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Coastal Engineering Studen installs and tests LiDAR technology used to measure waves and coastal change during storm impact.

Coastal Engineering, B.S.

Address Coastal Challenges From Population Growth to Rising Sea Levels
  • 1st

    University in the U.S. to Offer a Bachelor of Science Degree Focused on Coastal Engineering

  • 10%

    Expected Job Growth by 2022

  • 103

    Among Public National Universities, U.S. News & World Report

As a coastal engineer, your job could include:

Contributing to estuarine, aquatic and/or wetlands restoration, beach nourishment and erosion solutions.

Dredging, marinas and harbors, private and waterfront recreation structures such as fishing piers, marina docking structures and boat launch ramps.

Seawalls, bulkheads, revetments and breakwaters, wave fences and fendering.

Stormwater management, water quality issues and ecology, wetland delineation/mitigation design, wave runup/overtopping analysis.

program completion feature
program completion feature

Learn To

Study engineering statics, mechanics of solids, fluid mechanics, economic analysis

Learn about coastal wave mechanics, computational modeling, coastal structures

Dig into dredging and beach renourishment

Top it off with a two-semester capstone course

Coastal Engineering Program Overview

Love the Beach? Make It Your Life’s Work.

Coastal communities face issues arising from hurricanes, rising sea levels and tremendous population growth.

Among the areas you will cover as a student at UNCW are beach nourishment, dredging, sediment transport, wave dynamics, coastal structure analysis and design, hydrology, ports, jetties and inland waterways, as well as other areas.

You will have the opportunity for extensive field research in the area's waterways and coastal habitats under the direction of faculty scholars and access to state-of-the-art facilities, including the UNCW Center for Marine Science.

Take advantage of UNCW’s location and expertise

The program leverages the university's expansive expertise in earth and ocean sciences, physical oceanography and environmental science, as well as the regional and geographic distinctiveness of coastal North Carolina.

It focuses on foundational courses in math and physics and specialized coursework in coastal engineering and marine sciences.

As a coastal engineering student, you will address issues affecting coastal communities through the application of:

  • Geological and physical oceanography
  • Coastal management curriculum
  • Applied physics
  • Civil and ocean engineering fundamentals

Work with internationally respected faculty

UNCW is an internationally recognized leader in coastal and marine science education and research.

Our faculty leads research in areas affecting coastal communities around the world through the application of geological and physical oceanography, coastal management, applied physics, and civil and ocean engineering.

Opportunity awaits you at UNCW

CORE COURSE WORK

  • Statics - Dynamics
  • Materials science
  • Data analysis
  • Coastal processes
  • Geospatial analysis
  • Fluid dynamics
  • Wave mechanics
See The Full Curriculum

HOW DO I GET INTO COASTAL ENGINEERING?

The major is offered within the Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography.

Once you are accepted to UNCW, as a freshman you should take the combined ENG 101/UNI course which will satisfy the University Studies requirement for First-Year Seminar and get you on the right foot to begin the program. This course is three credits.

If you are a sophomore or transfer student, you should take ENG 101, which is a two-hour course. You will not need the additional UNI component.

Math is critical to the coastal engineering program, so you will need to take a math course every semester.

You can start with MAT 112 or MAT 161, but if you place into MAT 105 or 111, you will need to take summer classes or delay graduation to complete the degree.

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