Location:

Caribbean, Caribbean; Lisbon, Portugal; Madrid, Spain; Monaco, Monaco; Multi-Country Programs, Multi-Country Programs; Programs at Sea, Programs at Sea; Nice, France

Program Type:

Study Abroad

Degree Level:

Undergraduate

Term:

Fall Semester, Spring Semester, Summer

Program Overview

Program Description:

Seamester is designed to create endless teachable moments, ones that can happen at any hour. We design our programs to provide engaging learning experiences that involve the whole person and have real outcomes in ways that are impossible to replicate in a traditional classroom. What is a teachable moment? For us, it's learning the oceanographic processes responsible for the trade winds while sailing 5000 nautical miles using nothing but their energy. It's coming on deck in the morning to find a small squid that has misjudged its leap out the water, then holding a dissection class to discover the pen and ink inside. It's being hit in the face with a flying fish on bow watch, then examining its pectoral fins. It's learning in class about coral reefs, mangroves, seagrasses, and invertebrates, then scuba diving to set quadrats and a transect line to conduct a survey. Living as part of a close-knit team means that some of the most important lessons are learned beyond the academics; lessons in personal responsibility, teamwork and hard work that are in every way just as important as what is learned in class. Our instructors and staff are cognizant of that and they are just as passionate about imparting those lessons. They take their responsibilities as role models and mentors as seriously as they take the subjects they teach. Sea|mester is designed to challenge students to realize that, in many ways, it is the journey that matters most, not the destination.

Join the crew of sailing yacht Argo, a 112-foot modern schooner, for our 50 day summer semester sailing through the Caribbean before crossing the Atlantic and ending in Europe and the Mediterranean. Crewing a yacht on a transatlantic voyage is not something many can say they have achieved, yet members of our crew will also earn up to 6 college credits in Nautical Science and Oceanography and visit Caribbean, Portuguese, British, Spanish and French ports along the way. As a team, your sense of accomplishment will be profound, and as an individual, the experience will set you apart. The skills you'll develop and challenges you'll overcome are uncommon. Not only a perfect subject for any job interview, but this voyage is also likely to contribute long after you have departed the vessel.

With Seamester, you discover that just as the traditional walls of a classroom don't exist, there is no bell to signal the start or end of learning. The voyage offers endless teachable moments and they happen at all hours. At its best, learning is an active process, and as part of our crew, Seamester will challenge you every day to learn by doing, seeing and experiencing. You study marine biology and oceanography by conducting research diving on reefs. Acquire knowledge of geology trekking through mountainous terrain. Master meteorology and navigation as you plot your course across seas. And develop leadership and communication skills working together with your team. For most students, these are things they only read about in books. For you, it will be something that inspires and enlightens.

Setting Description:

Completed in 2006, S/Y Argo is a 112-ft two-masted staysail schooner built to comfortably accommodate 26 student shipmates and 7 professional staff on the most challenging of ocean voyages. Certified by the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency as a Category "Zero" vessel, she is allowed unrestricted operation in all of the world's oceans. Safe, capable and as splendid a sailing yacht as there is traversing the seas; Argo was designed to the most exacting of standards in collaboration with the renowned Newport Rhode Island firm, Langan Design Associates. Argo circumnavigates the globe over a 2 year period with each semester serving as a leg of the journey.

Cost:

Program costs vary by trip duration and location, please visit website for more information

Additional Program Information

Scholarships:

Yes

Scholarships Description:

Please see website for more information.