Mar 19, 2024  
CSU Maritime Academy 2015/16-2016/17 Catalog 
    
CSU Maritime Academy 2015/16-2016/17 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Baccalaureate Degrees, Programs and Requirements



Baccalaureate Degrees

Cal Maritime awards the Bachelor of Science and the Bachelor of Arts degrees.

Bachelor of Science Degree Majors:

  • Business Administration
  • Facilities Engineering Technology
  • Marine Engineering Technology
  • Marine Transportation
  • Mechanical Engineering

Bachelor of Arts Degree Major:

  • Global Studies and Maritime Affairs

Minors

Students wishing to declare a minor will complete a coherent program of courses in some field other than their major. A completed minor will be noted on the student’s transcript. For descriptions of minors, see the sections in this catalog of the various departments. The following minors are available:

ABS School of Maritime Policy and Management

  • Business Administration
  • Global Studies and Maritime Affairs
  • Law

Department of Mechanical Engineering

  • Power Generation

Department of Naval Science

  • Naval Science

Department of Sciences and Mathematics

  • Marine Science
  • Mathematics

Minor Requirements

The following requirements apply for all minors:

  • Minors consist of at least 15 units
  • No coursework used to fulfill minor requirements may simultaneously fulfill requirements toward another minor or toward courses that are identified on the student’s curriculum sheet as a “Course in Major”
  • All courses used to complete the minor must be completed with at least a C grade
  • At least nine of the units must be completed at Cal Maritime

Licenses and Certifications

Cal Maritime offers licensed programs for the Third Mate or Third Assistant Engineer license of the United States Coast Guard. Licenses are issued at graduation upon successfully completing the appropriate baccalaureate degree and passing the United States Coast Guard licensing examination.

Engineering students who pass the Fundamentals of Engineering examination receive an Engineer-In-Training Certificate.

Students completing ET 342 - Refrigeration and Air Conditioning  coursework are eligible to take a written exam for professional certification as EPA Universal Technicians.

Military Training Options

At Cal Maritime, all students are members of the Corps of Cadets. They are required to wear uniforms, attend formations and stand watch. However, there is no armed service obligation requirement. Military options are available such as ROTC and the Strategic Sealift Officer Program (see section on Military Opportunities ).

Baccalaureate Degree Requirements

Cumulative Grade Point Average for Graduation

A candidate for a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree at Cal Maritime must have completed the academic program with a cumulative GPA of not less than 2.00 in each of three separate assessments:

  • Overall: all baccalaureate-level units completed (all college-level work, no matter what the institution, including Cal Maritime);
  • Campus: all units completed at Cal Maritime
  • Major: all units completed in the major.

Requirements in United States History, Constitution and American Ideals

The California Code of Regulations requires that students demonstrate competencies in U.S. History, the U.S. Constitution, and California State and local government for graduation. These requirements may be satisfied through the completion of one course in U.S. government and one course in U.S. history.

Residency Requirements

A student must complete at least three years of curriculum at a State or Federal academy to be eligible for a U.S. Coast Guard license (46 CFR Ch II, Part 310). To be eligible for a degree from Cal Maritime, a student must complete a minimum of 30 units of upper division coursework at this institution.

General Education Program

Description of Program

The California State University Maritime Academy embraces the principles of general education for the California State University as outlined in the California State University Executive Order 1100: “CSU General Education Breadth requirements have been designed to complement the major program and electives completed by each baccalaureate candidate, to assure that graduates have made noteworthy progress toward becoming truly educated persons.” Whenever possible, Cal Maritime subscribes to the breadth and depth requirements, but given the number of high-unit professional and licensure major degree programs, some exceptions may apply. Specific information on exceptions and curricular paths can be found in those catalog sections devoted to specific majors.

General Education Requirements

  • Every baccalaureate candidate who has not completed either the IGETC or UC-campus pathway shall complete the CSU General Education Breadth requirements totaling a minimum of 48 semester units.
  • A grade of C or better is required of each CSU or transfer student completing courses in written communication in the English language, oral communication in the English language, critical thinking, and mathematics or quantitative reasoning.
  • At least nine of these semester units must be upper-division level, taken no sooner than the term in which upper-division status (completion of 60 semester units) is attained.
  • At least nine of the 48 semester units must be earned at Cal Maritime.
  • Through a process of campus-wide curriculum review and approval, Cal Maritime permits the “double counting” of courses for General Education Breadth with major requirements and prerequisites only after giving careful consideration to the impact of such actions on general education programs.
  • Cal Maritime permits up to six semester units taken to meet the United States History, Constitution, and American Ideals Requirement to be credited toward also satisfying General Education Breadth Requirements.
  • Students admitted who cannot demonstrate such basic competence should be identified as quickly as possible and be required to take steps to overcome those deficiencies. Any coursework completed primarily for this purpose shall not be applicable to the baccalaureate degree.

General Education Subject Area Distribution

Instruction approved to fulfill the following subject-area distribution requirements should recognize the contributions to knowledge and civilization that have been made by members of diverse cultural groups and by women as well as men.

Area A: English Language Communication and Critical Thinking
A minimum of nine semester units or twelve quarter units in communication in the English language, to include both oral communication (subarea A1) and written communication (subarea A2), and in critical thinking (Area A3), to include consideration of common fallacies in reasoning.

