Co-Operative Education/Cadet Shipping Programs

Depending on the particular engineering curriculum, a variety of cooperative education experiences are available.  

Cadet Shipping

Members of all licensed engineering programs (MEO, MET, MSE) must participate in a cadet shipping cruise, normally after the sophomore year.  Students are required to spend at least 60 days as members of the engineering department onboard a commercial vessel during its normal operations.  Consequently, students will find themselves traveling throughout the world during this co-op.  Students are paid a nominal wage for their services--the principal reason for embarking on these vessels is to gain experience and to more thoroughly understand what will be expected of each person as a third assistant engineer.  Each cadet is required to submit a written journal/workbook which documents her or his cruise and the engineering plant onboard the vessel.

PET Industrial Co-ops:

Power Power Engineering Technology (PET) students are required to complete two co-operative education courses.

Following their first year, they will receive a nominal wage during their full-time employment in shoreside industrial and utility  power plants.  The work must be related in both theoretical and practical engineering to the student's field of study in basic power engineering operations and maintenance.   A minimum of 400 satisfactory hours of employment is required to be eligible for credit.  An extensive written report is required.

Following the third year, a similar co-operative education experience is completed, but with emphasis on advanced power engineering operations, maintenance, organization, and management.  Although a minimum of 400 hours is required for credit in this course, students who wish to sit for the State of Maine Third Class Engineer (Stationary Plant) license examination must amass a total of 1050 hours between both of their co-operative education experiences.

MSE Industrial Co-ops: 

During the summer following the fourth academic year, students in the Marine Systems Engineering (MSE) curriculum are required to spend a minimum of 6 weeks in the employ of an engineering firm or government agency performing engineering-level work.  The emphasis here is not on the operation of equipment, but rather on the design and/or analysis of systems.  Upon returning to Maine Maritime, students are required to provide written and oral briefings on their experiences, including examples of their work.

Click on Co-operative Education and Career Services for more information on requirements and opportunities for students in all majors.