Naval Architecture

Overview

At the heart of the Naval Architecture major are ships. Very, very large ships. Battle ships, aircraft carriers, submarines, sailboats, destroyers: the types of ships that take your breath away and that form the physical structure of our country’s naval defense system. Building these colossal floating forts involves cutting edge mathematics, engineering brilliance, and a creative soul. Military superiority, after all, is the product of not only great scientists, but creative minds as well.

This isn’t a major for the faint of heart. It not only involves some intense science, mathematics, and real hands-on experience, but perhaps even serving in the Navy itself. If you pursue the Naval Architecture major at the U.S. Naval Academy, you will earn both a bachelor’s of science and a commission as an officer in the U.S. Navy.

Selected Schools

Stevens Institute of Technology

Hoboken, NJ

$61,028 Tuition
1440 Avg SAT
4,092 Enrolled

Texas A&M University at Galveston

Galveston, TX

1190 Avg SAT
50,735 Enrolled

United States Coast Guard Academy

New London, CT

$0 Tuition
1260 Avg SAT
1,037 Enrolled

United States Naval Academy

Annapolis, MD

$0 Tuition
1310 Avg SAT
4,465 Enrolled

University of British Columbia

Vancouver, BC

32,486 Enrolled

University of Michigan—Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI

$59,775 Tuition
1440 Avg SAT
33,730 Enrolled

View All Naval Architecture Schools

SAMPLE CURRICULUM

Advanced Marine Vehicles
Analytical Applications in Ship Design
Applied Fluid Dynamics
Dynamics
Engineering of Thermodynamics
Naval Materials and Engineering
Principles of Ocean Systems Engineering
Resistance and Propulsion
Sea-keeping and Maneuvers
Ship Design I and II
Ship Hydrostatics and Stability
Ship Structures
Statistics
Strength of Materials
Submarine Design Analysis

HIGH SCHOOl PREPARATION

Since you probably won’t have any shipbuilding courses in your high school curriculum, focus on enhancing those advanced math and physics skills. Calculus will be especially helpful in preparing you for the rigorous math courses that lie ahead. Experience in mechanics, like automotive shop, could come in handy, too. Don’t forget those humanities, like history and English—courses that will be essential to your learning how to think outside of the box and solve problems.

GRADUATE PROGRAMS & CAREERS

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