![Coastal engineering hero — sea wall inspection at low tide — Program imagery, coastal engineering cluster.](/sites/default/files/2026-01/Coastal_Engineering_Sea_Wall_Inspection.png?alternateWidths=/sites/default/files/styles/canvas_parametrized_width--%7Bwidth%7D/public/2026-01/Coastal_Engineering_Sea_Wall_Inspection.png.avif%3Fitok%3D4sddcAK1) Case Study # Coastal Resilience A professional master's for people who will make decisions about a shoreline that is moving. Taught jointly by the policy and ocean science departments. [ Start an application ](/standard-page/how-to-apply) [ Download the handbook ](/standard-page/admissions) Coastal Resilience is a joint program between Marine Policy and Economics and Ocean and Earth Sciences, and the joint delivery is the substance rather than an administrative arrangement. The problem it addresses does not belong to either department. A planner deciding what to do about a stretch of coast needs a sea level projection, an understanding of what the projection's uncertainty means, a grasp of what engineering can and cannot deliver, and a working knowledge of the regulatory and financial machinery that will decide what actually gets built. Programs that teach one of those produce graduates who are dependent on someone else for the rest. ## What you study Climate change and coasts, coastal community resilience, and coastal engineering design, with a capstone project taken on real terms for a real client wherever possible. The recurring theme is uncertainty and what to do about it. Handing a planner a range and no guidance on how to use it transfers a scientific problem to someone with less capacity to solve it. Much of the program is about the alternative. ## The certificate option The same core can be taken as a graduate certificate by professionals already working in planning, emergency management or coastal engineering. The certificate is four courses and can be completed part time. Students often start on the certificate and transfer into the full master's. ## Where it leads Municipal and regional planning, state coastal programs, emergency management, consulting practice, insurance and infrastructure risk, and nonprofit work. A substantial share of students are already working in one of these and come back for the degree. ## What to expect A mixed cohort, in discipline and in career stage, which is the most valuable feature of the program and the one that takes the first semester to settle. ## Curriculum ENVS 380 [Climate Change and Coasts](/course/climate-change-and-coasts)Regional sea level, storm regime and coastal response — and how to present an uncertainty range so that it informs a decision instead of stopping one. 1 MPOL 410 [Coastal Community Resilience](/course/coastal-community-resilience)What a coastal community can actually do about a changing shoreline, and why the barriers are usually financial and institutional rather than technical. 1 MENG 420 [Coastal Engineering Design](/course/coastal-engineering-design)Designing coastal protection for a shoreline that will not stay where it is, including the consequences that land in the next jurisdiction. 1.5 ## Common questions ### Click to expand accordion Is housing guaranteed for first-year students? Yes, for all students entering directly from high school. Transfer students are housed as space allows, and the waitlist usually clears by mid-July. [Housing and residence life](#) ### Click to expand accordion How do I get between campuses? Accordion content - Officiis porta iusto luctus maecenas ultricies libero quisquam commodi do sequi facilisis, accusamus aut? Sapien dignissim nascetur nesciunt phasellus eros dis cupidatat tempor egestas cillum eveniet lobortis, sunt eos tellus atque quaerat, voluptatem exercitationem voluptatibus nesciunt, eveniet in dicta quae. ### Click to expand accordion What is the weather actually like? Accordion content - Officiis porta iusto luctus maecenas ultricies libero quisquam commodi do sequi facilisis, accusamus aut? Sapien dignissim nascetur nesciunt phasellus eros dis cupidatat tempor egestas cillum eveniet lobortis, sunt eos tellus atque quaerat, voluptatem exercitationem voluptatibus nesciunt, eveniet in dicta quae. ### Click to expand accordion What if I get seasick? Accordion content - Officiis porta iusto luctus maecenas ultricies libero quisquam commodi do sequi facilisis, accusamus aut? Sapien dignissim nascetur nesciunt phasellus eros dis cupidatat tempor egestas cillum eveniet lobortis, sunt eos tellus atque quaerat, voluptatem exercitationem voluptatibus nesciunt, eveniet in dicta quae. ### At a glance Credential awardedMS, Certificate Degree levelgraduate Program length2 years Start termsfall, spring ## Program Lead ![Health centre practitioner portrait, consulting room background — Person `person_portrait`.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2026-01/Health_centre_practitioner_portrait.png.avif?itok=knIEQN69) ### Dr. Farida Haddad Associate Professor of Climate Science ![Early-career IT staff portrait, services office background — Person `person_portrait`.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2026-01/Early_career_staff_portrait_IT_services.png.avif?itok=VQ4z0xDf) ### Dr. Nathaniel Brooks Professor of Marine Policy Related ## Other programs ![Boardwalk toward the field station, wide — Landing page imagery, coastal hero.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2026-01/Boardwalk_to_Field_Station_Wide.png.avif?itok=BdvHihj5) BS ### Environmental Science The applied environmental degree, built around estuaries, water quality and the coast. It is the most interdisciplinary program we run. - 4 years - Undergraduate Starts Fall, Spring [](/program/environmental-science) ![Coastal bluff overlook, wide — Landing page imagery, aspirational hero.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2026-01/Coastal_Bluff_Overlook_Wide.png.avif?itok=_RE4hmqd) BS ### Marine Geoscience The geology of the ocean and the coast — sediment, structure, and the climate record held in both. The smallest of the undergraduate science programs and the one with the most field time. - 4 years - Undergraduate Starts Fall [](/program/marine-geoscience) ![Aerial-style view of the coastal campus cluster — Landing page imagery, establishing hero.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2026-01/Aerial_Style_Coastline_Campus_Cluster.png.avif?itok=G9csSXjP) BA ### Marine Policy Ocean governance taught inside a science faculty, so that the policy arguments rest on the evidence rather than gesturing at it. Includes the policy clinic. - 4 years - Undergraduate Starts Fall, Spring [](/program/marine-policy) ## Come and see the tidal flats for yourself Open days run four times a year, and the Wrightsville tour always includes the field station. [ Book an open day ](/standard-page/visit-campus) [ Contact the department ](/standard-page/contact-us)