NEW LONDON, Conn., Jan. 25, 1981— Rear Adm. Malcolm E. Clark, superintendent of the United States Coast Guard Academy, died yesterday afternoon of a heart attack. He was 57 years old.

Admiral Clark died at 5:20 P.M. at the United States Naval Submarine Medical Center in Groton. He had been admitted Wednesday with chest pains and had suffered a heart attack yesterday morning.

He had been superintendent of the academy in New London since July 1977. Born in Cambridge, N.Y., he graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1946. Held Degree From M.I.T.

His initial tour was at sea. In 1954 he received a master's degree in naval architecture and marine engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He served as head of the applied science and engineering department at the academy from 1968 to 1972. In 1975 he was promoted to rear admiral and designated chief of the office of engineering at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington.

He is survived by his wife, Anne; three sons, Alan, Steven and Evan, a Coast Guard lieutenant; a daughter, Cynthia, and one grandson.

A funeral service will be held on Tuesday at 10 A.M. at the academy chapel, with burial to follow at Union Cemetery in Niantic, Conn. Adm. John B. Hayes, commandant of the Coast Guard and a classmate of Admiral Clark at the academy, will deliver the eulogy.

Calling hours at the academy chapel are from 7 to 9 P.M. tomorrow.