2026 Best Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Schools in California
Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer programs are offered at a focused set of schools across the country. The schools below stand out for the quality of their marine science/merchant marine officer programs.
For its 2026 ranking, College Factual looked at 1 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for marine science/merchant marine officer students pursuing a degree.
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Featured Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
Best Schools for Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer in California
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest overall marine science/merchant marine officer education in California.
Top Schools in Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer
Our analysis ranked California Maritime Academy the best school in the country for a degree in marine science/merchant marine officer. California Maritime Academy is a small public school located in the city of Vallejo. California Maritime Academy graduates 60% of students within six years. California Maritime Academy awarded about 94 marine science/merchant marine officer degrees in the most recent data year. Graduates of the marine science/merchant marine officer program make about $87,464 in their early career. California Maritime Academy graduates carry a median of $26,945 in student loans.
See the full marine science/merchant marine officer program report for California Maritime Academy
More Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Rankings
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs graduation rate, post-graduation earnings, cost, and program quality, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 1 school evaluated.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
