The Coastal Ocean Environment Summer School in Ghana (https://coessing.org) is an international collaboration aimed at building capacity in oceanographic and environmental sciences in Ghana specifically, and Africa more generally. The Summer School was previously held in 2015, 2016 and 2017. We intend to hold the schools every year, and to alternate the schools between Regional Maritime University and University of Ghana, which are both located in Ghana's capital city of Accra. Marine issues of great importance to Ghana include fisheries, piracy, pollution, shipping and port management, and the recent advent of offshore oil drilling. Long-term goals of our collaborative effort include securing funding to continue the school on an annual basis, increasing the number of links with institutions in other African countries, and incorporating research partnerships as part of the summer school. The school will include lectures, hands-on labs, and a field trip, and will address the physics and biogeochemistry of the coastal ocean environment, as well as the tools that scientists use to describe and understand this environment.