It is part of the California State University system and the only maritime academy on the contiguous West Coast.

To save money, cadets and instructors alike lived and held classes aboard the training vessel, the T.S.

By 1940, the academy was granting Bachelor of Science degrees and Naval Reserve commissions to its graduates; this step marked the beginning of the transition from the status of trade school to college.

The 1970s also marked the time when the first minority and female cadets graduated from California Maritime Academy.

Cal Maritime offers one graduate and six undergraduate degrees, all of which are tied to a nautical curriculum.

[27] According to a study by the Equality of Opportunity Project, the Cal Maritime had the best results of any California college in helping transform students whose parents were relatively poor (bottom 20 percent of the income bracket) into adults who are relatively wealthy (top 20 percent income) within a decade after graduation.

The only similar program in the Western United States is at the junior college New Mexico Military Institute.

Since Maritime Academies comply with Title 46 Part 310 of the Code of Federal Regulations students are referred to as Cadets, required to wear uniforms, and utilize a demerit-based disciplinary system.

Based on academic majors cadets are organized into Squads, Sections, Divisions and Companies which regularly muster in Morning Formations several times a week, as well as stand watches on campus and aboard the training ship.

The academy is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) since the 1996–97 academic year.

In the 1970s, Cal Maritime began to organize its sports under intercollegiate guidelines, and the student body chose the "Keelhauler" as the academy's mascot.

Keelhauling involved tying the hands of a crewmember to a rope and hauling him under the keel of the ship.

Rugby was at one time the school's most successful sport, going undefeated against Division II opponents in home matches from 2007 to 2010.

That victory earned it the right to serve as the U.S. representative in the annual Student World Yachting Cup championships in October 2010 in La Rochelle, France, where it placed 5th of 14.