If you're seeking a degree in ocean engineering, you will have fewer peers than average since the major degree program is the #306 one in the country in terms of popularity.As such, your educational options may be more limited than if you were in a more popular field.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 4 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Ocean Engineering Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 296 degrees in ocean engineering to qualified students.
The oe program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Ocean Engineering rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for ocean engineering schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Ocean Engineering Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Best Schools for Ocean Engineering in the United States
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the oe degrees they offer, see the list below.
Texas A&M University - College Station is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in ocean engineering. Texas A&M College Station is a very large public university located in the city of College Station. A Best Colleges rank of #42 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Texas A&M College Station is a great university overall.
There were roughly 65 ocean engineering students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent data year. Those ocean engineering students who get their degree from Texas A&M University - College Station earn $2,002 more than the standard oe grad.
Any student who is interested in ocean engineering has to take a look at University of Rhode Island. URI is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Kingston. This university ranks 5th out of 9 schools for overall quality in the state of Rhode Island.
There were approximately 38 ocean engineering students who graduated with this degree at URI in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the oe program state that they receive average early career income of $70,939.
Every student who is interested in ocean engineering needs to look into Florida Atlantic University. Located in the small city of Boca Raton, FAU is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 22nd out of 70 schools for overall quality in the state of Florida.
There were about 41 ocean engineering students who graduated with this degree at FAU in the most recent data year. After graduation, oe degree recipients generally earn an average of $67,941 in the first five years of their career.
Florida Institute of Technology is a great choice for students interested in a degree in ocean engineering. Located in the city of Melbourne, Florida Tech is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #199 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Florida Tech is a great school overall.
There were about 41 ocean engineering students who graduated with this degree at Florida Tech in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, oe degree recipients typically make an average of $68,475 at the beginning of their careers.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
The oe program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Ocean Engineering rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for ocean engineering schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
