KINGSTON, R.I. – Feb. 21, 2025 – At the end of South Ferry Road in Narragansett, amid the trees on both sides of the road, sits a small beach and a large pier. The pier is home to the University of Rhode Island’s research vessel, Endeavor. Along with the research vessel, off to the right just before the beach sits URI’s Narragansett Bay Campus. The Bay Campus has numerous buildings and a number of small nondescript buildings. Before coming up on the aquarium, on the right sits a multi car garage. 

There’s nothing special about it on the outside, but on the inside sits equipment that’s frequently in the frigid waters of the bay just a couple hundred yards away. That equipment is scuba diving technology. The black wetsuits and white air cylinders are used by students and researchers alike. 

This equipment is constantly on the move because URI is the only college or university in the Ocean State that offers an extensive scuba diving course and certification. Over 100 people take courses yearly.

These students rely on two instructors, Anya Hanson, Director of URI’s Diving Research and Safety Program, and Alexandra Moen, Associate Diving Safety Officer.

“We certify and train students, staff and faculty from a basic level all the way up to professional levels such as instructor,” said Hanson. “We also instruct and support diving for research, whether it’s using specialized tools or supporting specialized research initiatives.”

There are dive shops across Rhode Island where students can get a basic level certification. But earning a certificate from Hanson and Moen requires more work.

Their for-credit certification course, AFS 270, lasts a semester and is a mix of classroom instruction, pool training and ocean dives with greater emphasis on preparation for advanced courses. The not-for-credit course lasts about six weeks but encompasses the same aspects. The courses have become so popular that there’s a waiting list.

It can be nerve-wracking for students to dive for the first time. Unlike swimming at the beach in the summer, being underwater is a foreign environment. Hanson says they often serve as scuba instructors/therapists because diving 60 feet down can be anxiety-inducing and they’re helping people get over that mental hurdle. But upon surfacing, Hanson says seeing the smiles on people’s faces makes it all worth it.

Hanson says, “My favorite moments are seeing the faces of students after their first dive from that ‘wow’ moment to huge smiles and a sense of awe and inspiration.”

To take the course, students must pass medical requirements and a swim test showing they can swim 200 yards and tread water for 10 minutes. It’s only after student’s complete their classroom and pool instruction that they get a chance to dive next to that pier where Endeavor sets sail. 

“It’s taking what they’ve learned in the pool, and applying it in a different environment,” said Hanson. “That means being exposed to currents, waves, tides, learning when it’s safe to get in the water, and learning how to read the conditions.”

Along with the entry-level course, Hanson and Moen support research missions for URI as well as other universities across the state. Research diving training requires more work, a minimum of 100 hours of instruction and in-water training.

One of Moen’s favorite memories was working with a professor in the history department as part of an underwater archaeology class. Moen worked with multiple research students and professors, diving 20 feet down in the eastern Mediterranean to explore an ancient Roman shipwreck.

On that expedition the team found over 2,500 gold coins on the seafloor. It was the largest hoard of gold coins ever found off Israel. 

Moen says its these experiences that make the scuba diving course so attractive.

“You get to stay underwater for half of your day instead of sitting in a classroom. It doesn’t get any better than that,” said Moen.

It was URI’s scuba diving course that drew Moen back to Rhode Island to pursue a career instructing students and staff on the finer points of scuba. She got her bachelor’s degree in marine biology in 2015 and her master’s in environmental science and management in 2020, both from URI. But Moen readily admits she wasn’t the best swimmer growing up.

“Thinking back, I wasn’t a good swimmer when I began scuba diving,” said Moen. “I didn’t come into college with a strong background and knowledge of the ocean.”

She sees herself in students who first need to master the basics before continuing their training—which is why, beginning next spring, Moen plans to offer a basic watermanship skills course. She says the need is there. The course will offer not just basic swimming skills but many of the skills needed for someone who works in or around water.

For those students who want to learn to scuba dive but lack the basic skills, the class will be a prerequisite, allowing them to pass the swim test and then move on to the scuba diving course.

“It will be an all-encompassing watermanship class for people who want to pursue these things later in life,” said Moen. “Whether it’s diving or working around the water, pursuing a discipline that may bring them into that environment—it’ll be for anyone.”

To learn more about the scuba diving courses, or to sign up, email Alexandra Moen at: alexandra_moen@uri.edu.