We’re so excited you have chosen to explore a career path in the diverse and exciting field of Marine Engineering Technology.
Our Marine Engineering Technology degree offers a unique interdisciplinary curriculum that prepares students for engineering careers in a diverse number of fields that support the Blue Economy, including shore-based and shipboard jobs.
Students can choose a license option, requiring them to complete the United States Coast Guard requirements to receive their U.S. Merchant Mariner credential. The license option is well-suited for those seeking the adventures of life aboard a ship. Those graduating with this option will qualify to work on vessels as Third Assistant Engineers - the first step toward becoming Chief Engineer. For those more interested in shore-based careers working for power plants or hospitals, there is a non-license option also available.
We offer various opportunities for professional interactions through professional societies, field trips, and internships. Our faculty are committed to your success and we look forward to working with you.
Again, we are thrilled about your interest in the Galveston Campus. We can’t wait to work together!
MARINE ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY @
1 license option degree
GALVESTON
The Department of Marine Engineering Technology pairs rigorous classroom instruction with extensive hands-on learning opportunities to educate graduates for engineering careers in the Blue Economy. The interdisciplinary curriculum includes mechanics, naval architecture, automation and controls, electrical power, and thermal and fluid sciences, coupled with practical labs in marine propulsion, simulations, welding and machine shop.
11 faculty
250 engineering students
1 month avg. for job placement
450+ department alumni
$70-$90K average starting salary
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
MARINE ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
The Marine Engineering Technology program is designed to prepare students for a career as an engineering professional in the maritime industry, both shore-based and offshore industries. A thorough preparation in mathematics, science, and engineering courses is the foundation for further study in ship propulsion plants, electrical power generation and distribution equipment. Marine Engineering Technology focuses on power cycles, principles, and methods used to convert various forms of energy into useful power. Fundamental courses are supplemented with studies in naval architecture, maritime application of electrical engineering, and thermodynamics.
One of the most unique aspects of this program is that most technical courses provide a hands-on laboratory experience using state-ofthe-art equipment and industry-standard design and analysis software, including the use of computer simulation of propulsion plants and direct operation of marine machinery aboard the university’s training ship.
The Marine Engineering Technology program is accredited by the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
TAKE YOUR DEGREE FURTHER:
LICENSE OPTION
The Marine Engineering Technology License Option program trains students to serve as engineering officers aboard sea-going vessels. In addition to the degree requirements, license option students must complete the requirements to enroll as a cadet in the Texas A&M Maritime Academy, along with the U.S. Coast Guard requirements for a U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential to graduate from the university. This includes completion of the license examination for Third Assistant Engineer. tamug.edu/corps for more information.
PROFESSIONAL CONNECTIONS
Make the most of the department’s connections by joining one of our many professional student chapters:
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Society of Naval Architects & Marine Engineers
Marine Technology Society
Human Powered Submarine Club
Society for Advanced Mobility on Air, Land & Sea
Institute of Marine Engineers
B.S. IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
ELECTRO MARINE ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY TRACK
Offered through the Texas A&M University College of Engineering, Multidisciplinary Engineering Technology (MXET) prepares students for careers requiring an understanding of technical problems and systems that combine principles from two or more engineering technology disciplines. The degree is designed to be flexible, giving the student a strong background in electronic and mechanical systems, which is then augmented with a 29-hour focus area. Graduates of the program receive a rigorous technical education and typically take engineering and technology positions appropriate to their focus area of study.
INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
A number of internship opportunities are available to our students through various companies in the oil and gas, and maritime sectors, including shipyards, nuclear plants, refineries, and more. These positions provide opportunities for reallife job experiences, often leading to fulltime positions postgraduation.
The MXET curriculum is based on a strong underpinning of engineering math and science courses followed by a core technical sequence. This core includes mechanical, electronic and embedded systems/software fundamentals, principles and design concepts. Throughout their curriculum, students work on multiple open-ended projects to design, implement, test, and evaluate mechanical and electronic hardware and software systems.
