Launch Your Business Career in the Ocean Industry
Does the ocean hold the key to your success? A truly unique major that combines study in business and marine sciences, UNE’s B.S. in Marine Entrepreneurship allows you to nurture passions and career aspirations simultaneously. Our seaside campus, including a mile of coastline and a private island just off our shores, is the ideal environment for you to explore the intersection of business, management, economics, and marine science. Let the new ocean economy work for you.
Moustafa Abu El Fadl, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Finance and Innovation
The business department here is growing, and I’m excited to be a part of that. With the accounting classes or the finance classes — we need to have a structure. We need to build them in a way where you build up management, marketing, and other skills and add those all together so that when someone says, “I have a bachelor’s degree in Business from UNE,” you have all that you need to compete for jobs. That potential drew me here to UNE, especially when I met the people who work in the Makerspace.
The way that they work with students to try to innovate with new techniques is impressive. I see opportunity there in ways that could be linked to business. You can link business applications to the Makerspace where we can then sell products. We see students who want to create or innovate a project, we give them the tools and help them, and then we show them the application and market for it. I would be happy to see those links happen at UNE.
Interprofessional Education
The fact that we have a campus in Morocco and a new program in Iceland adds a whole other element for our students. Also having a medical school is extremely unique. It’s the only one in Maine. Having that on the same campus with undergraduate students is very special. There is opportunity there to leverage business in medical applications as well.
You see these other schools that are really good in one thing — engineering, business, communication, medical — and then you have UNE, which is great in many areas and so is in a league of its own.
When you have a bachelor’s degree in business from UNE, you have all that you need to compete for jobs.
Why UNE for Marine Entrepreneurship
Located just feet from the ocean, our Marine Science Center is an ideal hub for research, housing an array of Ocean Clusters that focus on sea vegetables/seaweeds, aquaponics, aquarium sciences, and other areas related to the marine industry.
- Only program of its kind in the U.S.
- Makerspace for innovative ideation and prototype development
- University-owned island and research vessels
- Hands-on, innovative business methods
- Green Learning Community for integrated study of environmental issues
- Student Innovation Challenge (idea-stage competition)
Career Paths for Marine Entrepreneurship Grads
Fuse your newly acquired knowledge of marine sciences and business in imaginative ways through research in the Marine Science Center and projects in our Makerspace. By combining these experiences with internships that expose you to marine industries and develop your business acumen, you can set your sails for success as a marine entrepreneur.
Marine Entrepreneurship majors may explore a wide variety of professions, including:
- Sustainable Business Developer/Consultant
- Ecotourism Coordinator
- Climate Change Analyst
- Fisheries Biologist
- Aquaculture Technician
- Seafood Broker
- Marine Policy Advisor
- Environmental and Marine Lawyer
Whether you have a specific career goal in mind or a vague idea of the field that interests you, Career Advising is here to help you plan your next step.
of undergrads employed or in ongoing higher education within one year of graduating
in Maine for getting a job
What will you study? Marine Entrepreneurship Curriculum Overview
Examples of Available Courses
There are many ways you can navigate this major. The following are just some examples of the fascinating courses that the Marine Entrepreneurship major offers:
- Discovering the Ocean Environment
- Entrepreneurship
- Environmental Economics
- Marine Biology
- Creating Social Enterprises
- The Marine Economy
To learn more about the program see the Academic Catalog.
Green Learning Community
First-year Business, Communications, Sport Leadership and Management, and Marine Entrepreneurship majors are able to participate on a competitive basis in the Green Learning Community (GLC). The GLC is an intentional community of professors and first-year students dedicated to studying human relations to the environment through many ways of knowing. You will study environmental issues through the integrated lenses of biology, literature, environmental studies, and economics.
Honors Program
We offer qualified students the option of graduating with Honors. This includes significant research, scholarship or creative activity under the direction of a faculty member. Interested students should consult with their advisor.
Meet Jillian, Marine Entrepreneurship graduate
Experiential Learning in Marine Entrepreneurship
UNE’s Marine Entrepreneurship major allows you to interact with people from marine communities in order to address real-world problems and consider real-world solutions. Make your idea a reality by creating a device prototype in our Makerspace. You may even enter your solution in UNE’s Student Innovation Challenge, a university-wide idea stage competition. From hands-on research in the lab to exciting internships in the field, you’ll be doing far more than getting your feet wet.
Research
UNE provides a breadth of research opportunities not commonly offered to undergraduate students. So whether you’re interested in fighting the effects of neurotoxic algae, exploring ways to use the invasive green crab as lobster bait, or using tidal energy to increase the productivity of oyster production, we have a research project for you.
Internships
We offer rewarding internships with industry partners, including:
- Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce
- Saco River Salmon Club and Hatchery
- Simonton Cove, Inc.
- Shy Beaver Trout Hatchery, Inc.
- RAS Corporation
- Pentair Aquatic Eco-Systems
- Marine Ecological Habitats, Inc.
For more information, contact the CAS Internship Office Marine Sciences contact, Cynthia Simon at (207) 602-2540 or csimon@999lsm.net.
Global Education in Marine Entrepreneurship
See The World
Study Marine Entrepreneurship on the other side of the world by taking part in our Global Education Programs.
The world is your oyster. At UNE, your opportunities for study abroad are rich and plentiful. Spend a semester in Iceland, Spain, France, or at UNE’s own global campus in Morocco. Choose from several shorter travel courses that will take you to Belize, Mexico, Panama, Cuba, the Galapagos Islands, or many other exciting locations.
Interested in studying abroad? Make a plan with your advisor.
Bachelor of Science in Marine Entrepreneurship FAQ
For more information contact Program Director Jeremy Pare at jpare@999lsm.net.