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.

A student holds a frog egg mass while standing in a vernal pool
Brandon Narciso

Brandon Narciso ’21

Business Administration, Sport Leadership and Management

With the sport management degree, I get an automatic minor in Business Administration, so I am learning sports management and business at the same time. They work together really well. It’s everything that I want to do.

UNE is really helping me on my path. Last semester, I took a sport marketing class, and we had a project where we had to create a new promotional concept for the Portland Seadogs baseball team, which is an affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. I jumped right into the opportunity … I couldn’t imagine a better way to get my foot in the door than saying that I helped to create a promotional campaign for a minor league team. I came up with an idea that we pitched to the Seadogs marketing and sales director who had come down for our class presentations. He picked my project as one that he wanted to see progress further, so then, as a whole class, we worked on my idea and then pitched the final project to him again, and he loved it.

By that time, I had already applied to be an intern for the Seadogs, and my professor really encouraged me. [Eventually], I got a call saying that they would like me to be an intern for the upcoming season. I’m so thankful to my professors and to UNE for allowing me to have these types of unique opportunities.

Welcoming Community

Originally, I thought I would go to a school in Massachusetts, but after visiting UNE a few times, it just felt like home to me. The more I came here, the more I fell in love with it and realized that it checked off all the boxes for what I want for myself in the future. If you feel an instinct of comfort, then this is the place for you. It was definitely that way for me. I think it’s important to embrace that feeling and explore the opportunities that are here.

I made instant connections with people here at UNE. Right away, I gelled a lot with the people around me. When I decided to come here, I committed fully to it, and I made some really great friendships. I’ve met people from California, Texas, Florida, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, and beyond. All over the country. It’s really cool to hear everyone’s different stories and learn about their diverse backgrounds.

With the sport management degree, I get an automatic minor in Business Administration, so I am learning sports management and business at the same time. They work together really well. It’s everything that I want to do.

Business Administration, Sport Leadership and Management

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.

95%

of undergrads employed or in ongoing higher education within one year of graduating

2016-2023 UNE graduate surveys
#1

in Maine for getting a job

Zippia 2023

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@rahpouyanschool.com.

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 IcelandSpainFrance, 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@rahpouyanschool.com.