Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Marine captain education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a marine captain. Marine captains usually study business, elementary education, or computer science. 57% of marine captains hold a bachelor's degree, and 30% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 58 real marine captain resumes to see exactly what marine captain education sections show.
The most common colleges for marine captains are the Southern Illinois University Carbondale and the Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
There are also many online marine captain courses to help get the education required to be a marine captain.
What education do you need to become a marine captain?
What degree do you need to be a marine captain?
- Bachelor's, 57%
- Master's, 30%
- Diploma, 7%
- High School Diploma, 3%
- Other Degrees, 3%
What should I major in to become a marine captain?
- Business, 16%
- Computer Science, 8%
- Biology, 4%
- Other Majors, 64%
Most common colleges for marine captains
| Marine captain common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Southern Illinois University Carbondale | 9.52% |
| Eastern Michigan University | 4.76% |
| University of Florida | 4.76% |
| Saint Anselm College | 4.76% |
| Tulane University | 4.76% |
Best majors for marine captains
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business | 16.0% |
| 2 | Elementary Education | 8.0% |
| 3 | Computer Science | 8.0% |
| 4 | Biology | 4.0% |
| 5 | Management | 4.0% |
Best colleges for marine captains
The best colleges for marine captains are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.
A marine captain with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for marine captains. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become marine captains.
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
4. Maine Maritime Academy
Castine, ME • Private
In-state tuition
$13,478
Enrollment
979
5. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
6. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Enrollment
9,142
7. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$9,808
Enrollment
13,990
8. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$53,308
Enrollment
6,819
9. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,488
Enrollment
30,018
10. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$49,880
Enrollment
4,177
20 best online courses for marine captains
Advertising disclosure
1. Paleontology: Ancient Marine Reptiles
Paleontology: Ancient Marine Reptiles is a four-lesson course teaching a comprehensive overview of the evolutionary changes that occur when air-breathing terrestrial animals return to water. This course examines the diversity, adaptations, convergence, and phylogenetic relationships of extinct marine reptiles. Students will explore three major groups of marine reptiles: ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs. Watch a preview of the course here:...
2. Marine Biology
This course is about life in the oceans, from the sunlit surface to the inky depths, from microscopic phytoplankton to the great blue whale. The ocean is among the world’s most inhospitable environments for scientific research, which is why we know as much about the surface of the moon as we do the bottom of the sea. This course uncovers the evolutionary history of marine organisms, adaptations to life in water, the behavior and functional morphology of sea animals, interactions between...
3. Learn Military Close Combat Training Captain Chris Pizzo
Military Hand-To-Hand Self Defense System Lets You Humiliate Younger, Tougher, BIGGER and More Experienced Attackers...
4. Maintenance Management Basics
Crucial knowledge and practices for successful maintenance department...
5. Automize Monthly Report Creation with Power Automate
Imagine you're working in a large company and part of your job is to send reports to other departments about employee absence from work in the past month. Basically, it is a repetitive and boring manual task that repeats every month and takes a lot of your time. However, you can easily automate it with SharePoint and Power Automate! In this beginner-level guided project "Automize Monthly Report Creation with Power Automate", we will create a SharePoint Site and a SharePoint list with data about...
6. Custom Reports in Google Analytics
In this project, you will create three custom reports in Google Analytics, using three different methods. You will understand the building blocks of a custom report. You will determine what data is needed for a custom report. And, you will create the custom report to best meet your analysis and monitoring needs. You will also discover the Google Gallery where you can find various types of custom reports, and import the ones that best meet your needs. Note: This course works best for learners...
7. Maintenance Planning Basics
Understanding maintenance planning basics of successful maintenance department...
8. Advanced Crystal Reports 2011 Training Video
A Comprehensive Crystal Reports Training Course That Takes Your Crystal Reports Skills To The Next Level...
9. Ash-Related Operational Challenges in Energy Utilization of Sustainable Fuels
The basic idea behind this MOOC, is to present recent data on fuel characterization, slagging, fouling, corrosion, and trace element transformations, in a course that can be readily provided for students and industry people. This ensures understanding and application of the research, and provides the students and industry with a forum for discussion of the very latest research results, as well as feedback from industry to the research group at DTU, on important new research subjects in the...
