Massachusetts's campuses and the stories they hold.
The Story
Mass Maritime is a public university where every residential student is a uniformed cadet and the classroom sometimes floats. Its campus sits on the point where the Cape Cod Canal meets Buzzards Bay, and each winter cadets sail south for weeks aboard a 525-foot federal training ship. Graduates leave with a bachelor's degree, and many also earn a U.S. Coast Guard license as a ship's officer or engineer.
About this site
Massachusetts Maritime Academy is a college & university in Bourne, Barnstable County. It is one of 2 colleges & universities documented in Barnstable County, among 6,897 historic sites cataloged across the county on MassRoam.
The site sits at 41.7409, -70.6219 near Bourne. The nearest cataloged historic site is Aptucxet Trading Post Museum Well and Well House (museum), about 0.8 miles away. Others within a short drive include Aptucxet Trading Post Saltworks, Aptucxet Trading Post Musuem - Pavilion, and Aptucxet Trading Post Marker.
This record is drawn from MassRoam. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
What makes Massachusetts Maritime Academy different
The training ship Patriot State, 525 feet long, is the second of five National Security Multi-Mission Vessels that the federal government built for state maritime academies. The Maritime Administration handed it to the academy in October 2024. maritime.edu
The academy operates the SSV Ernestina-Morrissey, a Grand Banks fishing schooner launched in 1894 and now a National Historic Landmark. The schooner is based in New Bedford. maritime.edu
Since 1985 the campus has been the main Saturday-night stop for riders in the Pan-Mass Challenge cancer fundraiser. In 2026 the two signed a new 10-year agreement. maritime.edu
A 660-kilowatt Vestas wind turbine has stood on the waterfront since 2006. The academy owns and runs it. patriotrenewables.com
Each year the academy names a Maritime Person of the Year and awards the Emery Rice Medal, named for an 1891 graduate. The 2024 medal went to Liz Burdock of the offshore wind group Oceantic Network. maritime.edu
For everyday shiphandling and coastal navigation practice, cadets use the T/V Ranger, a 71-foot coastal training vessel built in 1981, along with small training tugs and seven ex-Navy motor whaleboats. maritime.edu
In June 2026 the academy's energy systems engineering team won first place in a national competition to promote electric ship propulsion. maritime.edu
Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay is a public university focused on maritime-related fields and the second-oldest state maritime academy in the United States. It was established in 1891 as the Massachusetts Nautical Training School, with its first class of cadets passing through in 1893 at its original Boston location. Federal reorganization of state maritime schools in 1942 brought the move to Cape Cod and the present name, and the academy settled at its Buzzards Bay campus in 1949. Residential students belong to the Regiment of Cadets and complete winter 'sea terms' aboard the academy's training ship.
The school kept the name Massachusetts Nautical Training School until 1913, when it became the Massachusetts Nautical School. When it left Boston in 1942 it did not go straight to its present home. For seven years cadets lived and studied on the former campus of the Hyannis State Teachers College, and they moved to Taylor's Point in Buzzards Bay only in 1949.
In 1964 the academy rejoined the state college system and won the right to award four-year bachelor of science degrees. Women were first admitted as cadets in 1977. For most of the century the school taught just two licensing majors, marine transportation and marine engineering. In 1990 it began adding majors such as emergency management, facilities engineering, energy systems engineering and international maritime business, and it now also runs weekend master's programs for working professionals.
The academy has trained on a long line of ships. The first was the Navy sloop-of-war Enterprise, assigned in 1892, and later vessels included the converted cargo ship Kennedy, which served from 2009 to 2023. In October 2024 the federal Maritime Administration handed over the new Patriot State, a purpose-built training vessel. The academy also operates the 1894 Grand Banks schooner Ernestina-Morrissey, which is based in New Bedford.
#3 Top Public Schools, Regional Universities North — U.S. News & World Report, 2027source
#11 Regional Universities North; #33 undergraduate engineering programs at schools without a doctorate — U.S. News & World Report, 2026source
#10 in the nation for return on investment, based on Georgetown CEW earnings data — U.S. News & World Report, 2025source
#402 among America's Top Colleges (#147 in the Northeast) — Forbes, 2027source
4.5 stars, Best Colleges in America — Money, 2026source
Majors & programs
All seven bachelor's majors are tied to the sea, energy or emergency response. Cadets in marine engineering and marine transportation must complete four sea terms to sit for a U.S. Coast Guard license. Students in the other majors do internships or co-ops and may join a sea term when there is space. The three master's degrees are taught online on alternate weekends.
Known for
Marine Engineering
Cadets train to become licensed ship's engineers and complete four sea terms aboard the Patriot State. It was the largest group in the Class of 2024 outcomes report, with 47 graduates.
