Specialty Courses

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PDC Specialty Courses are specifically designed to grow divers beyond their current capabilities, by developing knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) in specialized fields outside the range of core diving competencies. Each specialty course serves a specific need, and as such, these courses are purposely narrow in scope and challenging in requirements in order to force students to engage critically with theory and become proficient with its practical applications.

PDC's training mission is to grow the best, most capable divers on the planet, able to handle the most difficult dives and challenging environments in a safe and effective manner. While there are many more recognized "specialty" courses available, this means we will only offer courses that actually apply directly to SCUBA diving and that meet our training mission. PDC therefore refuses to offer any specialty course that does not enhance the KSA's of divers.

The Nitrox Diver Course provides certified divers with the knowledge required to safely utilize Enriched Air Nitrox (EAN) as a breathing medium, up to 40% O2 in the mix.

The minimum age for this course is:

• 15 years old with parental consent, a signed waiver, and an interview by staff, or
• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

• OWSD certified.

Students must supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. If a student needs one or more specific equipment items, they must acquire them before the first dive day of the course. PDC is able to aid students in acquiring their own equipment at any time. Please visit the DIVE GEAR page for to inquire.

Course graduates will receive a lifetime internationally recognized Nitrox SCUBA Diver certification (up to EAN40) from the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), and will be considered competent to perform open water dives using nitrox mixes up to 40% without supervision provided the diving activities and the areas dived approximate those of training.

The Drysuit Diver Course provides training and education on the use of drysuits, to include types, features, fit, function, thermal protection options, controls, buoyancy characteristics, and emergency procedures. Much of the course is dedicated to mentorship of skill development, to include trim attitude, neutral buoyancy, equipment manipulation, and propulsion techniques, to allow the new drysuit diver time to perfect suit use and management before certification.

The minimum age for this course is:

• 15 years old with parental consent, a signed waiver, and an interview by staff, or
• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

• OWSD certified.

Students must supply their own equipment, including drysuit, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. If a student needs one or more specific equipment items, they must acquire them before the first dive day of the course. PDC is able to aid students in acquiring their own equipment at any time. Please visit the DIVE GEAR page for to inquire.

Course graduates will receive a lifetime internationally recognized Drysuit SCUBA Diver certification from the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), and will be considered competent to perform open water dives utilizing a drysuit without supervision provided the diving activities and the areas dived approximate those of training.

The Altitude Diver Course provides certified divers with the knowledge and skills required to minimize risks and safely conduct dives at altitudes at or above 300m (1,000ft) above sea level. The course includes additional theory on dive science, including atmospheric pressure differences at higher altitudes, altitude tables, equivalent sea-level depths for actual depths at altitude, decompression differences at altitude and finding NDL's for different altitudes, and practical application of all of the above.

The minimum age for this course is:

• 15 years old with parental consent, a signed waiver, and an interview by staff, or
• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

• AOWSD certified.
• Proof of at least 30 logged dives.

Students must supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. If a student needs one or more specific equipment items, they must acquire them before the first dive day of the course. PDC is able to aid students in acquiring their own equipment at any time. Please visit the DIVE GEAR page for to inquire.

Course graduates will receive a lifetime internationally recognized Altitude SCUBA Diver certification from the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), and will be considered competent to safely perform open water dives at altitudes above 300m (1,000ft) above sea level without supervision provided the diving activities and the areas dived approximate those of training.

The Sidemount Diver Course provides certified divers with the fundamental knowledge and skills required to conduct dives utilizing a sidemount equipment configuration.

The minimum age for this course is:

• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

• AOWSD certified.
• Nitrox certified.
• Proof of at least 50 logged dives.
• Demonstrable quality skills in the water.

Students must supply their own equipment, including full dive gear, a complete sidemount harness and wing, tank rigging for two tanks, a complete sidemount regulator set, an SMB and reel, a compass, a computer, a storage pouch, a cutting tool, two underwater lights, a writing slate or wet notes, two masks, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. If a student needs one or more specific equipment items, they must acquire them before the first dive day of the course. PDC is able to aid students in acquiring their own equipment at any time. Please visit the DIVE GEAR page for to inquire.

Course graduates will receive a lifetime internationally recognized Sidemount SCUBA Diver certification from the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), and will be considered competent to perform open water dives in sidemount configuration without supervision provided the diving activities and the areas dived approximate those of training.

The Full Face Mask Diver Course trains certified divers in the required procedures, knowledge, and skills necessary to safely dive utilizing a full face mask (FFM).

The minimum age for this course is:

• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

• AOWSD certified.
• Proof of at least 30 logged dives.

Students must supply their own equipment, including FFM, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. If a student needs one or more specific equipment items, they must acquire them before the first dive day of the course. PDC is able to aid students in acquiring their own equipment at any time. Please visit the DIVE GEAR page for to inquire.