10. Salesforce Reporting
Salesforce Reporting focuses on how the micro-level changes in Salesforce affect the macro level of the user experience. In this course, you will focus on creating custom objects, field dependencies, and work flows to track accounts or services. It is also important that you maintain data clean for your organization and you will work with creating reports, managing data, and creating full reports and dashboards. Lastly, you will focus on your customer base with Salesforce Service Cloud to...
11. The Complete MARINE BIOLOGY 101 Course, Beginner to Advanced
The NEW course with everything you need on Marine Biology - 2021 Online CERTIFICATE - Taught by a real marine biologist!...
12. Garnett Cross Training in the Maintenance of Oil Hydraulics
This course will prepare you to work with hydraulic systems, plan maintenance and perform troubleshooting...
13. Create Python Linux Script to Generate a Disk Usage Report
There are many choices when it comes to writing scripts on Linux. The bash shell script has been a popular choice, since the bash shell itself is a programming language and the commands used in the script match the syntax of the shell. Python is becoming increasingly popular for scripting on Linux because of its simple syntax, easy access to Linux system commands, and powerful libraries with which to create reports, for example. In addition, Python can be used in other applications and on...
14. SAP Crystal Reports 2020 (and earlier versions)
How to create reports quickly and easily. For SAP Crystal Reports 2008, 2011, 2013, 2016 and 2020...
15. SAS programing on Reports and Tables generating
Create reports and tables using Proc Report, SAS Proc Tabulate, SAS Proc Print and SAS ODS...
16. Crystal Reports for SAP Business One Mastery Training Course
Learn how to easily create and modify SAP Business One reports and layouts using Crystal Reports...
17. SQL Server Reporting Services Part 2 (SSRS)
SQL Server Reporting Services Part 2 (SSRS): Deployment, Security, Report Builder, Mobile Report Publisher...
18. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS): 2022 edition
Build reports in MS SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS): Implement report layouts, add interactivity...
19. SAP Plant Maintenance(PM) Module Online Classes
Functional Module SAP Plant Maintenance(PM) with Configuration...
20. ComputerCavalry: Slow Computer Repair and PC Maintenance
Is your computer run slow? Take this course and learn how to speed up a slow computer!...
Top 10 most affordable universities for marine captains
The most affordable schools for marine captains are SUNY Farmingdale, california state university - bakersfield, and baruch college of the city university of new york.
If the best universities for marine captains are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for marine captains.
1. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
2. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
3. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
4. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
5. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,240
Cost of attendance
13,991
6. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
7. SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Utica, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,238
Cost of attendance
21,567
8. USF Sarasota-Manatee
Sarasota, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,587
Cost of attendance
13,043
9. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,488
Cost of attendance
22,990
10. Clayton State University
Morrow, GA • Private
In-state tuition
$5,419
Cost of attendance
17,697
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for marine captains
The hardest universities for marine captains to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.
Some great schools for marine captains are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for marine captains based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
3. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
4. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
5. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
6. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
7. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,407
8. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
Admissions rate
43%
SAT average
1,338
9. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
Admissions rate
40%
SAT average
1,376
10. Brandeis University
Waltham, MA • Private
Admissions rate
31%
SAT average
1,398
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for marine captains
The easiest schools for marine captains to get into are Oklahoma Wesleyan University, notre dame de namur university, and holy names university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a marine captain without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for marine captains.
1. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
2. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
3. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
4. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
5. LIM College
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
1,061
6. Nyack College
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
999
7. Life University
Marietta, GA • Private
Admissions rate
94%
SAT average
979
8. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
9. Presentation College
Aberdeen, SD • Private
Admissions rate
97%
SAT average
1,050
10. Oregon Institute of Technology
Klamath Falls, OR • Private
Admissions rate
96%
SAT average
1,139
Average marine captain salary by education level
| Marine captain education level | Marine captain salary |
|---|---|
| High School Diploma or Less | $52,357 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $65,105 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $54,869 |
Marine captain education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common transportation questions.
Search for marine captain jobs
Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025