Classes

There will be 12 credits offered in SEAmester. The courses, in short, will encompass history, literature, marine science, and nautical science and seamanship, and will be taught throughout the trip both at sea and while ashore. Fully integrated into the voyage, your studies will directly relate to the environment and places we visit and will often have an interdisciplinary relationship to each other. For example, while crossing the Gulf Stream you will learn about its physical properties and how its warm waters affect ocean life, as well as the current's importance in the history of human settlement on the American continents. While on watch you'll use what you learn in navigation / seamanship to navigate the vessel safely across the sea, correcting for current, wind, and steerage. 

SMS 491 - Problems in Marine Science: Life at Sea
Undergraduate studies of current problems and issues in maritime studies directed by individual faculty. Will incorporate interdisciplinary maritime studies; history, literature, ethnology and marine sciences to better understand the human relationship with the  sea and marine environment. Issues like shipping, fisheries, coastal resource management, Caribbean studies, colonialism, and tourism will form the focus of this course.

Prerequisites & Notes: permission of instructor.
Credits: 6

SMS 110 - Concepts in Oceanography
Basic concepts in physical, geological, chemical and biological oceanography will be discussed. Also includes an introduction to the relationship between the ocean and the atmosphere. Ends with a discussion of global change issues. Practical applications of basic scientific principles will be emphasized. May not be used for credit in the Marine Science major.

Satisfies the General Education Applications of Scientific Knowledge Requirement. Lec 3.
Credits: 3

SMS 497 - Independent Study in Marine Science: Nautical Science and Celestial Navigation.

A practical and applied course arranged between instructor and individual students, covering selected topics or areas within the field of Nautical Science during the Spring SEAmester voyage. Coastal navigation, seamanship, celestial navigation and watch-standing will all be covered.

Prerequisites & Notes: permission of instructor.
Credits: 3

Excursions:

Part of the academic program will be our shore excursions. From hiking to a rainforest inside a dormant volcano to strolling the squares of the oldest city in the hemisphere, each new day and port presents a unique learning experience.

Teachers:

John Petrillo is the Academic Program Director aboard and will be teaching the 6 credit interdisciplinary course. John has an MA in American Civilization from Brown University and a BS in Social History from Carnegie Mellon University, and also holds a 100 ton Near Coastal master's license from the US Coast Guard. He has taught at sea for six years, including five SEAmester trips, and has also designed and taught university courses in Caribbean Immigration History at UMass Dartmouth. Currently in Maine recruiting students, he can't wait to get back to sea with a boatload of SEAmester students!

Captain JB Smith will be teaching the Nautical Science and Navigation course. Captain Smith holds a 500 ton Oceans Master license from the US Coast Guard and has led more SEAmester trips than any other captain--this will be his 15th semester! He has sailed more miles as an educator than most anyone else out there, leading many high school semesters and countless shorter-term programs up and down the coast.