Ocean Engineering

Ocean engineering programmes teach engineering in and around sea water — coastal structures, ports, marine vehicles and underwater systems, wave and current loading, and the corrosion and fouling that make the ocean a hostile design environment. Florida has more coastline than any state but Alaska, and the work follows it.

The degrees this program covers

⚠ Two Florida public institutions award in this field, and only Florida Atlantic awards the BACHELOR’S — the University of Florida is master’s and doctoral only. ⚠ So for most students the realistic route is a civil or mechanical bachelor’s followed by coastal or ocean specialisation at master’s level, which is also how most practising coastal engineers in Florida got there. The Professional Engineer licence applies exactly as in civil practice: coastal structures and port works are sealed designs.

Careers this program leads to

Each one sets out the courses along the way, the licence or certification at the end, and the sources behind it.

Civil Engineer

Civil engineers design, build and maintain the built environment — bridges, buildings, roads, water and wastewater systems, ports, drainage and coastal works. ⚠ It is the engineering discipline where a Professional Engineer licence matters most: much of the work legally requires one, because civil engineers sign off on things that fail publicly.

Programs similar to this one

Neighbouring fields that share much of the same coursework, and often the same employers. ⚠ Read these before you commit to a major — which doors a neighbouring degree keeps open is the part no catalog tells you, and it is far cheaper to change now than later.

Civil Engineering 9 Florida schools

The route most Florida coastal engineers actually take: a civil degree, then coastal and water-resources work. It is offered at nine institutions instead of two, and it carries the PE licence that coastal design requires.

Mechanical Engineering 11 Florida schools

The route into marine vehicles, underwater systems and offshore machinery — fluids, structures and dynamics are the same subjects, and the degree is available statewide.

Florida public institutions offering this program

2 institutions awarded a credential in this field in 2023, at these levels: Bachelor's, Doctorate (research/scholarship), Master's, Postbaccalaureate certificate. A school appears here if it awards anything in the field, however limited its offering — a technical college teaching only practical nursing has a nursing program. Listed alphabetically, not ranked.

Florida Atlantic University

Bachelor's · Doctorate (research/scholarship) · Master's · Postbaccalaureate certificate

University of Florida

Doctorate (research/scholarship) · Master's

Source: federal IPEDS completions data for 2023, first majors only — the most recent year published. ⚠ It records what was awarded, which is strong evidence of what is offered, but a program launched since 2023 will not appear here. Check the institution’s own catalog before applying.

Updated 21 September 2026. ⚠ Program pages describe a field of study, not one school’s degree — always read the catalog of the institution you are applying to.