It combines oceanography, ocean engineering, maritime history, anthropology and archaeology.
[1] The program was established by Robert Ballard in 2003, as the Institute for Archeological Oceanography.
[1] The current focus of the institute is projects in the Black Sea and the eastern Mediterranean.
These projects use advanced unmanned submersible equipment to observe underwater sites, and attempt to go to deeper water than in the past.
[3] Although other schools offer degrees in archeology and oceanography, this is the first to combine them into a formal curriculum.