SALISBURY, Md. — Salisbury University is set to launch Maryland’s first coastal engineering major, that it hopes will tackle environmental challenges along the coast.
The program, debuting in fall 2025, will provide students with hands-on, project-based instruction in physics, engineering, geosciences, and geographic information science.
“This degree is highly employable, and SU is among only three on the East Coast,” said Dr. Michael Scott, dean of SU’s Richard A. Henson School of Science and Technology. “The U.S. Bureau of Labor reports an expected 8% growth in demand in the next 10 years, with an average of 900 openings each year. Even greater growth is projected in regions vulnerable to coastal hazards, like the Mid-Atlantic.”
The program will include courses such as Intro to Oceans and Coasts, Coastal Engineering, Coastal Processes, Coastal Renewable Energies, and Geological Oceanography.
Maddie Coyne, a freshman physics major from Middletown, Maryland, plans to transition into the coastal engineering major when it launches.
“As a lifelong beachgoer and lover of nature, embarking on a career dedicated to solving environmental problems is perfect for me,” Coyne said. “In engineering and physics, no two problems have the same steps or solutions, and it’s truly a whole new sector of learning and not just a combination of math and science.”
SU’s coastal engineering graduates will be trained to apply critical thinking, mathematics, and design methods to mitigate the effects of wind, water, and coastal erosion. Enrollment for the new program is currently open.