210 Off-Campus Study
spring semester or summer program: August to December, January to May, or June to July. Eligibility: second semester of sophomore year, juniors and first-term seniors. Credit: maximum of 16 credits. Application deadline: See advisor for deadlines. Campus advisor: Professor Henrik Schatzinger Woods Hole, Massachusetts — SEA, Sea Education Association The Sea Education Association was founded in 1971. This program provides undergraduates with opportunity to study the ocean from the perspective of onshore classes and first-hand experience onboard a traditional sailing vessel. Combining an engaging academic and research curriculum with a voyage to the deep ocean under sail (with engine backup), this program is unique in the United States. This program is not just for majors in one of the STEM disciplines. Students of any discipline are encouraged to apply to the 12-week SEA semester program that combines the shore and sea components. Onshore, students live and study alongside professional researchers, scholars and mariners. Students learn about the ocean’s power and mystery by studying a variety of topics including: maritime policy; maritime cultures, history, anthropology, sociology, literature, nautical science, climate change, marine biology, and oceanography. A component of the academic program requires that students design a research project that will be the focus of their work while at sea. The sea component takes students to the open sea and exotic locations in a vessel that is campus, classroom, and home. However, students are not passengers on their voyage; they work handin-hand with an experienced crew to sail the ship. Thus, applying the knowledge
that they acquired ashore, students experience sailing a traditional sailing schooner. At ports of call, students learn about and experience the local culture. Accordingly, the goal of the SEA Program is to provide intensive coursework and practical experience both ashore, in a residential campus, and at sea, aboard a deep-ocean sailing research vessel. Length of program: fall or spring semester (12 weeks); there also is a shorter, intensive summer program. Eligibility: sophomores, juniors and seniors. Credit: 17 credits. Application deadlines: May 15 (fall semester); Nov. 1 (spring semester). Campus advisor: Professor Memuna Khan. Woods Hole, Massachusetts — SES, Semester in Environmental Science: Marine Biology Laboratory Founded in 1888, the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, is a world-renowned center for biological research and education with a long tradition of offering excellent hands-on research experience at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The MBL’s facilities include one of the world’s best library collections of biological and oceanographic literature, a campuswide computer network, teaching and research laboratories equipped with running seawater, advanced instrumentation for chemical analysis including two isotope ratio mass-spectrometers, climate-controlled growth chambers, and a Marine Resources center dedicated to the culture and maintenance of marine organisms. The Semester in Environmental Science (SES) is sponsored by the Marine Biological Laboratory’s Ecosystems Center. The Ecosystems Center is the ecological research arm of the MBL. The goal of the center is to investigate funda-