ELECTRO MARINE ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY TRACK
The maritime industry is moving into a higher tier of electrical, electronic and automation control. This has forced national and international agencies toward new guidelines for operation, design and education for this emerging field.
The Electro Marine Engineering Technology track has an emphasis in marine mechatronics, a multidisciplinary field that includes a combination of electrical, mechanical, communications, control, and marine engineering technology topics. Students interested in wireless communications, automation, instrumentation and/or robotics will gain hands-on experience with a focus on marine electronic systems. Additionally, students graduating with this degree and possessing a license will be well prepared to become electronic technology officers. In the near future, at least one electronic technology officer will be required on sailing vessels.
SUMMERS @ SEA
Embedded within the university is the Texas A&M Maritime Academy, a highlyspecialized maritime training and education program. It is one of six state maritime academies in the United States and the only one located on the Gulf of Mexico. The academy’s mission is to provide the maritime industries of the State of Texas and the nation with highly trained and professional U.S. Coast Guard licensed deck and engine Merchant Marine Officers to serve on oceangoing and inland waterways vessels. To meet this mission, the Texas A&M Maritime Academy includes a Corps of Cadets. tamug.edu/corps
1 OF 6 STATE MARITIME ACADEMIES
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY aggies building
Teaching students about the importance of alternative energy sources and then instructing them on how to build devices like solar panels and wind turbines is the focus of a $60,000 grant awarded to two Texas A&M University at Galveston researchers.
Irfan Khan, assistant professor in the Department of Marine Engineering
Technology, and Jenna Lamphere, assistant professor of sociology in the Department of Liberal Studies, have received Texas A&M’s Presidential Transformational Teaching Grant for the project. The grant will be administered via the CARES (Clean And Resilient Energy Systems) lab in the Marine Engineering Technology Department.
“We intend to purchase a solar/wind energy training system that will demonstrate how wind turbines and solar cells are being used in the consumer and industrial markets to supplement the world’s power needs,” Khan said.
The program explores sunlight and wind as energy sources that can be used to help reduce dependence on non-renewable fuel sources, he said. Students will gain “a complete perspective” of the field by studying the economics, efficiency, and low environmental impact of producing energy from non-polluting, renewable sources.
“All of these training systems are made from real-world components that are used in industry, the same that students see in their homes, schools, and workplaces, but their size is bit smaller than the industrial ones, specifically developed for laboratory and training purposes,” Khan said.
Alok Verma, professor and head of marine engineering technology, said the grant is especially important for future clean-energy studies.
“Alternative energy is a strategic growth area in our Marine Engineering Technology Department,” he said. “In addition to the CARES lab and the work Dr. Khan is doing, we are in the process of hiring an additional faculty member to help support research, curriculum and training in this area. We will also be collaborating with the Ocean Engineering Department for wave power generation and marine robotics.”
Dr. Irfan Khan Assistant Professor, Dept. of Marine Engineering Technology
After leading the monumental Panama Canal expansion, Ilya Espino de Marotta ‘85 inadvertently became an inspiration for women engineers worldwide
Ilya Espino de Marotta ’85 wanted to make a statement. In her nearly three decades working as an engineer maintaining the Panama Canal, she never encountered overt discrimination for being a woman in a male-dominated field. When she took the lead role for the canal’s massive $5 billion expansion project, though, there were grumblings in the international shipping industry that sat wrong with her.
“I learned that when my name was proposed during a meeting there were questions asked like, ‘Why her? Why not one of these three men?’” Espino de Marotta recalled. Despite her boss insisting that she was hired for her technical qualifications, she felt like she was working “on probation” and facing undue scrutiny for her gender. “That’s when I went out and bought a pink hard hat and safety vest. It was a message to my small surrounding group: ‘I’m a woman, and I can do this job.’”
In time, that message would travel further than she could have imagined.
