The UW School of Marine and Environmental Affairs educates students about contemporary issues in marine systems, policy, and management, helping them to become tomorrow’s leaders and stewards of marine and environmental resources.
We offer a two-year, in-residence graduate program of studies leading to the Master of Marine Affairs (MMA) degree.
SMEA is a small school with approximately 60 students enrolled each year, enabling close collaboration and learning between students and faculty, and amongst students themselves.
Our students hail from a variety of professional backgrounds and locations around the United States and internationally, and arrive at SMEA in different stages of life.
Our faculty are just as diverse in their fields of expertise, working together to deliver a top-notch interdisciplinary curriculum to students and engaging in a range of current research projects.
Our 600+ alumni span the globe, working in all levels of government, at non-profit organizations, and in businesses and industries all related to the wide-spectrum of marine and environmental affairs.
SMEA was established in 1972 as the Institute for Marine Studies, and served initially to provide teaching, research, and public service on contemporary problems in ocean and coastal management. The Director and faculty were appointed starting in 1974 and classes were offered shortly thereafter. The MMA degree was authorized in 1978, and the first degrees were awarded in 1981. In 1990, the school name changed to the School of Marine Affairs, and in 2011 the name was expanded to the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs to better reflect the broader environmental approach to addressing marine problems.
SMEA’s Master of Marine Affairs curriculum is built around the concept of human dimensions of the marine environment – how humans’ behaviors, attitudes, and policies affect global change in the marine environment. Interdisciplinary study is key to this concept and is a critical component of the MMA degree.