates have also been enrolled at: MIT Stockton University of Alaska University of Rhode Island University of North Carolina Cambridge University (UK)

Outcomes - Career and Salary: Ocean engineering degree DMES graduates are employed all over the world, in a variety of exciting positions. Most are employed as research scientists and coastal and oceanographic engineers for government and private companies. Employers of DMES alumni include: Rockwell Aviation Northrop Grumman Dynamac Boeing Epcot Center U.S. Environmental Protection Avency National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) NASA National Science Foundation Florida Department of Environmental Protection.