Marion James MEng in Ship Science and Naval Architecture

Hi, I'm Marion James and I studied MEng in Ship Science and Naval Architecture within Engineering and the Environment at the University of Southampton.

I enjoyed the design classes the most. It is not all about theoretical modules, you will also get to design ships using your innovative ideas. Straight in my first year I was designing a linesplan.

The opportunity to build ships right from the start convinced Marion James that she should choose to study for an MEng in Ship Science and Naval Architecture at Southampton.

Four years into her degree, she feels she made the right decision: "It is not all about theoretical modules, you will also get to design ships using your own innovative ideas. Straightaway, in my first year I was beginning to design. In the second year, more than half of the modules involved ships. In the third and fourth years, it is all ship related. You will get to do concept design with a team of friends; it is a lot of fun." Ship Science students are based in the Froude Building, which has a design studio with computers and specialist software.

During her studies, Marion spent a semester studying in the US at the Webb Institute. "This is the best college for naval architecture in the US, she explains. "Only the University of Southampton offers this exchange programme which was a great experience for me." She also undertook two summer internships, with London Offshore Consultants in Singapore and IHIMU in Japan.

She is impressed with the support available from academic staff in Ship Science. "They are all involved in research, so you can have access to the latest research in different fields: hydrodynamics, structures, marine engineering... If you have any problem, it is easy to pop into your lecturer's office and chat with him or her about your issues."

Marion enjoys the University's facilities. "Being outside the city, our campus is large with plenty of green areas. Furthermore, having recently built sports facilities at the centre of the campus is very good. You can go to the gym or swim in the 25m-pool between lectures."

Her advice to students: "If you want to start designing ships right from day one (a boat competition during Freshers' Week), but you still want to get an engineering degree, Ship Science at the University of Southampton is the course for you. You will find amazing friends, as passionate as you are about the maritime industry. With the worldwide excellent reputation of this programme, you will also get a lot of opportunities: both for internships and jobs."