Specialized ‘Blue Economy’ MBA Launches for Maritime Industry

Updated on August 13, 2024

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The University of South Florida’s new online blue economy master of business administration degree will focus on maritime trade, coastal tourism, and fisheries.

The container vessel Panamax transporting cargo across the open sea near Colon en route to the Panama Canal.

Credit: Image Credit: Gonzalo Azumendi / Stone / Getty Images

The University of South Florida (USF) announced new master of business administration (MBA) concentrations in blue economy, personal financial planning, and healthcare leadership.
The blue economy MBA is available online and offers insights into maritime trade, coastal tourism, and fisheries management.
The marine economy has been on the rise and contributes billions yearly.
Shipbuilding, transportation, and tourism are all seeing major growth.

The marine economy is booming — and a new online master of business administration (MBA) specialization aims to help students lead in that fast-growing sector.

The American marine economy generated $476 billion in economic impact in 2022 alone, according to recent data from the federal Marine Economy Satellite Account, or MESA. Several sectors showed rapid growth, including 14.6% in sales from the shipbuilding and boatbuilding industry, 8.1% from coastal tourism and recreation, and 7% in the marine transportation and warehouse industry.

The University of South Florida (USF) Muma College of Business will launch a new online blue economy MBA program that will prepare students to step into those fast-growing areas.

The MBA specialization will feature instruction in both maritime industries and sustainability as part of a partnership with USF’s College of Marine Science.

At USF, we are poised to train the best leaders in blue economy sectors. Our coastal location and world-renowned oceanographers are an asset to professionals looking to skill up in this space, David Naar, associate dean for academic programs at the USF College of Marine Science, said in a press release.

Sectors in the blue economy are growing faster than the national economy at large, and we are excited to be a part of it.

The blue economy specialization isn’t the only new MBA concentration offered by USF. The school also plans to launch concentrations in personal financial planning for its online MBA program and healthcare leadership for its executive MBA program.

Both of those areas are set for rapid growth:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects employment of medical and health services managers will grow by 28% from 2022-2032, a significantly faster pace than average. Those professionals earned a median annual salary of $110,680 as of May 2023.
Personal financial advisors are also expected to be in high demand over the next decade, per the BLS. Employment of those professionals is projected to grow by 13% from 2022-2032. Personal financial advisors had a median annual salary of $99,580 as of May 2023.

The USF online MBA program features both core coursework across business topics, as well as elective options and specializations for students. USF also offers specializations in other high-demand areas like cybersecurity and data analytics.

An MBA specialization or concentration features focused coursework in a specific field in addition to the broad business instruction offered by the popular graduate business degree. For students wanting to advance in their field or break into a new one, an MBA concentration offers a chance to hone and show off those skills while still earning the management-focused degree.

USF’s new MBA concentrations are part of a wider trend among business schools. Traditional concentrations like finance and entrepreneurship are still popular and often lucrative options, but a growing number of institutions are offering concentrations in emerging and fast-growing areas like cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), and more.

These innovative concentrations allow early-career professionals to skill up and later professionals the chance to pivot into a new field, Eric Douthirt, director of the MBA programs at the USF Muma College of Business, said in the release. The demand for business leadership in these fields is growing exponentially.

USF’s maritime industry-focused blue economy concentration makes it one of only a few programs in the country to offer such a program. The University of Maine also offers a blue economy MBA concentration, featuring instruction in marine biology, fisheries management, and shellfish farming.