BSc (Hons) Ship and Port Management (Full Time)

Close links with the maritime industry together with the demand for well-qualified graduates mean that this degree has a good employment record.

Course overview

The BSc (Hons) Ship and Port Management at Southampton Solent University is ideal if you wish to follow a career in ship or port operations and management, or in the related fields of logistics, freight forwarding, port agency, cargo handling or marine supplies.

The international shipping industry comprises nearly 50,000 ships and hundreds of ports worldwide.  In addition, there is a large international marine services sector that provides support in the form of finance, law, insurance, ship broking, agency and management.

Employers in all these sectors require motivated graduates with extensive knowledge and problem-solving skills. Southampton, with its thriving port and maritime business community, is the ideal location to study a maritime course.

Industrial focus

There is a demand for graduates with knowledge and operational skills to manage the world’s ships and ports. The course is supported by an Industry Liaison Panel drawn from maritime and shipping businesses in Southampton and London and has good employment rates.

You could also benefit from the optional Industrial Placement Year. Co-ordinated by the University’s Learning and Information Service and supervised within the Faculty, you undertake this scheme between Years 2 and 3.

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Course content 

Year 1

Six core units:

• Shipping Law
• Maritime Transport
• Navigation and Meteorology
• Maritime Trade
• Maritime Business
• Maritime Economics.

Year 2

Five core units and one option unit: 

• Research Methods and Proposal
• Management of Organisations
• Transport Operations
• Ship Operations
• Port Management.

Options:

• Managing Financial Information
• Curriculum Plus.

Year 3

Four core units and two option units:

• Marine Issues
• Strategic Management and Marketing
• Terminal Operations
• Maritime Logistics.

Options:

• Project
• Marine Finance
  or
• Extended Project (double unit).

Why choose this course?

• Some units on the course are validated by the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers.
• The Solent provides opportunities for yachting, navigation and environmental studies.
• Visits to the ports of Rotterdam, Portsmouth and Southampton and trips to London to visit Lloyd’s insurance market and the International Maritime Organisation.
• Facilities include the 'Solent Surveyor', a new ten metre catamaran Evolution 995, equipped to carry out inshore navigational training, hydrographic and environmental research.

Assessment

 Coursework and presentations (individual and group), navigation simulation and practical exercises afloat, a dissertation in Year 3 and examinations.

Key career skills

IT, problem solving, working to deadlines, teamwork and presentation.

Projects/work experience

There is an optional placement year between Years 2 and 3. Previous placements include a container terminal, port agency, tanker company and ship broker.