Who We Are
Welcome to SEA! If you are looking for an educational adventure in a study-abroad program, you won’t find anything like us anywhere in the world. We take college students to the deep ocean on a traditional sailing vessel to learn about the sea.
You may be captivated at first by the opportunity to visit exotic ports like Tahiti, the Marquesas, Lunenburg, and Bequia. But if you talk to students who have experienced SEA Semester, many will tell you that the most captivating destination of all is the sea itself, and the most exciting discovery is learning what lies within you. Perhaps you want to have an international experience; perhaps you are intrigued that the world is mostly water and you want to know more about how the oceans work. Perhaps you want to understand how we are ONE world, land and sea, connected to our past and to each other. Perhaps you just want to do something very, very exciting and different from what others are doing. If any of these are true, give us a look.
By coming to SEA, you can get a semester’s credit for a 12-week program that takes place half on shore and half at sea. Our interdisciplinary program begins in Woods Hole, one of the world’s great centers for ocean research. Here you will study the chemistry, biology, physics, and geology of the oceans and you will design your own research project that you will carry out at sea. You will learn the history and culture of mariners who for centuries have gone to sea, an ancient tradition that you will join. You will discuss the major policy issues that will be tomorrow’s headlines. And you will learn what it requires to take a vessel under sail safely to the deep ocean and to international ports.
After six weeks on shore, you will be prepared and eager to go to sea. You and your classmates will join one of our 135-foot vessels, either in the Atlantic/Caribbean or in the Pacific. You will stand watch as part of the shipboard community of 35. When in the lab, you will find sophisticated equipment, but you will also find it may be moving up and down with the seas or heeled over with the wind. Definitely not like a lab on campus! When on deck, you will be handling sail, navigating, and making sure all equipment stays in good working order. You will participate in all of the duties the ship requires, as mariners have done for generations before you. Every day, you will be given more responsibility as your skills increase until, towards the end, you are running the ship.
Is this for you? Only you can tell. Our students are diverse. Some are science majors but just as many come from the liberal arts. Students come from more than 100 universities in every part of the country and from a number of other countries. Most students receive financial aid. If cost is a concern, we want you to know that if you are qualified and motivated, we will find a way to make this experience affordable for you.
What do our students have in common? They are bright. They have a sense of adventure. They are willing to work hard. They welcome a unique experience. They relish a challenge. They like people and want to be part of a community unlike any they have experienced before.
Welcome aboard!
John Bullard
President
