The United States Merchant Marine Academy

The United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, is one of the nation’s five federal service academies and one of the most distinctive educational institutions on Long Island. Overlooking the Long Island Sound from the northern end of the Great Neck Peninsula, the academy educates and trains officers for the United States Merchant Marine, the Armed Forces, and the nation’s maritime transportation system.

Commonly known as USMMA or simply Kings Point, the academy combines a rigorous college education with military discipline, professional maritime training, and extensive experience at sea. Midshipmen can spend roughly a year of their four-year education aboard working commercial or government vessels, gaining firsthand experience in ports and waterways around the world before returning to Long Island to complete their degrees and professional licensing requirements.

What Is the United States Merchant Marine?

The United States Merchant Marine is the civilian fleet of American commercial vessels and the licensed mariners who operate them. These ships move cargo and passengers during peacetime and can become an essential part of the nation’s transportation and defense system during wars, emergencies, and other periods of national need.

Merchant mariners are not ordinarily members of the Armed Forces simply because they work aboard merchant vessels. Their role is nevertheless closely connected with national defense because commercial ships, crews, and maritime infrastructure can be called upon to transport military equipment, supplies, fuel, and other critical cargo. The United States Merchant Marine Academy exists in large part to ensure the country maintains a supply of highly trained and federally licensed officers capable of operating these vessels.

History of the Academy

Federal involvement in merchant marine training predates the academy by decades, but the modern institution grew out of concerns over the country’s need for professionally trained merchant officers. The Merchant Marine Act of 1936 strengthened federal involvement in maritime development, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps was established in 1938.

Training initially took place at temporary facilities before the federal government acquired the permanent site at Kings Point in 1942. With the United States already engaged in World War II, construction proceeded rapidly. Much of the new academy was completed in approximately 15 months, reflecting the urgent wartime need for trained merchant marine officers.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt formally dedicated the United States Merchant Marine Academy on September 30, 1943. The academy’s wartime history came at a tremendous cost. Midshipmen were sent to sea as part of their training while World War II was still underway, and 142 midshipmen were killed during wartime sea service. Their sacrifice remains an important part of the academy’s identity and is commemorated on campus.

A Gold Coast Estate Becomes a Federal Academy

The academy’s location also connects it directly to Long Island’s Gold Coast era. At the heart of the campus stands Wiley Hall, an imposing mansion built in 1917 for fashion businessman Henri Bendel. The residence was designed by architect Henry Otis Chapman in a Beaux-Arts interpretation of the French Renaissance style, with landscaping by Charles Leavitt.

Automobile manufacturer Walter P. Chrysler purchased the estate in 1923 for use as a summer residence. The original property included approximately 12 acres and about 450 feet of waterfront, along with formal gardens and indoor and outdoor swimming pools. The federal government acquired the property in 1942 as the new merchant marine training campus took shape around it.

During the academy’s early years, rooms inside the former mansion were used as classrooms and living space. Today, Wiley Hall serves as the academy’s principal administration building and remains one of the most recognizable structures on the waterfront campus.

Education and Maritime Training

The academy is administered by the U.S. Maritime Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Unlike a conventional college, USMMA combines undergraduate academics with professional licensing requirements, regimental responsibilities, physical training, leadership development, and practical experience aboard ships.

Academic programs center on marine transportation, marine engineering, maritime logistics and related fields needed to operate and manage ships and transportation systems. The academy offers programs including Marine Transportation, Marine Engineering, Marine Engineering Systems, Marine Engineering and Shipyard Management, and Maritime Logistics and Security.

Graduates earn a Bachelor of Science degree and qualify for a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Credential with an officer endorsement. Depending on their course of study and licensing track, graduates prepare for professional responsibilities such as navigating and managing vessels from the deck department or operating and maintaining complex propulsion, electrical, and mechanical systems from the engineering department.

Sea Year

One of the defining features of a Kings Point education is Sea Year. Rather than spending all four years on the Long Island campus, midshipmen spend extended periods aboard operating commercial or government vessels. The academy integrates approximately one year of sea training into its academic program, with sailing periods generally occurring during the sophomore and later undergraduate years.

USMMA identifies 360 days of creditable sea service as a central part of the program. While at sea, midshipmen work alongside professional mariners, complete academic assignments, and gain experience with real vessel operations. Depending on their academic track, that can include navigation, watchstanding, cargo operations, shipboard engineering, maintenance, safety procedures, communications, and other responsibilities associated with operating oceangoing vessels.

The experience can take midshipmen far beyond Long Island. The academy reports that participants commonly visit between 10 and 18 foreign countries during Sea Year. The program provides the practical sea service needed for professional licensing while exposing future officers to international ports, commercial shipping operations, and the realities of life at sea.

The Regiment of Midshipmen

Students at the academy are known as midshipmen and participate in the Regiment of Midshipmen. Academy life incorporates uniforms, formations, physical fitness, leadership responsibilities, military instruction, and a structured chain of command alongside regular academic requirements. New students begin their experience with an intensive period of indoctrination before entering the regular academic and regimental program.

The academy also maintains a longstanding relationship with the U.S. Armed Forces. Naval science is incorporated into the curriculum, reflecting the historic role merchant vessels and their crews play in supporting American military operations during war and national emergencies.

Service After Graduation

A taxpayer-funded education at Kings Point carries a substantial service commitment after graduation. Graduates generally must complete at least five years of qualifying maritime or national-defense-related service. Sailing as an officer aboard U.S.-flag vessels and serving as a commissioned officer on active duty in the Armed Forces are among the principal ways graduates can satisfy the employment portion of that obligation.

