Semester at Sea (SAS) is a study abroad programme founded in 1963, now managed by the Institute for Shipboard Education in Charlottesville, Virginia. The University of Virginia is the current academic sponsor for the programme while the programme itself is run on a cruise ship called the MV Explorer. During the spring and fall semesters, the approximately 100-day programme circumnavigates the globe, travelling from North America heading either east across the Atlantic or west across the Pacific, visiting from 8 to 11 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and South America, before ending the voyage in another North American port; taking up to 800 students and professors.

Since establishment in 1963, the non-profit Institute for Shipboard Education has launched over a 100 Semester at Sea voyages, educated more than 50,000 students from 1,500 institutions, and travelled to more than 60 countries.