Course graduates will receive a lifetime internationally recognized Full Face Mask SCUBA Diver certification, for the model/series mask trained on, from the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), and will be considered competent to perform open water dives using the full face mask model/series trained upon without supervision provided the diving activities and the areas dived approximate those of training.

The Search and Recovery Diver Course provides certified divers with the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct underwater search and recovery (light salvage) operations in conditions ranging from clear visibility to limited and no visibility. This course covers planning considerations, navigation, limited visibility conditions, search methodologies and patterns, problem solving and computations, rigging, and light salvage and recovery of items underwater.

The minimum age for this course is:

• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

• AOWSD certified.

Students must supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. If a student needs one or more specific equipment items, they must acquire them before the first dive day of the course. PDC is able to aid students in acquiring their own equipment at any time. Please visit the DIVE GEAR page for to inquire.

Course graduates will receive a lifetime internationally recognized Search and Recovery SCUBA Diver certification from the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), and will be considered competent to perform open water search and recovery and light salvage dives without supervision provided the diving activities and the areas dived approximate those of training.

The Underwater Naturalist Diver Course exposes certified divers to physiological and biological aspects of diving environments with a focus on ecology. Students will be required to conduct research on the area dived, survey the area, and provide a detailed and appropriately formatted report covering history, morphology, hazards, species and population densities, observed behaviors of wildlife and plant life, conservation and pollution, and environmental conditions and impacts. To complete this research, source information, charts and maps, and historical documents covering the area studied shall be used, combined with dives conducted to observe and survey the dive site and gather data.

The minimum age for this course is:

• 15 years old with parental consent, a signed waiver, and an interview by staff, or
• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

• OWSD certified.
• It is strongly recommended students have some previous education in research methodology and writing for scientific papers at either the high school or university level.

Students must supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. If a student needs one or more specific equipment items, they must acquire them before the first dive day of the course. PDC is able to aid students in acquiring their own equipment at any time. Please visit the DIVE GEAR page for to inquire.

Course graduates will receive a lifetime internationally recognized Underwater Naturalist SCUBA Diver certification from the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), and will be considered competent to perform open water dives for the purposes of conducting limited surveys and studies, or aid in those conducted by higher level authorities, without supervision provided the diving activities and the areas dived approximate those of training.

The Underwater Archaeology Diver Course exposes certified divers to the methods used for underwater archaeology. This course covers archival research methods, site mapping and sketching, use of marker buoys, setting a baseline and artifact cataloging techniques, as well as diving safety, hazards, and cautions of underwater archaeology diving, and information regarding local, regional and national laws governing submerged archaeological sites and diver access. Students will be required to conduct research on the area dived, survey the area, and provide a detailed and appropriately formatted report utilizing source information, charts and maps, and historical documents covering the dive site, combined with dives conducted to survey and accurately catalog the dive site and gather data.

The minimum age for this course is:

• 15 years old with parental consent, a signed waiver, and an interview by staff, or
• 18 years or older. 

The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

• OWSD certified.
• It is strongly recommended students have some previous education in research methodology and writing for scientific papers at either the high school or university level.

Students must supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. If a student needs one or more specific equipment items, they must acquire them before the first dive day of the course. PDC is able to aid students in acquiring their own equipment at any time. Please visit the DIVE GEAR page for to inquire.

Course graduates will receive a lifetime internationally recognized Underwater Underwater Archaeology SCUBA Diver certification from the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), and will be considered competent to perform open water dives for the purposes of conducting limited surveys and studies, or aid in those conducted by higher level authorities, without supervision provided the diving activities and the areas dived approximate those of training.

The Training Assistant Course is designed to qualify a diver in the skills and knowledge necessary to perform as a training assistant during diver training activities overseen by an active-status NAUI Instructor.

Certified Training Assistants (TA's) are qualified to perform the tasks of:

• Temporarily directly supervising remaining students while an instructor conducts a skill with other students.
• Escorting no more than two diving students on the surface.
• Escorting no more than two diving students on underwater tours after an instructor has verified the student has demonstrated all entry-level skills.
• Assisting an active-status NAUI Instructor with other tasks which enhance the safety of students or improve the efficiency of diver training so long as the assistant is under the direction of the instructor and no other standards are violated.

The minimum age for this course is:

• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

• AOWSD certified.
• RSD certified.
• CPR/AED and First Aid certification within the previous 12 calendar months.
• Proof of at least 50 logged dives.
• Demonstrable quality skills in the water.

Students must supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. If a student needs one or more specific equipment items, they must acquire them before the first dive day of the course. PDC is able to aid students in acquiring their own equipment at any time. Please visit the DIVE GEAR page for to inquire.

Course graduates will receive a lifetime internationally recognized Training Assistant certification from the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), and will be considered competent to aid and assist qualified NAUI Divemasters and Instructors during training courses.

THIS IS A LEADERSHIP-LEVEL COURSE FOR INSTRUCTORS ONLY

This course is currently in development.