The United States Merchant Marine Academy is one of the five United States service academies. It is charged with training officers for the United States Merchant Marine, branches of the military, or the transportation industry.
Midshipmen (as students at the Academy are called) are trained in Marine Engineering, navigation, ship's administration, maritime law, personnel management, international law, customs, and many other subjects important to the task of running a large ship.
Between 1874 and 1936, diverse Federal legislation supported maritime training through schoolships, internships at sea and other methods. A disastrous fire in 1934 aboard the passenger ship SS Morro Castle, in which 134 lives were lost, convinced the U.S. Congress that direct Federal involvement in efficient and standardized training was needed.
Congress passed the landmark Merchant Marine Act in 1936, and two years later, the U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps was established. The first training was given at temporary facilities until the Academy's permanent site in Kings Point, New York was acquired in early 1942. Construction of the Academy began immediately, and 15 months later the task was virtually completed. The Academy was dedicated on September 30, 1943, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who noted that "the Academy serves the Merchant Marine as West Point serves the Army and Annapolis the Navy."
World War II required the Academy to forego normal operation and devote all of its resources toward meeting the emergency need for merchant marine officers. Enrollment rose to 2,700, and the planned course of instruction was reduced in length from four years to 18 months. Not-withstanding the war, shipboard training continued to be an integral part of the Academy curriculum, and midshipmen served at sea in combat zones the world over. One hundred and forty-two midshipmen gave their lives in service to their country, and many others survived torpedo and aerial attacks. From 1942-1945, the Academy graduated 6,895 officers. As the war drew to a close, plans were made to convert the Academy's wartime curriculum to a four-year, college level program to meet the peacetime requirements of the merchant marine. In 1948 such a course was instituted.
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| Percent of Students International: | 2% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 81% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | Yes |
| Member of: | NAA, NCAA |
| Sports Include: |
Football (Freedom Football Conference) Basketball (Skyline Conference) Baseball (Skyline Conference) Track (Eastern College Athletic Conference) |
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 2,074 | 17% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 3,892 | 32% | |
Any Aid: |
36% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 24% (Most Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| SAT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting SAT Scores: | 82% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Verbal: 555, Math: 586 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Verbal: 665, Math: 663 |
| ACT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting ACT Scores: | 22% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Composite: 25, Verbal: 24, Math: 25 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Composite: 30, Verbal: 29, Math: 28 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Not Required |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Recommended |
| High School GPA: | Required |
| High School Rank: | Required |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Required |
| TOEFL: | Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
College Advice
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Best Answer
You'll need a "sponsor" to attend. That means you need to contact your local senator and see if they have already nominated their quota yet. Have your transcripts ready, a letter of why you want to attend the Academy, and a brief bio (no more than one page) that shows your strengths, academically and socially.
If you are unable to get accepted into the US MMA, you can always attend one of the State MMAs. They offer fully accredited degrees and do not have as many strings attached.
For example, if you "drop out" of the USMMA, you'll have to do some time in the US Navy to fulfill your obligation. Whereas if you attend a State Academy you don't have this requirement.
The downside to the state academies is that you have to pay your way, versus the free ride at the USMMA. This can be overcome with student loans, student work programs, etc.
The upside to the State Academies is that you can simply transfer to another university if you decide it's not for you, you will get (in many cases) a better "hands on" experience from them as a few of them have training ships that allow you to actually "do the work" instead of just sailing on a commercial ship, and the lifestyle is more like a regular university instead of a military academy.
If you have specific questions regarding the industry, feel free to ask at: coolsteam@aol.com
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A couple questions here:
If you wanted to work in shipping vessels, would one be better than the other?
I know mariners are civilians but becuase of their occasional ties to the navy does USMMA have a "boot-camp" (i use that term lightly, of course)? And a Maritime Academy?
Are all Maritime Academies generally the same, or are some states' better than others?
I'm assuming a degree from either school could translate well into becoming an officer in the USCG?
I know it's a lot, so thanks in advance.
19 months ago
Best Answer
I've spent some time exploring the Maritime academies--they all have Web sites. There are only about seven of them in the U.S., so they shouldn't be hard to go through.
If you go to the USMMA, you become a Merchant Marine, not a member of the Coast Guard. To become a member of the Coast Guard, you would go to (or try to go to--admissions is competitive) the Coast Guard Academy.
At the USMMA, you owe a term of service to the Merchant Marines following your graduation. At the other Maritime schools, you owe no service to the Merchant Marines, but with many programs, you will graduate in a position that if you wanted to join, you would join as an officer.
At USMMA, there is a regimental indoctrination, similar to what you would think of as "boot camp." Additionally, students wear uniforms and act as part of a regiment, just as they would at any other service academy.
At other maritime academies, there are also regiments. Certain majors require you to be a part of the regimental lifestyle (uniforms, discipline, rigorous training), and for other majors, it is optional.
Each academy probably has its own feeling. Explore the different Web sites, email the schools, visit; find the one that fits you. After graduation, you can join the Merchant Marines , work for a private shipping company, or try to get into the 17-week Coast Guard officer training school (which is supposedly very hard to get into). Certainly, Great Lakes Maritime Academy is going to focus more on traversing the Great Lakes than the other schools. And the California
Academy will probably focus more on travel in the Pacific Ocean than the others.
Good luck.
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I know that the Merchant Marine Academy in Kingspoint New York IS a service academy and that the Offiers become Naval Reservist, but what abut the common sailors are they considered Military?
yes but in a time of war?
21 months ago
Best Answer
NOPE.. they are civilian...but thyey have come under military jurisdiction before.. e.g. Liberty ships and Victory ships under WWII...
Not as uncommon as you might think.. even civil servants (fed) can and are shipped overseases by the military if they want to ship em (read the fine print)
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