architecture as all of the other schools combined.² However, because they are structured for the primary purpose of developing U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard officers, and the continued existence of these schools is, therefore, independent of the health of the commercial shipbuilding industry, they are not evaluated in this report. Similarly, because the maritime academies have in the past been structured for the primary purpose of developing officers for the merchant marine, these academies are not evaluated. Descriptions of the schools assessed by the committee are provided in Appendix E.

The committee selected a sample of the schools shown in Table 4-1 and focused attention on them.³ These schools are the University of California at Berkeley (Berkeley), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Michigan (Michigan), the University of New Orleans (UNO), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), and Webb Institute of Naval Architecture (Webb). The committee recognizes that a broader view of education in marine fields is necessary and urges further studies, particularly of the role of maritime academies in a period of decline for the U.S. Navy as well as the U.S.-flag merchant fleet.

Naval architecture is a traditional term for the hydrodynamic and structural design of ship hulls. Marine engineering encompasses the design of power systems and auxiliary equipment for ships. In U.S. universities, naval architecture and marine engineering are usually combined and considered as one program. In the United States, ocean engineering has grown from at least three distinct origins: