by our College Data Analytics Team
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major” ranking - to help you make that decision.
In 2020-2021, 1,203 people earned their degree in marine transportation, making the major the 283rd most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, marine transportation graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $55,600 and had an average of $18,030 in loans still to pay off.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major” ranking looked at 18 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in marine transportation. To top this list, a school must have a successful marine transportation program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
The colleges and universities below are the best for marine transport students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend United States Merchant Marine Academy. The school came in at #1 for the Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major. USMMA is a small public school situated in Kings Point, New York. It awarded 106 ’s marine transport degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Texas A&M University - College Station. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major list. College Station, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s marine transport degrees to 67 students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend SUNY Maritime College. The school came in at #3 for the Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major. This small school is located in Throggs Neck, New York, and it awarded 59 ’s marine transport degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Marine Transportation at SUNY Maritime College
Out of the 18 schools in the Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Maine Maritime Academy landed the #4 spot on the list. Castine, Maine is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s marine transport degrees to 52 students in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Marine Transportation at Maine Maritime Academy
Out of the 18 schools in the Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern Michigan College landed the #5 spot on the list. Northwestern Michigan College is a small school located in Traverse City, Michigan that handed out 46 ’s marine transport degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Marine Transportation at Northwestern Michigan College
Massachusetts Maritime Academy ranked #6 on this year’s Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major list. Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s marine transport degrees to 33 students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
California State University Maritime Academy ranked #7 on this year’s Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major list. Cal Maritime is a public institution located in Vallejo, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 30 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
San Jacinto Community College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major ranking. San Jacinto College is a large school located in Pasadena, Texas that handed out 17 ’s marine transport degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Marine Transportation at San Jacinto College
The Landing School landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major ranking. The Landing School is a small school located in Arundel, Maine that handed out 9 ’s marine transport degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read full report on Marine Transportation at The Landing School
With a ranking of #9, The College of the Florida Keys did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major list. This small school is located in Key West, Florida, and it awarded 22 ’s marine transport degrees in 2020-2021.
Full The College of the Florida Keys Marine Transportation Report
West Kentucky Community and Technical College did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major ranking, coming in at #11. This small school is located in Paducah, Kentucky, and it awarded 18 ’s marine transport degrees in 2020-2021.
Full West Kentucky Community and Technical College Marine Transportation Report
University of Alaska Southeast did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major ranking, coming in at #12. This small school is located in Juneau, Alaska, and it awarded 2 ’s marine transport degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read more about Marine Transportation at University of Alaska Southeast
Orange Coast College did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major ranking, coming in at #12. Located in Costa Mesa, California, this fairly large public school awarded 6 degrees to qualified ’s marine transport students in 2020-2021.
Clatsop Community College landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major ranking. This small school is located in Astoria, Oregon, and it awarded 1 ’s marine transport degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Marine Transportation at Clatsop Community College
With a ranking of #14, Alpena Community College did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major list. Alpena Community College is a small public school situated in Alpena, Michigan. It awarded 0 ’s marine transport degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Marine Transportation at Alpena Community College
Saddleback College came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major ranking. This fairly large school is located in Mission Viejo, California, and it awarded 0 ’s marine transport degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Marine Transportation at Saddleback College
With a ranking of #14, Santa Barbara City College did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major list. SBCC is a fairly large public school situated in Santa Barbara, California. It awarded 4 ’s marine transport degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Marine Transportation at Santa Barbara City College
Irvine Valley College landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Marine Transport Major ranking. Irvine Valley College is a fairly large public school situated in Irvine, California. It awarded 0 ’s marine transport degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Marine Transportation at Irvine Valley College
Read more about our data sources and methodologies