Message from the President

For generations, Californians have used their coastline to fulfill their dreams and destinies. The Pacific Ocean and its tributaries have been utilized for business, as transportation to a new life, and as a focus of a preferred lifestyle. For over 80 years, this proud heritage has endured at the California State University Maritime Academy - a thriving institution of technology, engineering, international business, global studies, and transportation, located on the San Francisco Bay. Using our waterfront location, maritime tradition, and Corps of Cadets, we offer students a unique opportunity for intellectual, professional, and personal development. Our students participate in an educational system that emphasizes active learning both in and out of the classroom. By offering this blend of intellectual exploration, applied technology, and leadership training, Cal Maritime provides graduates with a breadth of professional skills unparalleled in most other institutions of higher education. In addition, the intimacy of a small residential institution creates a richness of shared experiences that defines and binds alumni for life.

Under the guidance and tutelage of a proud and dedicated faculty, staff, and administration, we offer a curriculum that, while unique, is flexible enough for graduates to seek careers in many technical, transportation, business, international trade policy, and engineering fields - as well as the traditional maritime fields of shipping, port and terminal management, offshore drilling, and the fishing industries. Proof of that flexibility lies in the fact that we traditionally have one of the highest employment rates of any undergraduate institution.

A major cornerstone of our strategic vision is global engagement, with our students participating in the annual cruise aboard our 500-foot Training Ship GOLDEN BEAR, sailing on a commercial ship, or working in a summer internship with international companies. These experiences expose our students to other cultures, introduce them to a global economy, and give them an opportunity to apply their skills in a real-world setting. In addition, our location on the Pacific Rim in the new American Pacific century offers students a vantage point from which to realize a horizon of enormous opportunity.

We are proud of our place in the California State University system and of our tradition of serving the state and nation as the West Coast’s only maritime university. I encourage you to begin preparing for your bright future at Cal Maritime.

Rear Admiral Thomas A. Cropper, USMS
President