The College of Marine Arts was operated as the Sea Research Society

Sea Research Society

The Sea Research Society is a non-profit educational research organization founded in 1972. Its general purpose is to promote scientific and educational endeavors in any of the marine sciences or marine histories with the goal of obtaining knowledge for the ultimate benefit to mankind...

's formal higher education wing from 1972 until 1978. It was initially located in Columbia, South Carolina and later moved to Mount Pleasant, outside of Charleston where it was housed in the former Berkeley County

Berkeley County, South Carolina

Berkeley County is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. In 2000, its population was 142,651. The 2005 Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 151,673. Its county seat is Moncks Corner....

 courthouse building on Pitt Street.
Students participated in classroom workshops on history and artifact identification & conservation as well as in underwater archaeological projects on the wrecks of the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 blockade runners Georgiana

SS Georgiana

The Georgiana was a brig-rigged, iron hulled, propeller steamer of with a jib and two heavily raked masts, hull and stack painted black. Her clipper bow sported the figurehead of a "demi-woman". Georgiana was reportedly pierced for fourteen guns and could carry over four hundred tons of cargo...

, Mary Bowers and Constance as well as paleontological projects in the Cooper River

Cooper River (South Carolina)

The Cooper River is a mainly tidal river in the U.S. state of South Carolina. These cities are located along the river, Mt. Pleasant, Charleston, North Charleston, Goose Creek and Hanahan. Short and wide, it is joined first by the blackwater East Branch, then farther downstream, the tidal Wando River...

 and refuse sites in the Ashley River

Ashley River (South Carolina)

The Ashley River is a blackwater / tidal river in South Carolina, rising from the Wassamassaw and Great Cypress Swamps in western Berkeley County. It consolidates its main channel about five miles west of Summerville, widening into a tidal estuary just south of Fort Dorchester...

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Degrees

The College of Marine Arts awarded five doctorate

Doctorate

A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...

s in Marine Histories (DMH or MHD). They were issued for a combination of research and jure dignitatis. Recipients included Pablo Bush Romero of CEDAM, E. Lee Spence

E. Lee Spence

Edward Lee Spence is a pioneer in underwater archaeology who studies shipwrecks and sunken treasure. He is also a published editor and author of non-fiction reference books; a magazine editor , and magazine publisher ; and a...

, Peter Throckmorton

Peter Throckmorton

Peter Throckmorton , DMH, American journalist and underwater archaeologist is one of several pioneer underwater archaeologists frequently described as the Father of Underwater Archaeology. Throckmorton was a founding member of the Sea Research Society and served on its Board of Advisors until his...

, Robert F. Marx

Robert F. Marx

Robert F. Marx is one of the pioneer American scuba divers and is best known for his work with shipwrecks and sunken treasure. Although he is considered controversial for his frequent and successful forays into treasure hunting, fellow treasure hunter E...

, and Anders Franzén

Anders Franzén

Anders Franzén was a Swedish marine technician and an amateur naval archaeologist. He is most famous for having located the 1628 wreck of the Swedish galleon Vasa in 1956 and participated in her salvage 1959-1961...

, each published historians, known for their important shipwreck discoveries and their pioneering work in underwater archaeology.