Professor to spend Semester at Sea

On June 17, 2007, Dr. Jeffrey Blick, professor of government and sociology, will be departing from Ensenada, Mexico, for a semester at sea.
This Semester at Sea will be administered by the University of Virginia. Professors and students from all over the United States will gather to spend two months at sea studying various subjects and cultures.
“It’s a well established and repeated program,” Blick said.
Blick, who has done study abroad programs in the past, says that while he’s spent months and even a year at a time abroad, he’s never done anything like this where you live on a ship for two months.
The Semester at Sea program has been around since 1926, but only in its modern form since 1976. Blick, a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where he obtained his Ph.D, originally heard about and became interested in the program while at school in Pittsburgh. Some of his professors at Pittsburgh went on the voyage and it was from them that he heard about and became fascinated with the program. 
While at sea, students live and learn while on the ship and then at each port, they have the opportunity to roam and explore for about five days. After that, everyone piles back on the ship for about 10 days until they reach their next destination.
“Semester at Sea is a great opportunity to see the world,” Blick said. “ The voyage this summer is to Latin America, but there are other voyages that navigate the world. It would be a great opportunity for someone young.”
Application information for the program can be acquired through the Web site at www.semesteratsea.com. To be considered, a student must be in good academic standing, having a GPA of least 2.75, and complete a 250-word essay online.
Mary Magoulick, associate professor of English, was involved in a Semester at Sea in the Spring of 2005.
“Semester at Sea is a great way to see and experience a large part of the world and a big variety of cultures, and also to live in a floating village-like environment for 100 days,” Magoulick said.
The boat on which participants live and travel is a small Mediterranean cruise ship that can fit over 1,000 people. There are typically 650 students on the voyages, 25-30 professors, 30 members on staff and 150 more crew. The boat is equipped with a library, classrooms and computer labs. Although the program is quite expensive, costing $20,000 per semester, financial aid is available, which could make the trip as cheap as $3,000 per student.
Orientation for Summer 2007 will begin on June 14, and the ship will set sail on June 17. There is still plenty of time for students who are interested to apply.
Eric Bauman, senior political science major, heard about  Semester at Sea and how it differs from other study abroad programs.
“I think that taking a class on a boat would be really fun,” Bauman said. “I love the ocean and being on a ship would mean that you could visit more than one place, rather then being put in one place to live while doing a study abroad class.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 3 2006. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry