Founded in 1891 by the legislature as the Massachusetts Nautical Training School, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy is the oldest continuously operating maritime academy in the United States. The Academy began as a floating maritime trade school aboard the school ship USS Enterprise, berthed next to the USS Constitution in Boston Harbor. During its 120-year history, the Academy has grown from an entering class of 40 cadets to a fully accredited, four-year, coeducational college granting baccalaureate and Master of Science degrees and with an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 1,700. The present name was assumed in 1942 when the Academy moved from Boston to a Hyannis campus on Cape Cod. In 1946, the Academy was authorized by the legislature to grant the Bachelor of Science degree. By 1948, after utilizing a variety of different training ships during World War II, the Academy obtained the USS Charleston. The draft of the Charleston, a former U. S. Navy gunboat, exceeded the depth of Hyannis Harbor, so the campus was again moved, this time to its present location in the village of Buzzards Bay. The present academic programs feature seven distinct undergraduate majors and three graduate programs. Graduates of the Academy's two oldest undergraduate programs, Marine Transportation and Marine Engineering, earn two-fold credentials: a fully accredited Bachelor of Science degree and a professional license as Third Mate or Third Assistant Engineer (both unlimited as to waters or vessel size). While adhering firmly to its original mission as a maritime college, the Academy has diversified its degree offerings in response to a changing environment for higher education and the needs of a dynamic maritime industry. More recent undergraduate program offerings include Bachelor of Science degrees in Facilities Engineering; Marine Science, Safety, and Environmental Protection; International Maritime Business; Emergency Management; and Energy Systems Engineering. The Academy's graduate programs include the Master of Science in Facilities Management, the Master of Science in Emergency Management, and the Master of Science in Maritime Business Management.