Graduates who are not fulfilling the applicable requirement through active-duty military service must also maintain their U.S. Coast Guard merchant marine officer credentials for the required period and maintain a commission in a reserve component of the Armed Forces. Current requirements generally include an eight-year reserve commitment as well as annual reporting to the Maritime Administration until the applicable service obligations have been fulfilled.

World War II Legacy and the Battle Standard

World War II occupies a particularly important place in the history of Kings Point. Unlike students at traditional colleges, academy midshipmen went to sea during the war as part of their professional training, placing them directly in the dangerous maritime environment of a global conflict.

The academy’s Regimental Battle Standard commemorates the 142 midshipmen who lost their lives during World War II. USMMA is the only federal service academy authorized to carry a regimental battle standard, a distinction that reflects the wartime service of its midshipmen and graduates. The academy’s waterfront campus also contains a monument honoring its World War II casualties.

Women at Kings Point

The Merchant Marine Academy also holds an important place in the history of women at the federal service academies. Kings Point began admitting women in 1974, becoming the first of the federal service academies to do so. Members of that pioneering group graduated with the Class of 1978, making them the first female graduates of a federal service academy in the United States.

American Merchant Marine Museum

The academy is also associated with the American Merchant Marine Museum, which preserves artifacts, artwork, ship models, documents, and other materials related to American maritime history and the Merchant Marine. The museum is housed in the historic Barstow House on academy property.

The mansion was once the home of engineer and inventor William Slocum Barstow and was later owned by Frederick W.I. Lundy, whose family was associated with the famous Lundy’s seafood restaurant in Brooklyn. The Kings Point Fund acquired the property in the 1970s, and the house was converted into the museum in 1979. Its elaborate historic interiors add another layer of Gold Coast-era architecture to the academy grounds.

A National Historic Campus

The historical importance of Kings Point extends beyond its maritime mission. In 2014, the United States Merchant Marine Academy campus and the Barstow Mansion housing the American Merchant Marine Museum were added to the National Register of Historic Places. The designation recognizes both the academy’s importance in American maritime and military history and the architectural significance of buildings inherited from the area’s estate era.

Today the academy encompasses approximately 82 acres with dozens of buildings, extensive waterfront facilities, training vessels and small craft. From the former Chrysler mansion to the boat basin, academic buildings, Mariners’ Memorial Chapel, athletic facilities and memorials, the campus reflects several different periods in the history of Kings Point.

Visiting the Merchant Marine Academy

The United States Merchant Marine Academy is located at 300 Steamboat Road, Kings Point, NY 11024, at the northern end of the Great Neck Peninsula. Because USMMA is an operating federal service academy, access requirements and security procedures should be confirmed before visiting. Prospective students can arrange admissions visits, and public access to particular buildings, ceremonies, museum programs, athletic events, and other activities may depend on current academy policies and schedules.

By public transportation, the nearest Long Island Rail Road station is in Great Neck on the Port Washington Branch. From there, local ground transportation is needed to reach the Kings Point campus. Drivers generally approach the Great Neck Peninsula from Northern Boulevard and continue north through Great Neck toward Kings Point.

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Key Facts and Details

Institution	United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA)
Location	Kings Point, Nassau County, New York
Address	300 Steamboat Road, Kings Point, NY 11024
Institution Type	Federal service academy
Federal Administration	U.S. Maritime Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation
Established	U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps established in 1938; permanent Kings Point site acquired in 1942
Academy Dedicated	September 30, 1943, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Campus	Approximately 82 acres with extensive waterfront facilities on the Long Island Sound
Primary Mission	Educating and training licensed Merchant Marine officers and leaders for the nation’s marine transportation, economic, and national defense needs
Students	Known as midshipmen and organized as the Regiment of Midshipmen
Degree	Bachelor of Science
Professional Credential	U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Credential with an officer endorsement upon successful completion of applicable requirements
Academic Fields	Marine Transportation, Marine Engineering, Marine Engineering Systems, Marine Engineering and Shipyard Management, and Maritime Logistics and Security
Sea Training	Approximately one year incorporated into the four-year program, with 360 days of creditable sea service identified by the academy
Sea Year Experience	Training aboard operating commercial or government vessels, with the academy reporting an average of approximately 10 to 18 foreign countries visited
Post-Graduation Service	Graduates incur federal maritime or military service obligations, along with applicable credential, reserve, and reporting requirements
Historic Mansion	Wiley Hall, built in 1917 and later owned by automobile manufacturer Walter P. Chrysler
Museum	American Merchant Marine Museum, housed in historic Barstow House
National Register	Academy campus and Barstow Mansion added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014
World War II Legacy	142 academy midshipmen lost their lives during wartime sea service
Battle Standard	USMMA is the only federal service academy authorized to carry a regimental battle standard
Women at the Academy	Began admitting women in 1974; the Class of 1978 included the first female graduates of a U.S. federal service academy
Nearest LIRR Station	Great Neck, Port Washington Branch
Official Website	www.usmma.edu

The United States Merchant Marine Academy is far more than a college located in Kings Point. Its waterfront campus brings together several important chapters of Long Island and American history, from the grand estates of the Gold Coast to the enormous maritime demands of World War II and the continuing role of merchant shipping in the nation’s economy and defense. Generations of midshipmen have left this corner of the Great Neck Peninsula to train aboard ships around the world before returning to earn their degrees, professional credentials, and commissions. With its historic architecture, maritime museum, memorials, waterfront training facilities, and continuing federal mission, Kings Point remains one of Long Island’s most nationally significant educational and maritime institutions.