Known for
Marine Transportation
The deck-officer program behind graduates like Capt. Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama. Cadets practice shiphandling on the academy's own coastal training vessel, the T/V Ranger.
Known for
Energy Systems Engineering
Seniors must take the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, the first step toward a P.E. license. The academy's team won a national electric-propulsion competition in 2026.
Known for
Emergency Management
The program offers EMT and state Firefighter I/II certification. In 2025 its student chapter won the IAEM-USA Student Chapter Award from the International Association of Emergency Managers.
Known for
Graduate earnings
In a 2025 Massachusetts Department of Higher Education report, Mass Maritime graduates had the highest median earnings of the state's 29 public colleges and universities, more than $15,000 ahead of the next school.
Richard Phillips — captain of the MV Maersk Alabama during the 2009 Somali pirate hijacking; portrayed by Tom Hanks in 'Captain Phillips' (1979 graduate) en.wikipedia.org
William J. Flanagan Jr. — U.S. Navy admiral who commanded the U.S. Atlantic Fleet (B.S. in marine transportation, 1964) en.wikipedia.org
Leon Topalian — president and CEO of Nucor, North America's largest steelmaker, since 2020 (Class of 1991) en.wikipedia.org
Christine M. Griffin — EEOC commissioner and later deputy director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (B.S.) en.wikipedia.org
William P. Doyle — commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission, 2013–2018 en.wikipedia.org
Where graduates work
MMA reports a 99% career outcomes rate for the Class of 2025 six months after graduation. 96% of graduates with salaried jobs reported earning $50,000 or more. Both figures come from the academy's own Office of Institutional Research. Its "career outcomes rate" counts graduates who are employed, in the military, in further study or volunteer service, and it also counts some still seeking work, so it is not a pure employment rate. In the more detailed Class of 2024 report, 73% of graduates with known outcomes were employed at six months. The employers below are the ones named in that report. maritime.edu
Chevron Shipping CompanyEversourceGeneral Dynamics Electric BoatHornbeck Offshore ServicesMarine Engineers' Beneficial Association (MEBA) union shipping
NCAA Division III · Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC)
BaseballCrew (men's and women's)Cross countryFootballLacrosse (men's and women's)Sailing (co-ed)SoccerSoftballTrack & fieldVolleyball (women's)
Sailing won the 2001 Kennedy Cup, the intercollegiate big-boat national championship hosted by the U.S. Naval Academy en.wikipedia.org
Football won New England Football Conference titles in 1977 and 1983 en.wikipedia.org
The Chowder Bowl: an annual football rivalry with SUNY Maritime College, played since 2007 mmabucs.com
Home venues: Clean Harbors Stadium (football) · Commodore William R. Hendy Field (baseball) · Allison Rollins Field (softball) · Clean Harbors Athletic Center
Mass Maritime Academy provides look inside high-tech container ship training simulator · CBS BostonMass. Maritime students take pride in real-life Capt. Phillips · WCVB Channel 5 BostonPatriot State ship docking in Tampa Bay carrying Maritime Academy students. Here's how you can see i · 10 Tampa Bay NewsSail Boston 250 - Massachusetts Maritime Academy · Massachusetts Maritime AcademyFather-Daughter Duo Make History At Mass. Maritime Academy · CBS Boston
Training licensed merchant marine officers. Cadets in marine engineering and marine transportation sail four sea terms aboard the training ship Patriot State. The academy also offers majors in emergency management, energy systems engineering, facilities engineering, maritime business and marine safety and environmental protection.
Do you have to be in the military to attend Mass Maritime?
No. Residential students join the Regiment of Cadets, which runs on a military-style structure with uniforms, but graduates have no service obligation. Some choose commissions in the Navy, Coast Guard or National Guard. Others go straight to sea or into industry.
What is a sea term?
It is a six-week training voyage, usually in January and February. Cadets rotate through classes, watches, maintenance and drills aboard the Patriot State and call at foreign ports along the way.
How big is Mass Maritime?
It had 1,488 students in Fall 2024 (1,402 undergraduates), according to the U.S. Department of Education, on about 54 acres in Buzzards Bay.
What division is Mass Maritime in sports?
NCAA Division III. The Buccaneers compete mainly in the MASCAC, with men's lacrosse in the Little East Conference and sailing in NEISA.
Do Mass Maritime graduates earn good salaries?
Yes. A 2025 Massachusetts Department of Higher Education report found its graduates had the highest median earnings among the state's 29 public colleges and universities.
Is Mass Maritime a good school?
U.S. News ranks it #3 among top public schools in the Regional Universities North category (2027 edition). Forbes and Money also include it on their 2026–27 lists.
The self-guided Massachusetts Maritime Academy campus tour tells the story of each landmark as you reach it (1.3 mi · walking · ~57m · 4 stops). It's included with MassRoam+, alongside 82,000+ Massachusetts historic sites on one live map.
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