Annual General Assembly 2005 - Malmö

Section 1

Study in Standardizing Marine Engineering Curriculum.

B. Butman - U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, New York, USA

ABSTRACT

The paper presents the preliminary results of an ongoing research study. In spite of substantial efforts of the IMO and the maritime community aimed at developing standardized curriculum for training ship officers, the educational programs in different institutions vary quite substantially. Undergraduate marine engineering programs offered in various countries differ in their duration, content, onboard training, specific requirements, etc. For instance, the average length of a license/degree program, which leads to the Third Assistant’s (or just Fourth Engineer) license and a bachelor degree, is four years, including about a year of sailing. However, there are three-year programs, on one side, and five - plus-year programs, on the other side. Composition of the marine engineering programs varies. First to mention is the share of the sea portion, which normally takes one year. However, there are exceptions, when the cadets spent much more time at sea. Secondly, every program might be looked upon as a combination of the building blocks. The distribution of time among the above portions of a program and the list of academic courses vary quite substantially from country to country, and even among different schools of the same country.

Keywords: marine engineering education, curriculum, programs, license and degree components of programs

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