Established in 1976, the Nautical Archaeology Program (NAP) was the first academic program in the United States to offer a graduate degree in the archaeology of ships and history of seafaring. The NAP curriculum focuses on the history of wooden ship construction; seafaring through the ages; maritime commerce, cargoes, and ports; and the techniques used to record, analyze and conserve the archaeological remains of these activities.
Nautical Archaeology Program
The Nautical Archaeology Program (NAP) at Texas A&M University is the oldest academic degree-granting graduate program in the U.S. devoted to the study of boats and ships and the cultures that created and used them. NAP Faculty provide instruction in the history of seafaring and wooden ship construction; maritime commerce and cargoes; the skills needed to record, excavate, analyze, and conserve the archaeological remains of these activities.
Nautical archaeology is the study of the remains of boats and ships and the cultures who created and used them. The mission of the Nautical Archaeology Program is to acquire and disseminate knowledge about seafaring and maritime history around the world.
NAP was founded in 1976 as a graduate program. Students can earn an M.S. in Maritime Archaeology and Conservation or a Ph.D. in Anthropology with a specialization in Nautical Archaeology.
Undergraduates at Texas A&M University have the option of earning a minor in Nautical Archaeology, and non-degree-seeking students may choose to pursue a certificate in Archaeological Artifact Conservation.
Event
Shipwreck Weekend
Shipwreck Weekend is a Nautical Archaeology Program Open House that is free and open to the public. The event occurs every spring and is run entirely by NAP graduate students. Shipwreck Weekend 2025 will take place Saturday April 5. This is a terrific opportunity to visit our laboratories, meet the NAP faculty and graduate students, and learn more about the latest research and technology in shipwreck archaeology. Every annual Shipwreck Weekend features a public lecture by an invited speaker, a Kids’ Fair and Open House, and a Book Sale where attendees can purchase discounted nautical archaeology titles (many signed by the author!) published by Texas A&M University Press.
RECENT NEWS
Wachsmann Receives AIA Publication Subvention Grant
NAP congratulates Dr. Shelley Wachsmann, Meadows Professor of Biblical Archaeology, for being selected as a recipient of the Archaeological Institute of America’s (AIA) Publication Subvention Grant. In his new book, Late Bronze Age Metal Artifacts off Hahotrim, Israel (Texas A&M University Press,…
2025 Association of Former Students Distinguished Graduate Student Award
NAP congratulates Ph.D. candidate Claire Zak (M.A. 2021) for being selected as a recipient of a 2025 Distinguished Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Teaching, awarded by Texas A&M University’s Association of Former Students! Claire received high praise from students enrolled in three courses…
FORMER STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Nicolle Hirschfeld (M.A. 1990), Professor and Chair of Classics, Trinity University
“While I was researching my senior thesis on the metal technologies of the Mediterranean Late Bronze Age, the discovery of the Uluburun shipwreck hit the news. This was in the very early days of the internet and I had little idea of what I was signing up for, when I applied to the NAP. I just knew I wanted in. When I stepped off the plane, I expected desert, cacti, cattle, and cowboys. I did not expect a red-headed stranger in an orange VW micro-bus: Jim Jobling, my prospective room-mate, coming to the rescue, to pick me up from the long line of newly shorn cadets at the admissions building. Nor did I expect the NAP buildings to be located 15 miles from campus. My cycling skills improved exponentially, by necessity.”
