The Joy of Globalization
Study abroad opportunities abound in almost every country in the world but there's no way to take advantage of them all. A few programs, however, offer wandering scholars the chance to hit the books, the libros, the sach, the chhek, the sieu pow, and the bacher.
SEMESTER AT SEA (semesteratsea.com) traverses the world the old fashioned way, offering shipboard classes then stopping in at the great ports of the world for a bit of cultural education (from museums to pubs.) The floating campus offers two semesters plus summer voyages that takes students to at least nine countries aboard the 590-foot MV Explorer cruise liner.
The 2009 spring trip (January 19 to May 6) hits Bahamas, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, India, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Japan and Guatemala.
The standard cost of Semester at Sea is $15,775 for a 100-day fall or spring voyage and $9,525 for a 65-day summer program. Financial assistance is available to students based on financial need.
Students take up to five general courses out of 23 in business, art, communications, and humanities and earn credits from the University of Virginia (transferable to most colleges). Applications for spring are received on a rolling basis, along with next summer and fall.
Like modern-day Darwins, the students of SEA OF EDUCATION ASSOCIATION (sea.edu) sail the world studying maritime history, oceanography, and natural science (at press time, one boat was docked in Tahiti). Students earn up to 17 units through Boston University. The program uses two 134-foot Brigantine vessels the SSV (sailing school vessel) Corwith Cramer for Atlantic routes and the SSV Roberts C. Seamans for the Pacific.
Participants spend the first six weeks at the campus at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, then sail for the next month and a half. A 17-week semester runs $19,840, including tuition, room on shore and at sea, meals at sea, and lab/book fees. A summer session is also available; it costs $14,195.
For those unsure of their sea legs, WorldSmart and the International Honors Program offer multinational programs for landlubbers. The WORLD SMART leadership program (worldsmart.org) focuses on community development in seven countries (the U.S., Japan, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy are on this spring's itinerary) over nineteen weeks.
Participants earn credits from the University of Colorado-Denver for courses such as Theories of Leadership, Intercultural Communication, and Communication and Conflict. The fall and spring programs cost $14,500 each.
Students at the INTERNATIONAL HONORS PROGRAM (ihp.edu) recently compared indigenous cultures in the U.S., India, New Zealand, and Mexico, earning credits from Boston University.
IHP is selective: Only about 30 students from around the U.S. get to spend a semester or a year traveling the globe. The 2008-2009 programs will focus on globalization, worldwide health, and indigenous perspectives.
© 2008, Student Traveler Magazine
