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Semester at Sea (SAS) is a study abroad program managed by the Institute for Shipboard Education (ISE) in Charlottesville, Virginia. The University of Virginia is the current academic sponsor for the program. The university exists on a cruise ship called the MV Explorer.
During the spring semester, the 100-day program usually circumnavigates the globe, traveling from the western coast of Canada or the United States, on to East Asia, India, Africa, eastern South America, and finishing in the Caribbean, San Diego or Florida. The following semester, the ship then repeats that voyage in the opposite direction. Sometimes, Semester at Sea transits the Suez Canal and proceeds through the Mediterranean Sea before crossing the Atlantic Ocean and finishing in North America. During the summer months, ISE also hosts a shorter 65-day Semester at Sea program that concentrates on one general region of the world. Frequently, summer semester programs visit various ports in East Asia or Europe. Additionally, a two-week "Seminar at Sea" program is held for older continuing education participants during December and January that visits Central America and transits the Panama Canal.
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Academics
Each day that the ship is at sea, students attend classes in a variety of subjects and disciplines. Whenever the ship is in a port, no classes are held. Students are then able to travel on Semester at Sea sponsored trips or independently within the country. Travel outside the country of port is usually strictly prohibited, resulting in dismissal from the program. 1 Although the University of Virginia sponsors the program's academics, Semester at Sea is open to students from any university.
Ship
The vessel that is currently used by ISE is the MV Explorer, a 24,300-ton former cruise ship with a length of 590 feet. Constructed in 2002 by Blohm & Voss shipbuilders in Germany, it has a cruising speed of 29.9 knots. The ship had been operated by Royal Olympia Cruises until ISE acquired the vessel in summer 2004.
Previously, SAS has used a number of ships as its floating campus, including the S.S. Seven Seas (formerly the USS Long Island), the S.S. Seawise University (formerly the RMS Queen Elizabeth, which burned and sank in Hong Kong Harbour during its retrofit into a campus in 1972), the S.S. Universe and the S.S. Universe Explorer. During the history of the program, more than 45,000 undergraduate students from more than one thousand colleges and universities have participated in Semester at Sea.
History
Semester at Sea was originally named University of the Seven Seas and later World Campus Afloat before gaining its present name in 1977. In December 2005, it was announced that the University of Virginia would begin academic sponsorship of the program in Summer 2006. Previous sponsors include the University of Pittsburgh (1981-2006), the University of Colorado (1977-1980), and Chapman University (1965-1975). World figures such as Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Desmond Tutu, and Fidel Castro have all met with the program's participants at various times during its history. In 1999, the program's fame was boosted greatly when it was featured on a season of MTV's reality television show Road Rules.2 On January 26 2005, the MV Explorer weathered a storm in the north Pacific in which a large wave smashed the windows of the bridge, breaking one of them, and briefly affecting the navigation systems. While the vessel underwent repairs in Honolulu, Hawaii, Semester at Sea students flew to Hong Kong to continue their courses. The MV Explorer rejoined the students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and continued on to circumnavigate the globe and complete the semester without further incident.3 The Summer 2008 Voyage marked the first time in the history of the program that the ship docked in Denmark.4 The Fall 2008 Voyage marked the first time in the history of the program that the ship docked in Namibia.
Namibia had a 7% increase in GDP over the course of the five days. This is believed to be due to the arrival of Semester at Sea.citation needed
References
- ^ "Voyager's Handbook" (PDF). Retrieved on 2008-07-18.
- ^ "Milestones in Shipboard Education" (HTML). Retrieved on 2008-08-21.
- ^ "Semester at Sea ship narrowly averts disaster" (HTML). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
- ^ "Semester at Sea - Summer 2008 Itinerary/Calendar" (HTML). Retrieved on 2008-07-08.
External links