ACROSS THE GULF
Born in Mexico and raised in Panama, Espino de Marotta was inspired by French ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, whose work propelled her to start SCUBA diving at 16 with dreams of a career in marine biology. When job opportunities for a marine biologist in Panama proved scarce, she set her sights on oceanography and enrolled at Texas A&M University for its renowned program in 1980.
However, she soon found her prospects there similarly lacking and adjusted her trajectory once again. “My drive was to be by the water,” Espino de Marotta remembered. Having flourished in her math and science courses, she changed her major to marine engineering, taking courses both at Texas A&M’s Galveston and College Station campuses. Her new major suited her well, but the transition to a new set of coursework requirements made for a grueling final semester.
Having promised her father she would graduate in four years, Espino de Marotta only had one semester to complete the final 21 hours she needed for an Aggie diploma.
LEARN MORE ABOUT ILYA’S WORK ON THE PANAMA CANAL
» SCAN TO CONTINUE READING
Aggie by the Sea and United States Coast Guard (USCG) Lieutenant Commander (LCDR)
Christopher P. Rabalais ‘09 earned his bachelor’s degree in Marine Engineering Technology from the Texas A&M Maritime Academy, utilizing his education to now serve as the Executive Officer at the USCG Marine Safety Unit (MSU) out of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Between his time at Galveston Campus and MSU Lake Charles, Rabalais received a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering as part of the USCG Marine Safety Engineering program. Additionally, he was stationed in Tokyo, Japan, and served in Washington, D.C. in the USCG Office of Design & Engineering Standards. LCDR Rabalais is a licensed mariner, holding a USCG 3rd Assistant Engineer Steam/Motor/GT license.
Congress approved $325 million in funding to construct a National Security MultiMission Vessel (NSMV) for use by the Texas A&M Maritime Academy in December 2020. The 524-foot state-of-the-art ship will be called Lone Star State and is expected at the Galveston Campus in 2025.
The U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded Texas the fourth vessel in this new class that are specifically designed to support maritime training needs and disaster response capabilities. Each year over 300 cadets live, work, learn and train alongside one another during a two-month summer sea term that provides hands-on atsea training and instruction. The vessels are equipped with training spaces that can support 600 cadets and serve the Gulf of Mexico in times of natural disasters.
Born in Kristiansand, Norway to a maritime family, Department of Marine Engineering Technology Assistant Professor of the Practice Frank Pedersen thought he had retired from a storied marine engineering career in 2017, when a teaching position at Texas A&M University at Galveston called him back.
The Chief Engineer has spent nearly 30 years at sea, working on plain bulk carriers, gas and oil tankers, and more, largely on behalf of Rolls Royce Marine USA as a Senior Marine Engineer. Just like his father and six uncles who came before him, Pedersen loves life on the water. Having earned his bachelor of marine engineering, as well as second, first, and Chief Engineer licenses; Pedersen serves as an advisor, lab coordinator, and specializes in the field of advanced diesel engine combustion analysis on the Galveston Campus.
HIGHLIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS departmental
HIGHLIGHTS
At the Port of Baltimore, Ports America Marine Superintendent Emily Drew ‘21 represents the Roll-On, Roll-Off (RoRo) division. These specialized vessels allow self-propelled cargo like cars or construction machinery the ability to roll on and off via their own wheels. On any given day, Drew aids in the loading and discharge of military cargo, exotic cars, and a number of household goods going to thousands of American homes.
Drew paired her Marine Engineering Technology major with a minor in Maritime Business Administration, providing her expertise in handling and overseeing the successful transfer and transportation of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cargo from vessels traveling around the world to the country’s top RoRo port.
Emily Drew ’21, Port of Baltimore, Ports America Marine Superintendent
1. Submit an ApplyTexas application. goapplytexas.org
2. Complete Essay A.
3. Pay a nonrefundable processing fee or submit a fee waiver ($75 for domestic applicants, $90 for international applicants).
