Deck (navigation) Officer - Honours Degree Programme

Course Type:

OOW (Deck)

Training School:

Warsash Maritime School

Location:

Southampton, United Kingdom

Language:

English

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 - BSc (Hons) Nautical Science.

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 a deck 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 deck officer in the Merchant Navy. As well as developing your personal, interpersonal and leadership skills, you will learn to work competently and responsibly as an individual and as part of a team.

Using theoretical knowledge, practical experience and professional skills and judgement informed by study and experience in the workplace, you will acquire a strong understanding of the fundamental principles and interrelationships of the three main shipboard functional areas – navigation, shipboard operations and management – and learn to anticipate, identify and generate timely and workable solutions to a wide range of problems and issues.

As part of your degree cadetship, you will gain your first qualification as an Officer of the Watch – and be equipped with all the knowledge and understanding 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 command.

Entry requirements

1. A minimum of 104 UCAS tariff points
2. 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)

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, 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 English is required to commence the programme.

Find out more

Visit https://maritime.solent.ac.uk/courses/deck/bsc-hons-nautical-science 

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