by our College Data Analytics Team
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Marine Sciences is the 679th most popular major in the country with 334 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
For this year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major” ranking, we looked at 28 colleges that offer a degree in marine sciences. That schools that top this list have a program in marine sciences in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
The marine sciences school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major”.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major”.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend College of Micronesia-FSM. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major list. Pohnpei, is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s marine sciences degrees to 14 students in 2020-2021.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Monterey Bay. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major list. California State University - Monterey Bay is a public institution located in Seaside, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 64 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Maine. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major list. UMaine is a fairly large school located in Orono, Maine that handed out 63 ’s marine sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 28 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major that were part of this year’s ranking, American Samoa Community College landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in PagoPago, , this small public school handed out 2 degrees to qualified ’s marine sciences students in 2020-2021.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Hawaii Pacific University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major list. Hawaii Pacific University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Honolulu, Hawaii. It awarded 8 ’s marine sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Cape Fear Community College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major ranking. Cape Fear Community College is a fairly large public school situated in Wilmington, North Carolina. It awarded 24 ’s marine sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major ranking, coming in at #7. This large school is located in San Luis Obispo, California, and it awarded 28 ’s marine sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Marine Sciences at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
Stony Brook University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major ranking. Located in Stony Brook, New York, this large public school handed out 27 diplomas to qualified ’s marine sciences students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%.
Read full report on Marine Sciences at Stony Brook University
Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major ranking. This fairly large school is located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and it awarded 6 ’s marine sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Marine Sciences at Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi
University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major ranking. Located in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, this medium-sized public school awarded 3 degrees to qualified ’s marine sciences students in 2020-2021.
University of Florida landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major ranking. University of Florida is a large public school situated in Gainesville, Florida. It awarded 23 ’s marine sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Florida Atlantic University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major ranking. This large school is located in Boca Raton, Florida, and it awarded 11 ’s marine sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Marine Sciences at Florida Atlantic University
University of Massachusetts - Boston did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major ranking, coming in at #13. UMass Boston is located in Boston, Massachusetts and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5 ’s marine sciences degrees to qualified students.
With a ranking of #14, University of California - Davis did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major list. University of California - Davis is located in Davis, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 12 ’s marine sciences degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.
Full University of California - Davis Marine Sciences Report
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley landed the #15 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major ranking. UT Rio Grande Valley is a large school located in Edinburg, Texas that handed out 4 ’s marine sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
The University of Texas at Austin came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major ranking. The University of Texas at Austin is a large public school situated in Austin, Texas. It awarded 15 ’s marine sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Marine Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin
Texas A&M University - College Station ranked #17 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major list. College Station, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s marine sciences degrees to 10 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
Read more about Marine Sciences at Texas A&M College Station
Nova Southeastern University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major ranking, coming in at #18. NUS Florida is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It awarded 3 ’s marine sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Marine Sciences at Nova Southeastern University
With a ranking of #19, San Francisco State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major list. San Francisco, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s marine sciences degrees to 3 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read full report on Marine Sciences at San Francisco State University
San Jose State University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major ranking, coming in at #20. Located in San Jose, California, this large public school handed out 3 degrees to qualified ’s marine sciences students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Alaska Fairbanks came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major ranking. University of Alaska Fairbanks is a medium-sized public school situated in Fairbanks, Alaska. It awarded 0 ’s marine sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Marine Sciences at University of Alaska Fairbanks
Maine Maritime Academy came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major ranking. Maine Maritime is a small school located in Castine, Maine that handed out 0 ’s marine sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read full report on Marine Sciences at Maine Maritime Academy
The College of the Florida Keys ranked #21 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major list. CFK is located in Key West, Florida and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 0 ’s marine sciences degrees to qualified students.
California State University - Stanislaus came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major ranking. California State University - Stanislaus is a public institution located in Turlock, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 0 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Eckerd College ranked #21 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major list. This small school is located in Saint Petersburg, Florida, and it awarded 0 ’s marine sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
University of Massachusetts Amherst ranked #21 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major list. Amherst, Massachusetts is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s marine sciences degrees to 3 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Lake Superior State University ranked #21 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major list. Lake Superior State University is a public institution located in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan. The school has a small population, and it awarded 0 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Marine Sciences at Lake Superior State University
With a ranking of #21, Western Washington University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Marine Sciences Major list. Western Washington University is a fairly large school located in Bellingham, Washington that handed out 0 ’s marine sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Marine Sciences at Western Washington University
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
