Divers Academy International

Divers Academy International is a private, for-profit technical educational institution in New Jersey that offers training in commercial diving and underwater welding.

Divers Academy was founded in 1977 by Captain William M. Brown, a Korean War veteran, to meet the high demand for commercial divers in the offshore oil industry, inland harbors, and rivers. In 2006, the school was purchased by William Brown's daughter, Tamara Brown, who took over as President and CEO.[1]

Originally named Divers Academy of the Eastern Seaboard, in 2001 the school was renamed Divers Academy International. As the commercial dive industry has evolved, Divers Academy has expanded the curriculum, certifications, facilities, technology, and faculty to meet current industry needs.[2]

Campus

Divers Academy is currently based in Erial, New Jersey. It moved from its original campus in Camden, New Jersey to a custom-designed facility in Erial in 2006. The school campus includes a 32-acre 60-foot deep commercial dive training quarry, hyperbaric chamber, Lincoln welding facilities and fully equipped classrooms. In 2013 Divers Academy expanded, adding a custom mixed gas deep dive training facility in Allentown PA. The 50-acre, 300 foot deep dive quarry is the deepest dive training quarry in the US, and is used exclusively for mixed gas deep dive training.

Training Curriculum

Divers Academy offers four commercial diving programs to prepare students for working in both offshore and inland commercial diving.

The Professional Commercial Diving Technology Program is a comprehensive 25-week program. It includes a core 20-week program to certify students for entry-level work in commercial diving, followed by a five-week elective course to give students advanced, specialized training and experience according to their specific career goals.

The Commercial Deep Sea Diving Program is the core commercial diving program, lasting 20 weeks, and offers all of the certifications required to work in commercial diving. Students who successfully complete the program can also choose to extend their 20-week training to the full 25 week Professional Commercial Diving Technology Program.

Two unique elective programs will be launched in early 2014. These advanced five-week programs are designed to be taken by students who have completed a core commercial diving program (either at Divers Academy or another commercial diving school). They offer enhanced training towards specific career goals within commercial diving and underwater welding.

The International Mixed Gas Technology Elective Program is a unique mixed gas training course that takes place at Divers Academy's 300 ft dive quarry in Allentown, PA. The Underwater Welding Technology Elective Program allows commercial diving students to build on the underwater (wet) welding skills learned in the core program, giving them more practical experience than usually offered in commercial diving and underwater welding training programs.

Accreditation

Divers Academy is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Career Schools and Colleges. This allows Divers Academy to provide students with access to federal financial assistance such as Pell Grants and direct student loans.

Divers Academy is also accredited and affiliated with leading technical and diving organizations:[3]

Accreditation and Approvals
  • Accrediting Commission for Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC)
  • Association of Commercial Diving Educators (ACDE)[4]
  • New Jersey Department Labor - Division of Workforce Development
  • The State Approval Agency for the training of Veterans (NJ)

Memberships and Affiliations

Training Standards

Military Friendly Status

For three consecutive years Divers Academy has been recognized by GI Jobs Magazine as a Military Friendly school.[5] This is a shortlist of universities and tech schools in the US that received recognition for offering support and opportunities to service members and veteran students. Veterans who enroll at Divers Academy can use their Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) or Montgomery GI Bill (Chapter 30) to cover up to 95% of tuition.

References
  1. "The Women Divers Hall of Fame™ (WDHOF)". www.wdhof.org. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  2. http://www.underwaterindustry.com/news/articles/75/1/Divers--Academy-International-Celebrates-25-years-of-Training/Page1.html
  3. http://www.diversacademy.edu/about/accreditations-and-affiliations
  4. http://www.acde.us/schools.htm
  5. http://www.militaryfriendlyschools.com/search/profile.aspx?id=184278
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