GLEN COVE, N.Y. – September 10, 2026 – Webb Institute has been designated a Center of Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD), the agency announced this week. Webb is the only institution in New York State to hold the designation and one of only two in the country providing a degree in naval architecture and marine engineering.
The recognition places Webb among 16 institutions named in the 2026 round and within a national network of 48 designated centers operating across 87 training facilities in 28 states and territories. Together, these centers train approximately 58,000 mariners, apprentices, and students each year. The designation is valid for five years.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are supercharging the maritime workforce pipeline. This designation alone brings nearly 20,000 trainees into America’s mariner training program who are preparing for a career in service to the American people,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “From constructing Navy warships to operating river towboats, we are partnering with elite institutions to equip our mariner workforce with the skills needed to keep our supply chains moving.
Congress authorized the Center of Excellence program under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2018 to strengthen the pipeline of skilled workers entering the domestic maritime industry. Designated institutions may enter into cooperative agreements with MARAD covering student and faculty recruitment, facility improvements, and credit for prior military training and experience.
“This designation affirms the strength of Webb’s distinctive educational model – rigorous study in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering combined with meaningful industry experience beginning in a student’s first year,” said Mark Martecchini, President of Webb Institute. “Our graduates enter the workforce prepared to contribute from day one, and we are proud to help develop the engineering talent needed to strengthen America’s maritime future.”
Founded in 1889 by shipbuilder William H. Webb, the Institute has spent 137 years preparing engineers for careers in ship design, shipbuilding, and marine engineering. Every Webb student pursues the same dual major in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and completes a paid marine industry internship each year – eight weeks annually – with at least eight months of documented industry experience by graduation in shipyards, aboard ships, and in ship design or engineering offices.
All admitted U.S. students receive a full-tuition scholarship, and the Institute reports a 100 percent job and graduate school placement rate within six months of graduation.
In announcing the new designations, Maritime Administrator Stephen M. Carmel said the designated institutions are “the backbone of American maritime power,” delivering mariner credentials, training shipbuilders, and helping keep commercial waterways open.
Webb’s designation comes as the maritime sector faces sustained demand for naval architects and marine engineers across commercial shipping, shipbuilding, and defense.
The full MARAD announcement is available here: