Advanced · Master-level training
NAUI Master Scuba Diver
The NAUI Master Scuba Diver course is advanced recreational training for experienced divers who want to deepen their diving knowledge, expand their open-water experience, and become more capable and confident in a wide variety of diving situations.
Build Experience. Develop Judgment. Master Your Diving.
The NAUI Master Scuba Diver course is advanced recreational training for experienced divers who want to deepen their diving knowledge, expand their open-water experience, and become more capable and confident in a wide variety of diving situations.
Course Information
Advanced Recreational Training
Master Scuba Diver is designed for divers who have already completed Advanced and Rescue training and are ready to bring those individual skills together into a broader understanding of diving.
Rather than focusing on a single specialty, Master Diver challenges you to apply knowledge from multiple areas of diving while operating in different environments, depths, conditions, and training situations.
The goal is not simply to collect another certification. The program is designed to develop a diver who understands why decisions are made, recognizes changing conditions, manages problems effectively, and is comfortable applying advanced diving skills in the open water.
What You'll Learn
Master Diver expands on the knowledge developed through Open Water, Advanced Diver, Rescue Diver, and other continuing-education training.
Training includes areas such as:
- Advanced dive planning and gas management
- Applied diving physics and physiology
- Diving equipment and equipment considerations
- Diving safety and emergency procedures
- Environmental conditions and dive-site evaluation
- Underwater navigation
- Night and limited-visibility diving
- Search, recovery, and light salvage
- Deep diving
- Simulated decompression procedures
- Rescue and problem-solving skills
- Advanced buoyancy, trim, and diving proficiency
Skills performed during Master Diver training are expected to reflect a noticeably higher level of control, awareness, and proficiency than would normally be expected during earlier recreational courses.
How the Course Works
Master Scuba Diver is a comprehensive program combining academics, instructor-led discussions, dive planning, briefings and debriefings, and extensive open-water training.
The program includes approximately 23 hours of academic development and a minimum of eight open-water training dives.
Training dives cover several different advanced diving activities rather than repeating the same experience. Required areas include deep diving, simulated decompression procedures, underwater navigation, limited visibility or night diving, rescue and emergency procedures, and search and recovery.
Additional dives allow your Instructor to expand the program based on available dive sites, environmental conditions, student experience, and appropriate training opportunities.
Because of the amount of training involved, Underwater World conducts Master Diver across multiple sessions rather than treating it as a quick weekend specialty.
Open-Water Training Dives
The NAUI Master Scuba Diver course requires a minimum of eight open-water training dives.
These dives are designed to expose students to different types of advanced diving and require them to apply both practical skills and academic knowledge in real diving environments.
Training may include:
- Deep diving
- Simulated decompression procedures
- Night or limited-visibility diving
- Underwater navigation
- Search, recovery, and light salvage
- Emergency and rescue procedures
- Advanced buoyancy and skill refinement
- Environmental or site-specific diving activities
- Air-consumption and dive-planning exercises
- Boat, shore, or other appropriate advanced diving experiences
Depth & Decompression Training
Master Diver training may include dives to a maximum depth of 130 feet / 40 meters when appropriate for the training objective, dive site, environmental conditions, and individual diver.
No dive conducted during the course will require actual staged decompression.
Students may practice simulated decompression procedures and advanced dive-planning concepts while remaining within recreational no-required-stop diving limits.
Equipment for the Course
Master Diver is advanced recreational training, and students should be comfortable diving with equipment appropriate for the environment and activities being conducted.
Divers should have their own personal equipment and may be expected to use additional accessories appropriate to advanced diving activities, such as:
- Dive computer
- Surface marker buoy
- Finger spool
- Dive slate or wet notes
- Primary dive light
- Backup light when appropriate
- Cutting device
- Compass
- Other equipment required for specific training dives
Your Instructor will review equipment requirements before the course and identify any additional equipment needed for individual dives.
Schedule
Available dates
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Frequently asked questions
What are the prerequisites?
Students must be at least 15 years old by the water-training portion of the course.
Students must also hold:
- Advanced Open Water Scuba Diver certification or equivalent
- Rescue Scuba Diver certification or equivalent
Equivalent certifications from other recognized training agencies can meet the prerequisites. Your Instructor will review your certifications and diving experience before training begins.
How many dives are included?
The NAUI Master Scuba Diver course requires a minimum of eight open-water training dives.
Additional diving may be recommended when appropriate for the student, course schedule, or available training opportunities.
Is Master Scuba Diver a professional certification?
No. Master Scuba Diver is an advanced recreational diving certification.
It does, however, provide an excellent foundation for experienced divers who may eventually want to progress into Divemaster or other professional-level training.
Can I take the course with certifications from another agency?
Yes. Equivalent Advanced and Rescue certifications from another recognized SCUBA training agency can meet the entry prerequisites.
Your Instructor will verify your certifications and review your diving experience before the course begins.
Do I need a certain number of logged dives?
NAUI does not replace the Advanced and Rescue certification prerequisites with a single logged-dive number for entry into Master Diver.
However, this is advanced training. Students should have sufficient recent diving experience to comfortably participate in the environments and activities included in the program.
If your current diving ability is not already known to your Instructor, an evaluation dive may be required before beginning the Master Diver training dives.
How deep will we dive?
Course dives may progress to a maximum depth of 130 feet / 40 meters.
Actual depths depend on the training objective, dive site, conditions, and the readiness and experience of the individual diver.
Does the course include decompression diving?
No. The Master Scuba Diver course does not require actual staged decompression diving.
Students may practice simulated decompression procedures and advanced dive-planning concepts during dives that remain within recreational no-required-stop limits.
How long does Master Diver training take?
Master Diver is significantly more comprehensive than a typical continuing-education specialty.
With approximately 23 hours of academic development and at least eight open-water dives, the program is scheduled across multiple training sessions.
The exact calendar depends on the dive sites, weather, student availability, and the time required for each student to demonstrate the required level of proficiency.
What comes after Master Diver?
Master Diver is one of the highest levels of advanced recreational training available through NAUI.
Divers who want to continue developing recreational skills may pursue additional specialty or technical training. Divers interested in professional leadership can continue toward Divemaster training.
When is the next Master Diver course?
The next Underwater World Master Diver schedule has not yet been released.
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