SAS Value & Benefits

"An educational opportunity outside the United States can be among the most valuable tools for preparing a student to participate effectively in an increasingly interconnected international community that demands cross-cultural skills and knowledge."

—Report of the Strategic Task Force on Education Abroad

Studying abroad complements your education, allows you to experience other cultures, introduces you to new academic counterparts and friends, and often leads to a personal transformation that comes naturally when you venture to change your perspective of the world.

Those who rise to the challenge of spending a semester abroad will enjoy a host of tangible personal, career, academic, and other benefits.

Personal Benefits

Semester at Sea is often called a Voyage of Discovery. The opportunity to spend as many as three months outside of your own culture-investigating new lands, new peoples, and new curricula-is a both an immeasurable educational privilege and an invitation to grow.

Participants repeatedly report that Semester at Sea changed their lives in a positive way, including:

• Improved understanding of the world
• Greater awareness of cultural difference
• Improved self-confidence and autonomy
• Improved flexibility and understanding of multiple perspectives
• Better understanding of own culture
• Greater acceptance of others and their own opinions
• Ability to live in close community

Many participants recall Semester at Sea as the impetus for something else: an inspiration for future travels, a new career path, a stint in the Peace Corps, focused graduate work, or just a new-found perspective on the world we share. Whatever the case, after your voyage with Semester at Sea, your parents, families, and friends will notice a difference, and so will you.

Career Benefits

A global perspective is a critical asset in an increasingly global marketplace. Potential employers in any field will be impressed by skills that candidates have cultivated overseas.

Many reports conclude that study aboard experience is most valuable to those seeking their first job out of college, as it helps to set a candidate apart from the pack. The key to making the most of your Semester at Sea experience is to articulate the skills and proficiencies you've gained by spending an academic term with us abroad, and these may include:

• Improved leadership and communication skills
• Greater confidence, self-reliance, and flexibility
• Better ability to work with individuals from diverse backgrounds
• Better coping skills in unfamiliar or challenging situations
• More adept knowledge of international events
• Enhanced foreign language skills

Academic Benefits

Enhancing your education with a semester abroad is a growing trend. Roughly 200,000 U.S. undergraduates study abroad each year, and current legislation in Congress aims to increase that number to 1 million over the next 10 years.

Studying abroad with Semester at Sea offers many educational benefits, including:

• Transferable credit from the the University of Virginia to your home institution
• Beyond-the-classroom interaction with local peoples and cultures
• Engaging, intensive interaction with faculty in a living/learning environment
• First-hand application of theory and methodology in-country
• Greater knowledge of other cultures and foreign languages
• Enhanced understanding of developing nations
• Understanding of the complexity, dynamics, and interdependence of world systems

Other Benefits

Your decision to spend an academic term abroad with Semester at Sea will lead to additional intangible benefits including:

• Membership in a 45,000-member strong Alumni Association.
  Call on your fellow shipmates for professional networking and other opportunities.
• New Friends and Contacts.
  Many shipmates end up making friends for life with other undergraduates as well as international students, professors, and other program guests.