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Semester At Sea is a unique programme
presently run by the Institute for Shipboard, University of Pittsburgh, U.S.A. The first shipboard semester was started way back in 1926 aboard the Ship known as S.S.Ryndam. From 1963-67, chapman college sponsored program aboard the M.S.Seven Seas and later the S.S.Ryndam. This ship was different from that used in 1926. From 1967-71, Chapman college sponsored aboard S.S.Ryndam and from 1971-75, Chapman college sponsored aboard S.S.Universe. In 1976, Institute for shipboard Education was founded and from 1977-80, University of Colorado sponsored aboard S.S.Universe. From 1981 till now, University of Pittsburgh is sponsoring this programme and from 1996, a new ship called S.S.Universe Explorer has replaced S.S.Universe. In the year 2004, a new ship MV Explorer has been introduced.
Most colleges and universities in the United states are seeking ways to convince students that understanding cultures other than their own is an important survival skill for the 21st century. In this context, education abroad has become a national mandate rather than a merely interesting supplement to undergraduate experience. While study abroad programs typically provide immersion in a single culture, Semester at Sea offers the unique opportunity for comparative study of diverse cultures, combining on-board classroom experience with field study in a variety of different countries. Semester at Sea provides a global perspective that we cannot duplicate on our home campuses.
Because Semester at Sea is a University of Pittsburgh program, each course in the Shipboard curriculum must be approved by the Dean's Council in the college of Arts and Science and by the appropriate departmental chairs and curriculum committees. Although the faculty on each voyage come from many universities, their credentials as well as their courses must undergo the normal review process appropriate for all teaching appointments at the University of Pittsburgh transcript for credits earned during Semester at Sea.
Students board the S.S.Universe with their own version of parochialism, regardless of their background. During the term, they learn about diversity within the shipboard community in the context of their own culture as well as those world cultures they are experiencing for the first time.
Students must register for a minimum of four courses from approximately 60 courses offered each semester in the following disciplines: anthropology, biological sciences, business, economics, English writing, fine arts, geography, geology, history, literature, music, philosophy, photography, political science, psychology, religious studies, sociology, and theater arts. Approximately 20 faculty from various institutions of higher learning join each voyage. Faculty are chosen for their excellence in teaching, academic accomplishments, and international experience. More than half of each 100-day term is spent at sea during which time students attend 75-minute classes.
All students are obligated to take the Core Course (college of Arts and Science 1000: Comparative International Studies). This three-credit course, provides the unifying framework by which students will learn about and experience the countries on the itinerary.
Students are also required to participate in an International field program during visits to nine or ten countries in diverse parts of the world. This field experience, through which students are provided with an unequaled opportunity to make comparative observations and analysis in principal cultural areas of the world, is the essence of the success of this program. When integrated with the class work, the opportunities for basic fieldwork in the international arena result in a semester of international learning that is not possible on the home campus.
During any one term there are students enrolled from approximately 150 Universities and colleges across the Country and around the World. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the program, Semester at Sea is appropriate for undergraduates in all fields of study. While some study abroad programs are tailored to particular disciplines and countries, the university and the Institute encourage all under-graduates in good academic standing (following University of Pittsburgh guidelines for study abroad) to add this global semester to their curriculum.
The itinerary is carefully selected to provide students the opportunity for a comparative approach to global education. The countries and regions visited offer examples of varying stages of economic development, contrasting political systems, and great diversity of religious and cultural values. Each semester's itinerary will follow this theme. But the need to alter the itinerary will arise if changes in political or economic stability occur.
Each semester is comprised of approximately 55 days at sea and 45 days in port, visiting countries in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Port stays of four to six days offer students a first-hand look at the societies and issues they have been studying in the classroom. Educational activities on land complement classroom instruction, with the field experience becoming the "laboratory" component of each course in the liberal arts curriculum.
The ship accomodates approximately 650 students, 50 faculty and staff and normally carries about 125 Asian officers and crew members. The Ship campus consists of classrooms, including the union and a 200 seat theater, a 10,000 volume core library, and study lounges in addition to standard facilities of any ocean going vessel.
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