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World Maritime University

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The World Maritime University (WMU) was founded in 1983 by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, as its premier centre of excellence for maritime postgraduate education, research, and capacity building. 

World Maritime University Key Statistics & Highlights

  • 1 Courses
  • Private Institution Type

History

In the early 1980s, it was recognized within IMO that there was a shortage of well-qualified, highly educated maritime experts, particularly in lesser developed nations. This led to the establishment of World Maritime University (WMU) by IMO in 1983. The University was made possible thanks to the generosity of the Government of Sweden and the City of Malmö.

Education

The University offers unique postgraduate educational programmes, undertakes wide-ranging research in maritime and ocean-related studies, and continues maritime capacity building in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

Research

Research Groups:

  • MarEner
  • METHOD
  • MER
  • MaRiSa

Career

As the International Maritime Organization’s centre of excellence for postgraduate maritime education, WMU’s mission is to be the world centre of excellence in postgraduate maritime and oceans education, professional training and research, while building global capacity and promoting sustainable development.

Student services

In supporting the delivery of the academic programmes, Academic Services and Administrative Services provide a wide range of functions for the institution, including Registry, Student Services, Finance, Human Resources Management, Information Technology and Corporate Services.

Housing services

In the new wing, students have study-bedrooms with private bathrooms, and share large kitchens and sitting rooms. In the main building, each room is a self-contained, furnished study-bedroom, with cooking facilities and a bathroom. All rooms are connected to the Universitys wi-fi network, and so to the internet. Students are assigned their rooms by ballot.The Residence has a range of facilities, including a lounge area for social meetings or group work, study rooms for group work, a sauna, facilities for playing pool and table-tennis, laundry facilities and indoor storage space for bicycles.

Library services

The WMU Library houses approximately twenty-five thousand print titles pertinent to the study of maritime affairs. Additionally, the library subscribes to several major databases and full-text journals offering online access to scores of thousands more titles, as well as statistical and report databases of import to the maritime sector.

ICT services

If you didn't bring your laptop, borrow one of the library's Chromebooks. Log in with your WMU Gmail account, and all your Google Drive files are ready for you to work on. Your authorizations to library services are mostly automatic. You can collect PDF's, gather data in a spreadsheet, or annotate e-books.

Medical services

The University takes out medical insurance to cover treatment in Sweden, as well as emergency treatment during field studies abroad. This health insurance covers only sudden illness and accidents; it does not cover pre-existing conditions, for which you will have to meet all medical bills yourself.

Campus life

Malmö is Swedens third largest city, situated in the southern-most province of Skåne. The centre of the city, with its pedestrianised streets, offers good shopping facilities, theatres, bars, cafés and restaurants, as well as an outstanding symphony orchestra, art galleries and museums. Although Malmö may look typically Swedish, with its parks, historic buildings and canals, it is also very cosmopolitan; around a fifth of its inhabitants were born outside Sweden, and there are representatives of over 100 different cultures among its citizens.

Sports facilities

Malmös sports provision is excellent, whether you want to watch or take part, and includes football, ice-hockey, sailing, golf, tennis and horse-riding. The city is surrounded by rolling countryside and some of the best beaches in Sweden.

Student clubs

The French Friends of WMU (Association des Amis de l'UMM) is one of the longest-established and most active of the world-wide network of WMU support associations. In recent years, their support has generously provided an annual prize – le Prix Pierre Leonard - awarded to the best female student on the Malmö MSc program, the establishment of the Pierre Houssin Room for doctoral students, and the recent decision to donate an official vehicle to the University.

Accreditation

The Swedish Council for Higher Education (Universitets- och högskolerådet) is the public agency responsible for the recognition of foreign qualifications in Sweden.

In addition, the University has been accepted as a member of the International Association of Universities (IAU) and the US Council of Graduate Schools.

World Maritime University Overview

World Maritime University Campus Locations

#1 Main Campus
Sweden Country
Malmö City
#2 Branch Campus
China Country
Shanghai City
#3 Branch Campus
China Country
Dalian City

World Maritime University Student Reviews & Awards

4

Based on 11 reviews

  • 5 Star
    3 Reviews
  • 4 Star
    6 Reviews
  • 3 Star
    1 Review
  • 2 Star
    1 Review
  • 1 Star
    0 Reviews
5/5

Satisfied from the study experience it’s good.

Im satisfied from the study experience it’s neutral.

Posted by Urooj Tariq
Studied from Sep 2019 - Sep 2024
Posted on Oct 2025
5/5

Global exposure

The environment was very diverse and represented the global community. We were 135 professionals from 54 countries around the globe but you still received focus and attention as an individual and got to meet with key industry players and also to travel to different countries or continents.

Posted by Zamangwane Hlongwane
Studied from Sep 2021 - Oct 2022
Posted on Jul 2023
4/5

Commitment to Coastal Engineering

I have valued my practical experience in civil engineering, especially in construction management and quality control. To advance, I wish to deepen my knowledge in coastal engineering, particularly in littoral processes and modeling tools, to adapt my skills to the specificities of coastal areas. This training combines a solid civil engineering foundation with a specialization essential to address coastal challenges.

Posted by Anonymous
Studied from Sep 2020 - Aug 2025
Posted on Oct 2025
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