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Facilities listing

https://maritime.solent.ac.uk/careers/officer-cadet-training/career-at-sea

https://maritime.solent.ac.uk/maritime-open-days

https://www.solent.ac.uk/prospectus/resources/officer-cadet-training-brochure.pdf

Learning and assessment - Project work

Notebooks

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Learning and assessment - Practical classes and workshops

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Learning and assessment - Practical exams

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Learning and assessment - In-class tests

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Course information - Solent Careers (default)

The Solent Careers team is committed to getting students into great careers.
While you are studying, the team can help you with finding work experience or placements, link you with a mentor, check your CV, or offer one-to-one guidance.
If you're in your final year, we also have graduate job opportunities just for Solent graduates.

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Get ready for a global career. Prepare for a shore-based management role or work towards a career at sea with our world-renowned Warsash Maritime School. Just add ambition.

Course category - Maritime

Maritime

Start your maritime career in one of the UK’s busiest ports, at training facilities that are among the best in the world – combining the hands-on training of a cadetship with a full academic degree.

2025

UG course - BSc (Hons) Nautical Science

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/open-days

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The Spark

The Spark building combines interactive teaching spaces with lecture theatres and an atrium with social spaces. Central to the building is the futuristic Pod, which has a full-size lecture theatre and open-topped breakout space.

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The Spark-min

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Specialist Facilities

The Spark at Solent University

A light and airy atrium with the futuristic, multi-functional 'pod' as its centrepiece, which features a full-size lecture room and open-topped viewing platform.

Business, marketing and finance

General

Library

The Library is open for Solent students and staff to access computers and study spaces, and for browsing the shelves and borrowing items. 

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The Library-min

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Library and Learning Service

Library facility at Solent University

Discover Solent's library, which is open 24/7 during term time at peak times.

https://sportscomplex.solent.ac.uk/

UG course - BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science

UG course - BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Therapy

UG course - BSc (Hons) Health, Nutrition and Exercise Science

Solent Sports Complex

Sports Complex

A state of the art centre designed to meet all sport and health needs.

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Faculty of Sport, Health and Social Sciences

Sports Complex at Solent University

Find out more about the Solent Sports Complex which can be used by students and staff at Solent.

Sport and fitness

Away from studying, why not try out the gyms, fitness studios and sports halls in our £28 million Sports Complex, or watch a blockbuster film at our student-run cinema with Dolby Atmos audio.

Faculty - Warsash Maritime School

Warsash Maritime School

Course information - Graduation cost (default)

There is no charge to attend graduation, but you will be required to pay for the rental of your academic gown (approximately &pound;45 per graduate, depending on your award). You may also wish to purchase official photography packages, which range in price from &pound;15 to &pound;200+. Graduation is not compulsory, so if you prefer to have your award sent to you, there is no cost. Extra guest tickets will go on sale after results publication and will be sold on a first-come-first-served basis. The cost per ticket is currently &pound;15. Please note, we do not guarantee there will be any extra tickets available to purchase.

Course information - Bursaries (undergraduate)

Solent University offers a range of bursaries and scholarships that provide financial assistance or waive fees for tuition or accommodation. Each bursary or scholarship has specific eligibility criteria. Check out our <a title="Bursaries and scholarships" href="https://www.solent.ac.uk/finance/grants-bursaries-scholarships/bursaries">bursaries and scholarships pages</a> to find out more.
Solent EU Welcome Scholarship (Fee Discount)
This scholarship is available to students from an EU country, with EU nationality, who are applying for an undergraduate course starting in September 2025. The scholarship will reduce your tuition fees to &pound;10,500.
<a title="Find out if you're eligible for the Solent EU Welcome Scholarship" href="https://www.solent.ac.uk/finance/scholarships#euwelcomescholarship">Find out more about the scholarship</a>
Cost of living support
At Solent, we understand that the cost of living crisis may be of some concern. To help, we've put together some detailed information to show what support is available and how to make your money go further.
<a title="Cost of living advice" href="https://www.solent.ac.uk/studying-at-solent/student-support/cost-of-living">Cost of living support</a>

Course page video - Student funding essentials

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Student funding - the essentials

Course page video - Student finance in under three minutes

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Student finance in under three minutes

Course information - UG - How to apply (Warsash cadet courses)

To apply for this course, you must meet the academic entry requirements as stated.
The next step is to find a company to sponsor you so you can complete the sea service elements of the training programme. You should apply direct to the <a title="Sponsoring companies" href="https://maritime.solent.ac.uk/careers/career-progression-and-advice/recruiting-companies">sponsoring companies</a> for details of their recruitment policies and the availability of sponsorship.
There are a number of UK sponsoring companies that recruit UK nationals as officer cadets to work in the various shipping sectors of the Merchant Navy (for example, cargo, container, cruise, tanker etc.), either individual shipping companies recruiting to fulfil their own staffing needs or training organisations that recruit on behalf of their clients.
Companies normally start the recruitment process around January each year for entry in the following September or January.