Area B: Scientific Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning
A minimum of twelve semester units to include inquiry into the physical universe and its life forms, with some immediate participation in a related laboratory activity, and into mathematical concepts and quantitative reasoning and their applications. In subareas B1-B3, students develop knowledge of scientific theories, concepts, and data about both living and non-living systems. Courses in subarea B4 have an explicit intermediate algebra prerequisite, and students develop skills and understanding beyond the level of intermediate algebra.

Area C: Arts and Humanities
A minimum of twelve semester units among the arts, literature, philosophy and foreign languages. Across the disciplines in their Area C coursework, students cultivate intellect, imagination, sensibility and sensitivity. Students respond subjectively as well as objectively to aesthetic experiences and will develop an understanding of the integrity of both emotional and intellectual responses.

Area D: Social Sciences
A minimum of twelve semester units dealing with human social, political, and economic institutions and behavior and their historical background.
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Area E: Lifelong Learning and Self-Development
A minimum of three semester units in study designed to equip learners for lifelong understanding and development of themselves as integrated physiological, social, and psychological beings.

Graduation Requirement in Writing Proficiency

The Graduate Writing Examination (GWE)

The Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR) requires that all CSU students demonstrate competence in written communication before they are granted a baccalaureate degree. At Cal Maritime, all students who have achieved junior standing and have completed EGL 100 - English Composition  and at least 60 units of academic coursework must either take EGL 300 - Advanced Writing  or successfully complete the Graduate Writing Examination (GWE).

The GWE may be attempted twice, but students who fail a second time must take EGL 300 . The class and the exam are offered every semester. Students who sit for the GWE will be charged a fee.

Please note that according to the Chancellor’s Office Executive Order 665 of 1997, “Students shall be matriculated at the CSU campus where they satisfy the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR).” Unless a student has previously met this requirement at another CSU campus before transferring to Cal Maritime, he or she must satisfy the GWAR at Cal Maritime.

Students taking the GWE read a passage of roughly 600 to 800 words and use that reading as a basis for their written commentary. Students are expected to answer a question (or questions) in a 700-word essay with clarity, quality of thought, sound writing mechanics and completeness, as well as unity and development of concepts. Students have three (3) hours in which to complete the handwritten exam and they are allowed to use dictionaries and thesauri. Non-native English speakers and students with documented disabilities will receive special accommodation, upon request.

For more information about the GWAR or the GWE at Cal Maritime, contact Dr. Amy Parsons at aparsons@csum.edu.

U.S. Coast Guard License Examination

The U.S. Coast Guard will issue a license as Third Mate or Third Assistant Engineer to license-track graduates of Cal Maritime who

  • are U.S. citizens
  • complete the licensed program
  • meet the standards established by the U.S. Coast Guard, and
  • pass the license examination

To be eligible to take the license examination, a student must:

  • apply to the U.S. Coast Guard to sit for the license exam in the last semester of attendance
  • pay appropriate U.S. Coast Guard fees, and
  • complete all Cal Maritime STCW/USCG license requirements

For further information, contact the USCG Licensing Program Coordinator.

Sea Training Requirements

Three training cruises, established by the U.S. Coast Guard, are required of all students seeking a license as Third Mate or Third Assistant Engineer. During the training periods students put the skills and knowledge they have been taught in the classroom to the ultimate test-actual practice. The entire operation of the Training Ship GOLDEN BEAR is performed by students, with licensed faculty officers acting in an advisory capacity. First-year students do the more elementary tasks, while third-year students perform all the duties of ship officers.

The sea training is designed to comply with the International Maritime Organization’s Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping of Seafarers, 1978, as amended. Additionally, the sea training is designed to provide all students with an understanding of the maritime industry and the requirements of living in a ship environment.

The cruises will be accomplished in the following order on the following vessels: training ship, commercial ship, and training ship. This program is part of the academic curriculum and carries credit for graduation.

Transfers from other state maritime academies or the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy will be evaluated on a case by case basis for completion of Cal Maritime’s approved program, including sea time equivalency.

Military, merchant mariner sea time external to Cal Maritime’s approved program and volunteer/observer sea time may not be used in meeting the sea service requirements.

A student’s major will normally determine the type of sea training. The required amount of sea training for each major is as follows:

  • Business Administration / International Business and Logistics - one sea training or international experience
  • Facilities Engineering Technology - one sea training experience as an engineering student
  • Global Studies and Maritime Affairs - one sea training or international experience
  • Marine Engineering Technology - three sea training experiences as an engineering student
  • Marine Transportation - three sea training experiences as a marine transportation student
  • Mechanical Engineering (license) - three sea training experiences as an engineering student
  • Mechanical Engineering (non-license) - one sea training experience

Commencement and the Awarding of Degrees and Licenses

In order for a degree candidate to participate in commencement he/she must be able to complete all academic requirements before the beginning of the following fall semester. Students are expected to apply for graduation by the deadlines published on the Office of the Registrar’s website. The Registrar’s Office will then determine eligibility to participate in commencement. The degree and any appropriate license will be awarded upon completion of all degree requirements.