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Coastal Engineering & Coastal & Ocean Policy, Bachelor's/Master's Combined Program

Learn about Policies Governing Engineering Projects for Coastal and Ocean Resource Management
  • 1st

    U.S. university to offer a B.S. in Coastal Engineering with the only designated coastal and ocean policy graduate program in N.C.

Our Alumni Have Careers In:

Coastal engineers in government design projects guided by Congressional goals and appropriations, and meet conflicting societal values

Coastal engineer consultants support industry and local governments in managing coastal resources as mandated by federal and state regulations
Coastal engineers in start-up firms design innovative technology and infrastructure that meet coastal risk management needs while maximizing protections for ecosystem integrity

Learn To

Develop the knowledge and capabilities necessary for meeting engineering licensure requirements

Analyze policy and other policy relevant methods

Understand major policies guiding coastal and ocean resource use

Read and summarize legal opinions

Become confident in oral presentation and facilitating group discussion

Coastal Engineering and Coastal and Ocean Policy, Bachelor’s/Master’s Combined Program Overview

Efficient Pathway to Your Degree

The combined program provides an efficient path for students in Coastal Engineering to increase their marketable skills and knowledge through graduate study in policy. Any coastal engineering project must meet the design and implementation criteria established under policy and regulatory frameworks which means that, on the job, coastal engineers interact with these frameworks regularly. As a result, engineering employers have expressed a need for engineering graduates to have introductory knowledge of policy and democratic processes of decision making.

Students interested in the combined program begin to take graduate coursework in the fall of their senior year. This coursework is applied to meeting both the requirements of the B.S. Coastal Engineering and the M.S. Coastal and Ocean Policy degrees. Graduate coursework brings together students from other interdisciplinary programs on campus, giving students in the combined program opportunities to learn from and engage with a range of opinions and viewpoints. 

Contact Robin Connelly for more information. 

Sea turtle on a sandy beach beside the surf, moving toward the water.

Sample Courses

  • MPA 505: Policy Analysis
  • MCOP 511: Coastal and Ocean Law
  • EVS 585: Environmental Economics
  • EGN 502: Dredging and Beach Nourishment
  • MCOP 553: Water: Conflict & Cooperation
SEE THE FULL CURRICULUM

Steps for Admission to Combined Programs

  1. Undergraduate Application: If you are not a current UNCW student, submit the appropriate application to the Undergraduate Admissions Office.
  2. Communicate: Communicate your interest to participate in the combined program with your undergraduate advisor and the coordinator of the graduate program. This includes reviewing the process to be considered for the combined program and discussing when to apply to the Graduate School.
  3. Combined Program Approval: The graduate coordinator will review your request to participate in the combined program. Approval to apply for the combined program does not guarantee admission to the Graduate School.
  4. Junior Year: During your junior year, you will work with your undergraduate advisor and the coordinator of the graduate program to identify which graduate courses you may take as an undergraduate student.
  5. Senior Year: During your senior year, you will work with the graduate program coordinator to obtain approval to take graduate courses as an undergraduate student.
  6. Graduate School Application: UNCW's Graduate School requires that your bachelor's degree be awarded prior to the first day of graduate classes for the term that you begin the master's degree program. Apply to take graduate classes for the term you begin the master's program.
  7. UNCW Graduate School Contact Info: Email gradschool@uncw.edu with questions prior to submitting the graduate application as the application fee is non-refundable and non-transferable.

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  • Related Programs

    Coastal Engineering, B.S.

    The program, within the Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, 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 science.

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  • Coastal and Ocean Policy, M.S.

    The Master of Coastal and Ocean Policy (MCOP) is a professional, non-thesis, interdisciplinary degree program that immerses students in a unique curriculum aimed at advancing technical knowledge of coastal and ocean processes and resources as well as the tools and concepts of the policy making.

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