Master Scuba Diver

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Who should consider this rating?

Join the best of the best in recreational scuba diving and live the dive life as a PADI Master Scuba Diver. The Master Scuba Diver rating places you in an elite group of respected divers who have earned this rating through both significant experience and scuba training. Fewer than two percent of divers ever achieve this rating. When you flash your Master Scuba Diver card, people know that you’ve spent time underwater in a variety of environments and had your share of dive adventures.

Every diver, who is at least 12 years old, should aim for Master Scuba Diver.

The path starts with earning a PADI Open Water Diver certification, followed by PADI Advanced Open Water Diver and PADI Rescue Diver (or qualifying certifications). You also need to earn five PADI Specialty Diver certifications and have logged a minimum of 50 dives.

Check with Swim and Scuba about starting your  journey to becoming a PADI Master Scuba Diver and continuing your diving adventures.

Next Step

Target the ultimate certification:

  • Visit Swim and Scuba to ask about a Master Scuba Diver program.
  • Browse the PADI Course Catalog.

What do I need before I can apply for Master Scuba Diver?

Master Scuba Diver is a rating rather than a course. You do not sit an exam for it: you qualify by
completing a set of certifications and logging the dives, then apply. PADI sets four requirements:

  • Be at least 12 years old.
  • Hold Rescue Diver, or the junior equivalent.
  • Complete five PADI Specialty Diver courses.
  • Have at least 50 logged dives.

The five specialties are where people shape the rating around the diving they actually do. On Long
Island, wreck, deep, navigation, drysuit and nitrox are the common set, because that combination is what
the local water asks for. A diver who mostly travels might take photography and fish identification
instead. Either is a legitimate route to the same rating.

How long does it usually take to become a Master Scuba Diver?

The limiting factor is almost always the 50 dives, not the courses. Divers who dive locally through the
season, rather than only on holiday, tend to arrive at the rating in a year or two. Specialties can be
taken in any order, and some of them credit dives towards the 50, so the two requirements advance
together rather than one after the other.

If you are working towards it, keep the log properly from the start. Reconstructing dives afterwards is
the part people find tedious, and it is the one piece of the application nobody else can do for you.

Where the courses run

Specialty and Rescue courses run with Scuba Network of Long Island in Carle Place. If you are partway through and unsure
which specialties to take next, ask before booking: the order that suits your diving is usually not the
order the catalogue lists.

Master Scuba Diver: common questions

What do I need to become a PADI Master Scuba Diver?

To become a PADI Master Scuba Diver, you must be at least 12 years old, hold Rescue Diver or the junior equivalent, complete five PADI Specialty Diver courses and have at least 50 logged dives. It is a rating rather than a course, so there is no exam: you qualify, then apply.

How long does it usually take to become a Master Scuba Diver?

The 50 logged dives are almost always the limiting factor, not the courses. Divers who dive locally through the season tend to reach the rating in a year or two. Specialties can be taken in any order, and some credit dives toward the 50, so both requirements advance together.

Which five specialties do Long Island divers usually choose?

On Long Island, wreck, deep, navigation, drysuit and nitrox are the common set, because that combination suits the local water. A diver who mostly travels might take photography and fish identification instead. Specialty and Rescue courses run with Scuba Network of Long Island in Carle Place.