Maritime Honours Degree Courses and Cadetships

Ships in dock

These courses are currently being approved for delivery.  We expect to run them from September 2024.

From September 2024, we will offer three new Honours Degree programmes as part of a Merchant Navy cadetship:

  • BSc (Hons) Nautical Science
  • BEng (Hons) Marine Engineering
  • BEng (Hons) Marine Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Who are these programmes for?

These programmes form part of a Merchant Navy cadetship so to undertake one of these programmes, you will need to apply to a shipping or training company and obtain sponsorship.  The companies cover the cost of your programme and related training courses, your uniform and pay you an allowance (how much varies slightly by company). 

You can find out more about how to apply to a company on the Careers at Sea website, where you can also find a list of sponsoring companies.

Meet the Companies

You can also come along and chat to the companies at one of our maritime careers open days - find out more here.

What are these programmes?

Approved by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Merchant Navy Training Board (MNTB), these three-year programmes combine academic education with vocational training and 12 months’ industrial placement onboard ships, leading to an application for the relevant Certificate of Competency (CoC). The CoC is required if you wish to work onboard ship.

This approach means a more intensive study experience but means you are qualified and ready to get to work as an officer more quickly!

In addition to this programme providing a full accelerated honours degree, students on the programme will also undertake a cadet training programme, which runs alongside the academic award. You will cover topics such as STCW basic training in vocational areas such as first aid, fire fighting and survival at sea, alongside courses such as enclosed space rescue. The STCW courses you do will depend on which discipline you follow.

What qualifications do I need?

You will need to meet the following criteria to apply for a place on this programme:

  • 60 UCAS points at A/AS level, including subjects which support the application
  • GCSE Mathematics (level 5 or above), Science and English Language (level 4 or above or equivalent letter grades)

There are alternate entry requirements - you can check these out at the links below.  You can also find out at the links about English Language and medical requirements for the programmes.

Find out more about the programmes

Click the link of the programme you are interested in:

BSc (Hons) Nautical Science

BEng (Hons) Marine Engineering

BEng (Hons) Marine Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Our team are on hand on 01253 504800 or maritime@blackpool.ac.uk if you need any further help information.

Contact Us


If you're not sure which course to choose, see the qualifications and study programmes we offer.

And if you want to chat with one of our experts, we're here Monday to Friday:




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Broadwater
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