In a unique transfer program with the University of Pittsburgh, students from around the country are spending a semester cruising around the world for academic credit.

In the "Semester at Sea" program, more than 500 students live on board a special ship and travel and study at 11 different ports including Piracus, Greece: Alexandria, Egypt: Cadiz, Spain: and Hong Kong.

The program offers liberal arts courses and some business courses that integrate the ports visited in their curricula. In addition to the 20 faculty members the travel on board the ship, individual interpreters lecture about each of the countries to be visited.

Twelve to 15 credits can be earned through 60 different courses in 17 different areas, said program administrators. No lab or sciences courses are offered.

"I not only learned about the entire world, I learned more about the United States from fellow students around the country," said Laura Duiker, a former student.

Once the ship is in port, students are permitted to go on their own as long as they return before the ship resumes its average, Duiker said.

An average of four days is spent in each port.

The cost of the program is $8,200, which covers tuition, room and board and passage around the world. The Daily, Collegian, February 17