The Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping (CCOM)/ Joint Hydrographic Center (JHC) is a recently established University of New Hampshire program aimed at creating a national center for expertise in ocean mapping and hydrographic sciences. Guided by a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the JHC operates in partnership with NOAA's National Ocean Service. The CCOM is a University center that expands the scope of interaction and cooperation with the private sector, other government agencies and universities. In addition to NOAA support, CCOM currently has projects underway funded by the US Geological Survey, the Office of Naval Research, the Naval Research Lab, DARPA, NSF and several private sector partners. The centers focus their activities on two major tasks, an educational task, aimed at creating a learning center that will promote and foster the education of a new generation of hydrographers and ocean mapping scientists, and a research task aimed at developing and evaluating a wide range of state-of-the-art hydrographic and ocean mapping technologies and applications.

The Centers' graduate degree program in ocean mapping has been awarded Category A Recognition by the International Federation of Surveyors /International Hydrographic Organization /International Cartographic Association (FIG/IHO/ICA) Advisory Board on Standards of Competence for Hydrographic Surveyors. Category A Recognition is the highest level of international recognition. It indicates that the FIG/IHO Advisory Board has examined the program curriculum in detail and concluded that the program provides comprehensive and broad-based knowledge in all aspects of the theory and practice of hydrography and allied disciplines.