Students hoist sails for semester abroad

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat Photo Courtesy of the Institute for Shipboard Education From left, UA students Robin Martin, Marnie Wienke, Travis Doss, Kristi Castellano and Rory McElhinney stand on the S.S. Universe Explorer during their Semester at Sea. Doss called it "one of the best experiences in my life."

Since 1963, the University of Pittsburgh has sponsored Semester at Sea, a program in which students brave the ocean blue for about three months.

Although it is expensive, the program is well worth the price, a University of Arizona student on the ship said. There are about eight UA students out of the 614 on the S.S. Universe Explorer.

"It's been insane," communication junior Travis Doss said. "It (the cost) is steep but this is also a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

Doss spoke while the ship was sailing somewhere in the Red Sea on its way to Israel through the Suez Canal.

"The furthest I'd ever been before was to Mexico on spring break once," he said. "I would recommend it to anybody. When else are you going to have time in your life to see this many countries?"

The cost of the trip is $12,980 for standard accommodations, said Paul Watson, a spokesman for the Institute for Shipboard Education, which runs the program. Standard accommodations include tuition, room and board.

It is possible for students to pay more for a "premium" cabin, Watson said last week.

The Universe Explorer sails each fall and spring semester.

This semester's voyage left Vancouver Sept. 10. It has already stopped in Japan, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Vietnam and India.

The ship will stop in Israel before sailing onward to Turkey, Italy and Morocco before returning to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Dec. 19.

However, the standard accommodations fee does not include "field trips" off of the ship while it is in port, Watson said. If students wish to participate in organized activities while in port, they must pay extra in advance. Doss said he paid more than $900 to go on one of the organized excursions in India, but it was worth the money.

During the trip, students visited Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal, Delhi and Varanasi, Doss said.

"Varanasi is to Hindus what Mecca is to Muslims," he said. "Each Hindu must go to Varanasi at least once in their lifetime."

But it is not necessary to pay for a prearranged trip to have fun while in port, Doss said.

"You can do anything - pre-planned or on your own," he said. "You can spend as little or as much as you want to."

When the ship docked in Japan, Doss said he bought a rail pass and went all over the country.

"Tokyo at 5 a.m. is nuts," he said, referring to the city's night-life. "There are 24 million people in the city - it's pretty wild."

Students who participate in the program also can take classes for college credit from the University of Pittsburgh while on board the ship.

"It has just about everything that's at a regular university," Watson said.

However, there are no hard-science courses such as chemistry and physics, he said. Marine biology is offered.

"It's a good fit," Watson said.

Students who wish to be considered for the program must have a 2.75 grade point average to qualify, he said. Students are also required to take at least 12 units from the total of about 70 courses available in both upper and lower divisions.

The Universe Explorer faculty have "international interests and expertise" within their area of study and most likely have resided in a foreign country at one time, Watson said.

"I think students really need to add an international dimension to their undergraduate education, he said.

The "interdependence" of today's global economy makes it important to understand the issues tying the world together, Watson said.

"You can take anything you can at the University of Arizona, but with an international emphasis," Doss said.

The UA does not transfer many of the program's upper division courses, he said.

"There are- few classes that would be accepted," Doss said.

Life on board the ship is not all work and no play.

There is a bar on board, Doss said. During the first two weeks of the voyage, the dean shut the bar down because people were getting too "out of hand."

"It's not real conducive to making good grades," he said.

MTV will send the Road Rules cast on the ship this spring, but it is already too late to apply.

"We are at full capacity for spring '99," Watson said. "The best chance is to apply now for fall '99 or spring 2000."

Michael Lafleur can be reached via e-mail at Michael.Lafleur@wildcat.arizona.edu.