Program Details
Location
U.S. Virgin Islands, New Zealand
Term
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
Summer Session
Housing
Other
Languages Taught In
English
Sponsor
SEA
Program Eligibility
Student Type
UofM Students
Student Year
Sophomores
Juniors
Seniors
GPA
No Requirement
Program Model
Program Structure
This is an affiliate program. You receive resident credit for the courses you take. Your grades factor into your University of Minnesota GPA and each course appears on your transcript with an A/F grade. Consult the Learning Abroad Center's Academic Policies for more information.
Sea Education Association (SEA) is an educational adventure in a study-abroad program, open to students in all majors, that will take you to the deep ocean on a traditional sailing vessel to learn about the sea. SEA offers a variety of programs with focuses in science, environmental issues, culture, and history.
Combining initial academic coursework on shore with a hands-on voyage aboard a sailing research vessel at sea, SEA programs allow you to put your newfound knowledge and skills immediately into practice.
Affiliate organizations and partner universities will not accept applications from UMTC students without the endorsement of the Learning Abroad Center. You must participate in affiliate organization and partner university programs through the standard Learning Abroad Center application process.
Visit the Sea Education Association’s website for specific program features and eligibility requirements.
Coursework
Semester Program Offerings
Coral Reef Conservation: Caribbean (Spring Semester 2026): An investigative science and policy program examining the impacts of human actions on Caribbean coral reef ecosystems, the importance of coral reefs to island communities, and the full range of reef management strategies.
Plastics & Biodiversity in the Sargasso Sea (Spring Semester 2026): In this program, you will learn how to use modern molecular tools to ask and answer ecological and conservation questions as you sail from the St. Croix to Woods Hole, MA.
Climate Change & Coastal Resilience (Fall Semester 2026): Climate Change and Coastal Resilience, a mid-level undergraduate program, examines the ways climate change is affecting coastal communities and explores strategies for building coastal resilience.
Summer Program Offerings
Ocean Policy: Marine Protected Areas (Summer 2025): This program provides you the opportunity to learn how marine protected areas (MPAs) are designed, established, and implemented in marine spaces, both within and beyond national jurisdiction.
Coral Reef Conservation: Hawaii (Summer 2025): Through coursework in Hawaii followed by a research voyage at sea, you will study tropical marine ecosystems, their ecological and socio-economic roles, and how humans affect coral reefs through terrestrial activities, climate change impacts, and diversity of management strategies.
Accessibility
If you have a disability and plan to study abroad, visit our Accessibility Abroad page to learn about considerations, answer questions, and request accommodations before you go abroad.
Dates Details
Visit SEA's website for program dates and application deadlines.
All SEA programs operate on a rolling admissions basis, meaning they review each application once all materials are submitted and considered complete. Each SEA program has a limited capacity with a maximum of 24 or 25 students. They accept applications up to one year in advance and encourage you to apply early to ensure availability of your first-choice program.
Orientation Dates & Locations
The Learning Abroad Center provides a pre-departure orientation(s) in addition to the orientation offered by your affiliate program team. It is your responsibility to know the information shared at these orientations.
Orientation consists of several sessions, all of which are created to support your preparation to go abroad:
- Online Health & Safety Orientation: This asynchronous module can be accessed in your LAC checklist and is mandatory.
- LAC Affiliate Orientation (live Zoom session): UofM-specific information will be covered (academic planning, finances, etc.). Details on the LAC affiliate orientation will be sent to you via email.
- Affiliate Provider Orientation: This orientation will cover program-specific information. Your affiliate provider will invite you to a pre-departure orientation leading up to your departure.
The Learning Abroad Center also offers 2 optional orientations:
Fees
University of Minnesota participants pay the program fee instead of on-campus tuition and fees for the term they are abroad.
How to Calculate the Total Program Fee
To calculate your total program fee
Find your Affiliate program fee
For more specific information, visit the Sea Education Association website.
Each year, 2 UofM students participating in a SEA semester program will receive a fee reduction that matches the cost of attendance for resident students living in a dorm (refer to One Stop’s Cost of Attendance page for exact figures). Recipients of these fee reductions will be chosen in collaboration between SEA and the LAC. For any additional students participating in SEA programs, SEA offers a variety of financial aid and scholarship opportunities.
Add APAAC
Refer to the Affiliate Program Fees. Follow instructions on that page to determine your APAAC.
Add International Health Insurance
You will be billed approximately $2/day for your international health insurance.
Subtract Affiliate Fee Reduction
Visit the Affiliate Program Fees to determine the fee reduction you receive for being a University of Minnesota student.
What Is the APAAC?
Students participating on affiliated programs are charged a program fee that is inclusive of the affiliate's program fee, University of Minnesota Advising, Placement, Academic, and Administrative Costs (APAAC), and international health insurance. The APAAC covers:
- Application processing
- Advising services, orientation
- Course registration
- Grade transfer and posting for resident credit
- Program billing and assistance with financial aid (when applicable)
Based on these additional services and benefits, the total program fee may be higher than the affiliate's published program fee.
Billing & Payments
Visit Billing for information about the billing process for application fees, deposits, and program fees.
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Visit Financial Information for information on using financial aid and scholarships for study abroad.
Each of our affiliated programs awards its own array of scholarships. While many are need-based, others are based on merit, location, academic area, or diversity criteria. Explore your options within specific affiliates' scholarship pages.
Flight & Deposit Advance
The Flight & Deposit Advance (formerly Bridging Loan) is a no-interest/no-fees program that allows you to defer payment of your flight and LAC program deposit until your financial aid is disbursed.
Cancellation Policy
Before you apply to or confirm your participation on this program, review the Learning Abroad Center's Cancellation Policy to inform yourself of the timeline and financial obligations for canceling
Prepare
Complete pre-application advising.
Apply
You will be charged a $50 application fee for each application you submit.
If your program and term does not appear in the drop-down list of available programs, select ‘SEA—Other Programs Not Listed Here’ and complete the application item ‘Affiliate Program Information’ found in your application checklist.
Complete
In addition to completing the LAC application, submit to SEA:
- SEA (Sea Education Association) Online Application
Detailed descriptions and instructions for submitting each checklist item are included on the application checklist assigned to you.
Next Steps
- Upon submitting the online application, you will receive an automated email message indicating your application was received.
- Follow the instructions on your application checklist to submit all of the items. Your application is not considered complete until all items on your application checklist are either received or waived.
- Complete the affiliate program's application requirements as applicable.
- Your completed application is reviewed by our program team. If nominated for participation, the Learning Abroad Center contacts the affiliate's staff to notify them of your status.
- You will be notified of an admission decision by email. If admitted, you will be assigned a confirmation checklist. Log in to the online application to review the confirmation checklist and submit the required items.
- Do not pay the affiliate’s confirmation deposit. The affiliate accepts the Learning Abroad Center’s deposit as indication of confirmation. The Learning Abroad Center deposit is submitted by completing the Confirmation and Payment Agreement found on the confirmation checklist assigned to you.
- If you decide not to continue with the application process, log in to the online application and submit a Cancel Request. You must also notify your affiliate of your cancellation.
Program Contact
For further information or questions about this program, send an email to
Nathan Jacobson at [email protected],
or call at
612.626.4523.