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Maritime and shipping is a huge, thriving industry &ndash; the backbone of international trade, and a fundamental part of modern global commerce. As a ship&rsquo;s officer you will be a key part of this, keeping vessels of all kinds, from tankers to container ships &ndash; or even ferries, cruise liners or superyachts &ndash; running effectively, efficiently and safely.
Under the captain&rsquo;s management, the deck department is responsible for the safe navigation and operation of the vessel, both at sea and in port.
Deck officers are a vital part of the on-board management team, taking charge of an expensive vessel and its equally valuable crew, guests, or cargo. You will take key decisions on manoeuvring the vessel and controlling its navigation, communications and security.
Numerous opportunities also exist for qualified navigation officers ashore. Shipping companies often recruit shore based marine superintendents and fleet operations staff from their seagoing officers.&nbsp;Harbour&nbsp;authorities recruit experienced officers to train as pilots,&nbsp;harbour&nbsp;masters and port operations managers.

Hear from Solent alumni about where their careers have taken them and how studying at Solent prepared them for their future.

Course page link - Learning and teaching (default)

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Course information - Learning and assessment (default)

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Solent&rsquo;s curriculum framework builds on our unique, creative and applied approach to teaching. The transformation of students&rsquo; lives is at the heart of our mission as a university, and our curriculum &ndash; informed by the latest theory &ndash; reflects this shared educational vision.

Directed learning is about foundation knowledge sharing. It is the introduction to, or consolidation of, knowledge as it relates to concepts, theories, context and background. It comprises the threshold knowledge we consider our students need to actively engage and proactively participate in our vibrant and active campus-based collaborative learning events. Directed learning is generally delivered online, providing you with resources you can refer to anytime you wish to.

Learning and assessment - Directed Learning

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Collaborative learning refers to our exciting campus-based learning events which comprise flipped-learning, participative, interactive, rich, problem-based and active learning activities. These may take place in collaborative classroom environments, or in specialist learning facilities, or labs, using state-of-the-art equipment. Whatever their physical setting, group work predominates these learning events with rich and varied opportunities for peer exchange and peer-to-peer learning.

Learning and assessment - Collaborative Learning

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Guided learning is how Solent ensures students build upon their collaborative learning to join up their academic knowledge to its real-world application, enriching the student experience and adding value to our students’ time with us. Through guided learning we enable our students to engage in course-related supplementary activities delivered by academic course teams which improve students’ employability skills. It offers students access to stimulating and topical touchpoints through regular keynote speaker events from internal and external speakers, experts, practitioners, alumni, and employers, focused on innovations, challenges and good practice. In addition, students are expected to take part in other activities designed to enhance their academic and employability skills.

Learning and assessment - Guided Learning

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Nautical Science

Course page link - Cadetship open days

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Nautical Science Degree | BSc (Hons)

Combine an honours degree with sponsored deck officer cadetship on this innovative maritime course, blending academic excellence with hands-on training at sea.

School - Warsash Maritime School

Deck officer cadets in the bridge simulator

warsash-maritime-school

https://maritime.solent.ac.uk/

The School provides high-quality education and training for the maritime and offshore industries to meet the international demand for crew, officers and captains who are trained to the highest professional standards.
Deck (navigation), marine engineer and marine electro-technical officers benefit from our internationally recognised certification programmes, from initial entry as an officer cadet to Master and Chief Engineer.
Our STCW safety training is delivered by technical specialists with many years' experience in their field.

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Cadets' eye view of the UK's largest maritime simulation centre

Course page link - Solent Careers (default)

https://students.solent.ac.uk/careers

Three female students talking to each other in The Spark

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Course page link - Study support

https://students.solent.ac.uk/studying/study-skills

Course information - Study support (default)

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The student achievement team are on hand to help you succeed during your studies at Solent. They aim to contact you at key times during your time here with personalised information, advice and guidance, by email or phone.
The disability advice team provides information, advice and guidance for disabled students.
All students can access&nbsp;<a title="Go to the Succeed@Solent website" href="http://learn.solent.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=90" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Succeed@Solent</a>, Solent's online guide to getting better grades. It offers extensive, practical information and advice on topics such as academic writing, research and presentations.