4. Submit an official high school transcript.
5. For information on submission of official SAT and ACT scores, please visit https://admissions.tamu.edu/resources/future-students/college-readiness.
Transfer Applicants
1. Submit an ApplyTexas application. goapplytexas.org
2. Complete Essay A.
3. Pay a nonrefundable processing fee or submit a fee waiver ($75 for domestic applicants, $90 for international applicants).
4. Submit official college transcript(s) from all previously attended colleges and universities.
For additional information regarding undergraduate applications, including international, non-degree seeking, and re-admissions, please visit https://tamug.edu/admissions/ProspectiveStudents.html.
HOW TO APPLY FOR ENGINEERING @ GALVESTON PROGRAMS:
MULTIDISCIPLINARY ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY,
B.S.
It is recommended to indicate Galveston as your preferred location and to select one of the following majors: Interdisciplinary Engineering, Multidisciplinary Engineering Technology. This will ensure you are given full consideration for the Engineering at Galveston program.
1. Create account or login at the ApplyTexas website. goapplytexas.org
2. Select Texas A&M University (College Station) as target university.
3. Select Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Engineering, Multidisciplinary Engineering Technology or Ocean Engineering as first choice major option.
4. In the Custom Questions For This Institution section (page 9) select Galveston as preferred campus .
It’s important to note all admitted students follow a general engineering curriculum the first year to year and a half, whether beginning in College Station or Galveston. All students must utilize the Entry to a Major process to transition from general engineering into a degree-granting major.
ADDITIONAL STEPS TO APPLY FOR LICENSE OPTION
Students can elect for the License Option, which entails the required coursework for a U.S. Coast Guard 3rd Mate deck or engine officer. This is conferred to a student when they have completed all their academic requirements (including summer sea terms), as well as successful completion of the U.S. Coast Guard 3rd Mate exam.
1. After the university application is submitted, applicants may submit an application for the Texas A&M Maritime Academy. tamug.edu/corps
2. Submit the Texas A&M Maritime Academy application to the Office of Admissions via upload to the Applicant Information System (AIS), either by email to admissions@tamug.edu or mail to:
Texas A&M University of Galveston Office of Admissions
P.O. Box 1675
Galveston, Texas 77553
Additional information regarding the Texas A&M Maritime Academy is available at tamug.edu/corps .
ENTRY TO A MAJOR PROCESS
The Entry to a Major (ETAM) process is designed for students to take ownership of their future to identify at least three majors that are a good match for their career goals and academic performance. The ETAM process utilizes a priority method that is designed to place students in the highest rank major possible based upon capacity and student performance.
Eligibility Requirements
General engineering students are required to complete the following courses with a minimum grade of C or higher:
Engineering: ENGR 102, ENGR/PHYS 216
Science: Two science courses from the following list: PHYS 206, PHYS 207, CHEM 107/117, CHEM 119, CHEM 120
Math: Two math courses from the following list: MATH 151, 152, 251, 308
Students in Galveston must complete at least two semesters of coursework in Galveston before transitioning to College Station, unless they choose to stay in Galveston to complete their degree. Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 and a term GPA of at least 2.0.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO GET STARTED
Scan to learn more about Entry to a Major
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Texas A&M University at Galveston has the salt air, warm sand, Gulf Coast sun, and so much more! Situated in a coastal urban environment that blends access to natural ecosystems with one of the largest international hubs of maritime industry, the campus draws world-renown scientists, thinkers and leaders to a campus perfectly positioned to challenge our students. When the time comes for our students to take their knowledge and skills into the world, it is not the end... but the beginning of a journey down the road of long-traveled Aggie excellence and tradition.
deadlines
Application Opens: 8/1
Undergraduate: goapplytexas.org
Graduate tamug.edu/grad
DEPARTMENT OF MARINE
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
www.tamug.edu/marr
Dr. Alok Verma
Department Head & Powell Chair Professor averma@tamug.edu
