MARR provides an interdisciplinary education in marine propulsion and maritime-related engineering. The curriculum is a blend of marine power systems and applied mechanical engineering programs in the marine industry.

The program focuses on topics such as power cycles; principles and methods used to convert available energy into useful power; selection and operation of major components of power-related machinery; and support systems for the power cycle. Basic courses are supplemented with studies in naval architecture, marine applications of electrical engineering and thermodynamics. The education is enhanced through the use of computer simulation of propulsion plants and direct operation of machinery on board the University’s training ship, the TEXAS CLIPPER.