American Academy of Underwater Sciences

What American Academy of Underwater Sciences does

The American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) is a California-chartered nonprofit professional membership organization headquartered operationally in Mobile, Alabama, founded in 1983 to obtain and maintain the OSHA scientific diving exemption and to advance safe, productive scientific diving. AAUS develops and publishes consensual standards for scientific diver training and certification, maintains a longitudinal statistics program (2.8M dives logged since 1998), and convenes an annual Diving for Science Symposium. Its membership comprises 130-166 organizational members (colleges, universities, government agencies including NOAA, museums, aquaria, environmental and archaeological consulting firms, and community science groups) and over 1,100 individual members, served via a subscription dues model, an in-house E-Learning Platform launched in 2020, the monthly E-Slate newsletter, the annual symposium, and scholarships administered through its affiliated 501c3 AAUS Foundation. Revenue streams include organizational and individual membership dues, symposium registration, merchandise (Crewtopia print-on-demand), and Foundation donations; pricing is not publicly disclosed.

Name

American Academy of Underwater Sciences

Legal name

American Academy of Underwater Sciences

Website

https://aaus.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The American Academy of Underwater Sciences is a nonprofit membership organization that sets and maintains scientific diving standards, certifies divers, and supports research programs for 130+ universities, government agencies, museums, aquaria, and consulting firms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Mobile

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Organizational Membership Dues: Colleges, universities, government agencies, museums, aquaria, and other organizations pay annual dues to be organizational members of AAUS, gaining access to standards, certification programs, and the community network.
2. Individual Membership: Over 1100 individual members pay dues to be part of AAUS, receiving access to resources, publications (E-Slate newsletter), and the community.
3. Annual Symposium Registration: The organization generates revenue through registration fees for the annual Diving for Science Symposium, including various attendance packages and workshop fees.
4. Merchandise Store: AAUS operates a merchandise store offering items like shirts, hats, and buffs through a partnership with Crewtopia.
5. Scholarship Administration: The AAUS Foundation (501c3) administers scholarships and internships funded by donations and percentage of instructor dues.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

AAUS is a nonprofit professional membership organization that develops and maintains consensus standards for scientific diving training, certification, and program operations. It sells organizational and individual memberships to colleges, universities, government agencies, museums, aquaria, consulting firms, and community science groups, providing access to standards, an e-learning platform, an annual symposium, the E-Slate newsletter, and a statistics submission system. It also administers scholarships and internships through its affiliated AAUS Foundation (501c3).

Product overview

AAUS operates as a professional membership organization offering a unified ecosystem of scientific diving services centered around its consensus standards and certification programs. The core offerings include the E-Learning Platform for online training, annual Diving for Science Symposium, and Statistical tracking systems. The portfolio spans training and certification (Scientific Diving Standards, DSP Orientation), professional development (DSO Training Scholarships), student support (Scholarships, Travel Awards), and community engagement (E-Slate newsletter, National Scientific Diving Day).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• DCI rate of 0.324 per 10,000 dives, which is 1/10 that of recreational divers
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San DiegocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 October 2026Hosting the 2026 AAUS Diving for Science Symposium to celebrate 75 years of scientific diving at Scripps. Scripps is a founding institution for AAUS standards development and has been at the forefront of underwater exploration for over 100 years.
• University of California SystemcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 October 2026UC system partners (UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, UC Santa Cruz, UC San Diego) are co-hosting the 2026 symposium and represent major organizational members with scientific diving programs.
• DAN (Divers Alert Network)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 5 October 2026Major sponsor of the 2026 AAUS Symposium. DAN provides diver safety resources and offers instructor qualification courses at the symposium.
• ScubaPromajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 5 October 2026Major sponsor of the 2026 AAUS Symposium, providing dive equipment support for the scientific diving community.
• Australia New Zealand Scientific Diving Association (ANZSDA)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025International partnership with ANZSDA. AAUS leadership shared information about statistics collection and dive logging systems to support the international scientific diving community.
• Mary G Jameson FoundationcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership to increase the number of $3,000 awards at the Master's and Doctoral levels for AAUSF student scholarships.
• National Marine Sanctuary FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnered on marine debris removal efforts at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, funding restoration projects.
• NOAAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Collaboration on marine sanctuary research and conservation diving projects, including debris removal operations.
• Moody GardensminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Aquarium partner participating in marine debris removal and conservation projects with AAUS member divers.
• Georgia AquariumminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner in marine conservation diving projects and research expeditions.
• Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025REEF's Marine Conservation Internship provides scientific diving opportunities, outreach, education, and data collection.
• Thermo Cascade ProductsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVendor in AAUS institutional pricing program offering equipment to organizational members at discounted rates.
• CrewtopiaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership for AAUS swag store providing merchandise including shirts, hats, buffs printed on demand and shipped directly to members.
• ADPA (American Dive and Fishing Association)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerAAUS BOD members participate in ADPA Symposium for networking with the wider diving community.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Australia New Zealand Scientific Diving Association (ANZSDA): ANZSDA is the regional scientific diving standards body for Australia and New Zealand, performing a near-identical role to AAUS in its geography. AAUS has an active partnership with ANZSDA, sharing statistics and dive logging systems, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• European Scientific Diving Panel (ESDP): ESDP is the pan-European equivalent of AAUS, defining scientific diving standards across European research institutions. It is the most direct global counterpart in a different geography, performing the same accreditation and standards-setting function.

Broad incumbents

• Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS): CMAS is the international underwater federation coordinating national diving federations worldwide. It is a broad incumbent with overlapping authority on diving standards and certification in the global diving community.
• Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI): PADI is the world's largest recreational diving certification body, setting standards and certifying millions of divers. It is a broad incumbent in the wider diving certification market where AAUS operates in a specialized scientific niche.
• Divers Alert Network (DAN): DAN is a global diving safety and research organization that overlaps with AAUS on diver safety standards, incident tracking, and instructor training. It operates more broadly across recreational and scientific diving and is a major sponsor of AAUS symposiums.
• National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI): NAUI is one of the largest commercial diving certification agencies globally, training instructors and certifying divers across multiple disciplines. While broader than AAUS, it overlaps on certification and training content for the diving community.

Others

• American Diving and Fishing Association (ADPA): ADPA is a broader US diving industry association with which AAUS board members engage for cross-community networking. AAUS participates in ADPA's symposium to connect with the wider commercial diving sector.
• National Marine Sanctuary Foundation: The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation partners with AAUS on marine debris removal and conservation diving projects at NOAA sanctuaries. It is an ecosystem partner, not a peer, but a relevant adjacent organization.
• Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF): REEF runs marine conservation diving programs and citizen science initiatives that intersect with AAUS's scientific diving community. It is a partner ecosystem organization rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/aausdiving
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-academy-of-underwater-sciences

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about American Academy of Underwater Sciences