Semester at Sea

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The m/v Explorer docked in La Guaira, Venezuela, a port sometimes visited by Semester at Sea
The m/v Explorer docked in La Guaira, Venezuela, a port sometimes visited by Semester at Sea

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 academic sponsor for the program. The program was sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh from 1980 to 2006. Participants embark on a "Voyage of Discovery," studying and experiencing first-hand an array of diverse cultures and people in all corners of the world. It exists as a "floating university" with a maritime campus, providing the world as a classroom.

During the Spring and Fall semesters, the 100-day program usually circumnavigates the globe, travelling 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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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 and students are given many field program options and may travel in the specific country. Although the University of Virginia sponsors the program's academics, Semester at Sea is open to students from any university. On average, about 660 students, representing over 280 universities from across North America, take part in the program during the fall and spring semesters. Admission is also open to international students.

The S.S. Universe Explorer docked in Vancouver, British Columbia, shortly before embarking on the Fall 1997 Semester at Sea voyage.
The S.S. Universe Explorer docked in Vancouver, British Columbia, shortly before embarking on the Fall 1997 Semester at Sea voyage.

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 Olympic 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.

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. Tutu even sailed the entire voyage in spring 2007. In 1999, the program's fame was boosted greatly when it was featured on a season of MTV's reality television show Road Rules.

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In the Fall of 2007, UVA assumed full responsibility for the academic portion of Semester at Sea, under the direction for the Fall voyage of Academic Dean William Soffa[verification needed]. During this voyage, the administration made efforts to curb excessive or heavy alcohol consumption[citation needed], including limiting the quantity, location and time that alcohol was available to student passengers. In the resulting crackdown, some students were given severe punishments and others more lenient(Shipboard Rumors). Offenses rumored to have occurred included assaults on ship's crew, stealing alcohol from a kitchen area off-limits to students, continued academic failure, and continual overconsumption of alcohol(Shipboard Rumors). Towards the end of the voyage, five students were expelled from the program and told to disembark at the next port, but then were told the next morning that they would be allowed to stay(Shipboard Rumors). Popular rumor said that legal intervention on behalf of one student forced the administration to reverse course. Two of those students were re-expelled at a later date for additional infractions, in addition to one student who had not been previously expelled(Shipboard Rumors).


When students returned to the ship from Dubrovnik, Croatia in November 2007, they were told during the morning Global Studies course that Dean Soffa had been "reassigned" and would no longer be on the voyage. He had been a staunch advocate within the administration for following through with punishment of the five students and their prosecution at UVA for violations of the UVA Honor Code[citation needed]. The rumor that he had been fired for his refusal to bow to ISE, who for legal reasons did not want the matter to progress, spread through the ship within a number of days(Shipboard Rumors).

  1. ^ Milestones in Shipboard Education (HTML). Retrieved on 2008-08-21.
  • Shipboard Rumors: Rumors allegedly heard aboard the M/V Explorer during the Fall 2007 Voyage. None of these are supported by actual document sources or refer by name to the source of statements.

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