You are here:: Home; Maritime Training; STCW Courses; Marine Engineering Officer - Honours Degree Programme

Marine Engineering Officer - Honours Degree Programme

Course Type:: OOW (Engine)
Training School:: Warsash Maritime School
Location:: Southampton, United Kingdom
Language:: English

This fully-sponsored cadet training programme leads to a BEng (Hons) Marine Engineering as well as the award of a UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Certificate of Competency (STCW A-III/I OOW).

This innovative new course combines the benefits of a maritime cadetship programme, supported by a sponsoring company and offering extensive hands-on training at sea on real working vessels, with the recognised career-enhancing potential of a full academic honours degree.

Fully sponsored by one of a huge range of shipping and maritime companies, and developed to meet the specific needs of the shipping industry and the Merchant Navy Training Board, your degree cadetship combines rigorous academic study at our dedicated cadet training centre in Southampton – one of the UK’s busiest ports – with extensive practical training at sea. Shipping out as an engineering officer cadet on a range of vessels owned or operated by your sponsoring company, you will develop the essential skills, knowledge and behaviours needed to become a Marine Engineering Officer in the Merchant Navy.

You will acquire a strong understanding of relevant modern ship-board engineering and electrical systems, their operating principles and safe practices. And you will develop a range of practical engineering skills appropriate to operating and problem-solving for ships’ propulsion and auxiliary machinery systems, as well as other relevant systems, in a safe and efficient manner. 

As part of your degree cadetship, you will gain your first qualification as an Engineering Officer of the Watch – and be equipped with all the knowledge and understanding to you need to undertake tasks as detailed in the industry-based onboard training – and with academic exemptions for further professional qualifications under the internationally recognised Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) and UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) regulations.

And with a full academic honours degree, you will also be well placed for a range of senior, shoreside and management roles later in your career – making this the perfect course for a long and lasting career in maritime engineering. 

Entry requirements

A minimum of 104 UCAS tariff points (including a numerate subject)
Plus GCSEs at grade 9 to 4 (A* to C) in the following subjects:

Mathematics (preferably Higher Tier)
English
Science (with significant Physical Science content)

For further information about UK qualifications, please refer to our course entry requirement statement.

Medical requirements

Officer cadets must be in good health and capable of passing the Merchant Navy Medical Examination (ENG1). Navigation officer cadets must also have normal colour vision and be able to pass the MCA sight test, although corrective lenses may be acceptable in certain cases.

Anyone contemplating a career as a ship’s officer would be well advised to take a medical examination and sight test as soon as possible to find out if there are any physical bars to their career aspirations.

The MCA holds a list of approved doctors throughout the UK who are able to provide ENG1 seafarer medical examinations.

Nationality

British shipping companies will normally only recruit UK or European Union nationals. However, the MCA certificates of competency may be awarded to people of any nationality and the training programmes are open to all.

A potential international candidate from outside the UK and EU should secure sponsorship from a suitable shipping company that will be able to provide appropriate sea service as part of the cadetship programme.

International students should also hold a formal International English Language Testing System (IELTS) certificate of at least 5.5, as a good knowledge of written and spoken technical English is required to commence the programme.