SMU junior Caitlin Anthony had an unforgettable Semester at Sea adventure in which she rode camels in Morocco, climbed the Great Wall of China and visited places like the Taj Mahal and Angkor Wat.
“It was honestly the best experience of my life and I would love to do it again,” Anthony said. “I loved every minute of it.”
Next fall, a handful of SMU students will not be attending classes on The Hilltop. Instead, they will be sailing across the open ocean in what Kate Osmond, Semester at Sea admissions counselor, calls an ‘incomparable’ study-abroad opportunity. These adventurous students will have the world for their classroom as they form new perspectives about people, places and cultures, all while earning college credit.
Semester at Sea is an experience that many college students do not know is available. It allows students from around the world to journey across the planet on board the 590-foot MV Explorer.
“Pretty much everybody has life changing experiences thanks to this program,” Osmond said.
The University of Virginia sponsors the program that allows between 600 and 700 students to receive transfer credit from their universities for attending classes on the former cruise ship. Summer, fall and spring sessions are offered aboard, while the ship travels to ports around the world. Generally 10 to 12 international ports are visited during fall and spring semesters, and at least eight are visited during the summer program.
The non-profit Institute for Shipboard Education program began in 1963 and launched its 100th voyage in the fall of 2009. The MV Explorer was built in 2002 and is the fastest passenger ship of its kind, reaching speeds of up to 28 knots.
Fall and spring voyages journey across the world in a period of 100 to110 days. Locations visited vary from one semester to the next, but Chennai, India; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Hong Kong and Shanghai, China; and Yokohama and Kobe, Japan. Students take a minimum of four classes for 12 credits, or a maximum of five classes for 15 credits.
Summer voyages cover smaller areas of the world in periods of 65-70 days. They typically concentrate on the North African and European regions. Students take nine to 12 credits in the summer.
While at port, students can participate in the program’s extensive choice of field trips, or can venture into the cities with friends. Professors often direct trips that coincide with material presented in the classroom. Students are free to travel outside of port locations.
Anthony was a student on the fall 2009 voyage. She took a flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg, where she then drove to the Zululand Tree Lodge to embark on an African safari.
“The safari I went on was in the top two of my favorite trips on Semester at Sea,” she said. “It was so much fun and a great cultural experience.”
The MV Explorer is a traveling campus that provides students with everything they need for their educational and personal life. An 8,000-volume library, counseling office, study areas and computer lab are all available to students on the ship. The ship is also equipped with a pool, fitness center, sports court, wellness center and two dining halls. Nine classrooms host at least 75 classes that appeal to students of all majors.
Classes are only held while the ship is at sea, traveling from one port to the next. Class days are divided between A and B days, but are not every day at sea. Well-qualified professors from colleges throughout the United States experience the journey with the students, and incorporate their lesson plans with the destinations. A global studies course is required of all students and is taken for three credits. The class teaches the history, economics, culture and politics of each country before it is visited.
Guest lecturers join for either the entire duration of the program or from one port to the next. The Web site recently announced that Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu will attend the entire fall 2010 voyage.
SMU sophomore Charlie Gallagher will be attending the fall 2010 voyage. He said, “I believe Semester at Sea will change me. Not in the sense of who I am or where I come from, but in the way I see the world.