Course page video - Student experience (for cadet courses)

External shot of the Students' Union room

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Student experience

Deck officer cadetships

Fire school

Helicopter underwater escape trainer

Pier head and survival craft

Seamanship centre

Whether you’re putting out fires at our fire training ground, developing your navigation skills in our ship simulators, getting to grips with radio communications or mastering the skills of practical seamanship at our dedicated campus for cadet education, you’ll benefit from up-to-date facilities that give you a real practical experience of modern life at sea. 

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External Relations

Deck Officer Cadetship Degrees and Courses at Solent University

Discover more about deck officer cadetships at our Warsash Maritime School.

Matt O'Crowley

Matthew Gigg

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Course support selling point: Students Union

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https://www.solentsu.co.uk/

We work in partnership with the University to build a sense of pride and confidence in your Union, University and student experience.

Most of our specialist support services are based around the Student Hub, a central space where you can access all the information and support you may need during your time at University. The Student Hub is the first point of contact if you have any queries relating to your course, including questions about your timetable, options, and assessments and extenuating circumstances.

Course page link - Virtual tours

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Your future

Learning and assessment - Coursework

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Learning and assessment - Individual presentations

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Learning and assessment - Group presentations

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Learning and assessment - Written exams

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Learning and assessment - Timed exercises

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nautical-science

If you have a sense of adventure and looking for a career that’s more than the usual ‘9 to 5’, you could train as a navigating officer in the UK’s merchant navy and travel the world while you work.

UG course - FdSc Nautical Science

Cadet's eye view of the the maritime simulation centre

Bridge simulation

The bridge simulators and ECDIS suites are used for training deck officers in the use of radar, ECDIS, automatic radar plotting aids and other electronic aids to maintain safety of navigation.

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Bridge simulation facility at Solent University

Discover Solent's world-class bridge simulation suite for deck officer cadets and OOWs.

The simulator closely resembles equipment and layout on a real bridge.

UG course - FdEng Marine Engineering

UG course - BEng (Hons) Marine Engineering

UG course - HND Marine Electrical and Electronic Engineering

UG course - BEng (Hons) Marine Electrical and Electronic Engineering

STCW fire fighting training at Warsash Maritime School

Our purpose built fire school provides a realistic but safe environment in which seafarers can learn the vital techniques of fighting fires at sea.

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fire-school

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Fire school facility at Solent University

Located at Warsash, the fire school enables seafarers to learn how to expertly handle fires at sea.

A fully-equipped facility allowing deck officers to undertake mandatory efficient deck hand training.

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Seamanship centre at Solent University

The seamanship centre has a range of facilities to help deck officers develop skills

Radio communications centre

The centre provides mandatory radio operations training for deck officers on large ships and on superyachts.

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Radio communications centre at Solent University

Find out more about the radio communications centre in our maritime simulation centre.

Medical training centre

The medical centre uses the same type of equipment as found on board ship for mandatory medical training for ships' officers.

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Medical training centre facility at Solent University

Find out more about the medical training centre located at our Warsash campus

Pier head and survival craft at Warsash

The pier head is used for maritime safety training for seafarers and safety training for those working on offshore installations.

Over 90% of goods are transported worldwide by sea and the demands on shipping are increasing. Maritime and shipping is a huge, thriving industry &ndash; the backbone of international trade, and a fundamental part of modern global commerce.
As a ship&rsquo;s officer you will be a key part of this, keeping vessels of all kinds, from tankers to container ships &ndash; or even ferries, cruise liners or superyachts &ndash; running effectively, efficiently and safely.
Under the captain&rsquo;s management, the deck department is responsible for the safe navigation and operation of the vessel, both at sea and in port.
Deck officers are a vital part of the on-board management team, taking charge of an expensive vessel and its equally valuable crew, guests, or cargo. You will take key decisions on manoeuvring the vessel and controlling its navigation, communications and security.
Numerous opportunities also exist for qualified navigation officers ashore. Shipping companies often recruit shore based marine superintendents and fleet operations staff from their seagoing officers. Harbour authorities recruit experienced officers to train as pilots, harbour masters and port operations managers.

Radio communications centre

About the radio communications centre

Equipment

Courses that use this facility