Ocean engineering prepares people to build systems that monitor and control coastal environments. Students learn to build dikes, flood control systems, and power stations in or near the ocean. They also learn to use math and science to solve problems caused by tidal forces, waves, and currents.

Employment opportunities exist with private industry, defense contractors, consulting firms, and government agencies.

Typical ocean engineering application areas include: beach protection and nourishment, coastal structures, coastal erosion, development of ocean energy resources, instrumentation for coastal and offshore measurements, marine dredging and dredged material placement, moored and towed systems, ocean mining, offshore petroleum recovery, offshore structures, ports and harbors, search and salvage, suspended and dissolved constituent transport, subsea pipelines and cables, submersible vehicles, and underwater acoustics.