In order to study the world's seas, you need to be in, on, around and surrounded by the water. We hold true to this tenet at Williams-Mystic. You could call it an "immersion" program, of sorts.

Our curriculum is based on an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary hands-on course of study focused on the world's oceans and coastlines. Together, students of all majors study the history, literature, policy and science of the sea. Our classrooms include Mystic Seaport's unparalleled G.W. Blunt White Library, home to one of the world's most extensive collections of maritime volumes, periodicals and documents; our well-equipped marine science teaching facility near the Mystic River; and a large number of field sites around the region and the country.

And of course, your classroom is the nation around us, enriched by three field seminars. An ocean voyage off of Cape Cod or Florida exploring this vast world of water begins our semester's studies. Beaches, tugboats and container ships are part of a cross-disciplinary study on America's Pacific Coast. In the Gulf of Mexico, bayous, marshes and oil rigs in Louisiana lay the foundation for our studies of this dynamic coast.

While at Mystic Seaport, the curriculum is enhanced by your participation in a maritime skill of your choice, working closely with Mystic Seaport's expert museum staff to learn boat building, iron forging, sailing skills, celestial navigation or the history and culture of sea music.

Our faculty members are active internationally in their respective fields and bring their expertise back to Williams-Mystic's tightly-knit community. Outside of the classroom or laboratory, you will also find them on our field seminars, aloft on the Museum's tall ships and at the residential houses sharing a meal with our students.