Located on Cape Cod, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy is in an ideal spot for lovers of all things nautical, which — as the name might give away — describes most of its roughly 1,500 students.
The Academy prides itself on getting students ready for both sea-going and shoreside careers, offering seven undergraduate degrees in fields such as marine engineering, marine transportation, international maritime business and emergency management. Its classes are small, averaging just 20 students per class.
MMA is structured like a military academy. During orientation, all freshmen (aka “youngies”) undergo a two-week military-style training boot camp. The school also has a training ship, the Patriot State, which departs on six-week, hands-on voyages to give students shipboard training.
The Academy does offer aspects of traditional college life, albeit on a smaller scale: Students can play on more than a dozen NCAA Division III sports teams and have their choice of several organizations, including clubs for hockey, water polo and rock climbing. There's also Safe Harbor, a program that encourages MMA's students and staff to identify themselves as LGBTQ+ allies.
The Academy stands out in Money's affordability measures, with the estimated net price of a degree of below $80,000 — among the cheapest colleges we analyzed. Graduates’ earnings are also well above those of colleges that enroll similar students. The median salary four years after leaving school is more than $100,000.
