MIAMI – The Scholar Ship, backed by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., today announced the lease of a 29,000-ton ocean liner that will become the first oceangoing international education program for students worldwide.
The Scholar Ship will transform the 660-foot (201 meters) ocean liner to accommodate 600 undergraduate and graduate students in a multicultural academic and living environment.
The ship will be re-named The Scholar Ship. It has 398 staterooms that can accommodate 796 students and faculty. The ship also accommodates 416 crew members.
The Scholar Ship will make its maiden voyage in September 2007 from Piraeus (Athens), Greece and sail westward on a compelling itinerary that includes stops in Lisbon, Portugal; Panama City, Panama; Guayaquil, Ecuador; Papeete, Tahiti; Suva, Fiji; Sydney, Australia; Shanghai, China; and Okinawa and Kobe, Japan. In addition to the program’s extensive onboard curriculum, each port of call provides an extensive educational platform from which students engage in academic field study, independent travel and shore excursions.
“Finding a vessel we could transform into an oceangoing campus was a unique challenge,” said Michael Bonner, chief operating officer of The Scholar Ship. “We wanted a ship with ample public space, expansive outdoor deck areas, comfortable cabins, and appropriately sized rooms to conduct classes. After nearly a year of reviewing dozens of alternatives, we found a vessel that is ideally suited for our program. It is a classic ocean liner with a deep-draft hull, spacious rooms and decks designed specifically for longer global voyages.”
Seven esteemed international universities have collaborated on the development of The Scholar Ship’s rigorous onboard and port programs. The Scholar Ship’s Consortium of Academic Stewards includes the University of California, Berkeley, (United States), Macquarie University (Australia), Fudan University (China), Tecnol?gico de Monterrey (Mexico), Al Akhawayn University (Morocco), University of Ghana (Sub-Saharan Africa), and Cardiff University (United Kingdom).
“The Scholar Ship’s student diversity is distinctive among shipboard study programs,” said Dr. Joseph Olander, president of The Scholar Ship and a prolific author and esteemed university president within the U.S. and abroad. “Of the students requesting applications, the Americas represent 36 percent of student interest, Europe/Middle East/Africa – 44 percent and Asia Pacific – 20 percent. The faculty and onboard staff are similarly diverse.”
“The response from such a broad group of students has been impressive,” said Olander. “Our distinctive education abroad model is catching on, in part because we provide a unique approach to immerse students in a multicultural environment that would be virtually impossible to create anywhere else.”
More than 1,000 students from over 80 countries have already applied for admission to the program.
Program fees are approximately USD $20,000 per semester. A $2 million dollar scholarship fund has been established for the 2007-2008 academic year to broaden the availability of this program to students from diverse backgrounds.
Scholarships will be awarded based on academic merit and economic need.

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