Program overview

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.

Brandon Narciso

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 and Recreation 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)

Find your Career

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

2016-2022 UNE graduate surveys
#1

in Maine for getting a job

Zippia 2023

Academics

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

Curriculum

CAS Core Requirements Credits
Total 42–46
Required Courses Credits
BUAC 201 – Financial Accounting 3
BUEC 204 – Microeconomics 3
BUEC 390 – Environmental Economics 3
BUFI 315 – Financial Concepts and Skills 3
BUMG 120 – Innovation through Technology 3
BUMG 200 – Management 3
BUMG 301 – Organizational Behavior or BUMG 302 – Human Resource Mgmt or BUMG 307 – Operations Management 3
BUMG 325 – Legal Environment of Business 3
BUMG 313 – Social Innov & Entre or BUMK 312 – Entrepreneurship/Small Business Management 3
BUMK 200 – Marketing 3
BUMG 498 – Strategic Management or MAR 410 – Marine Science Research 3
BUMG 495A – Business Administration Internship or MAR 495 – Adv Marine Science Internship 3
MAR 105/105L – Eco/Evo of Marine Organisms with Lab Credits inclulded in Core Requirements
MAR 106/106L – Biology II of Marine Organisms 4
MAR 150/150L – Discovering the Ocean Environment 4
MAR 250/250L – Marine Biology 4
MAT 150 – Statistics for Life Sciences Credits included in Core Requirements
Two (2) courses from Biology/Marine Program Electives 6–8
Two (2) courses at 200-level or above in MAR, MAF, GIS, BIO, ORM, SRM, PSC, or ENV 6–8
Total Program Required Credits 60–64
Open elective courses (as needed to reach 120 credits) Variable
Minimum Total Required Credits 120

Elective Courses

Biology/Marine Program Electives Credits
BIO 221 – Principles of Aquaculture 3
BIO 222/222L – Finfish/Shellfish Culture Techniques with Lab 4
MAF 210 – Introduction to U.S Ocean Governance 3
MAF 310 – U.S. Ocean and Coastal Law 3
MAR 316 – Science and Society 3
MAR 331 – Biology of Fishes 4

Students in this major can participate in the pre-health graduate school preparation tracks.

To learn more about the program visit the Academic Catalog.

To learn more about the program see the Academic Catalog.

Green Learning Community

First-year Business, Communications, Sport and Recreation 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

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@une.edu.

Global education

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.