How to Apply and Requirements

Though most teachers take advantage of the program during the summer, cruises are available throughout most of the year on a space-available basis. Cruises range from one week to several months. Teachers on sabbatical may have the option to go on an extended cruise; in recent years, two have participated in cruises going to Australia and Japan, giving them a wealth of experience in global climate and air chemistry research.

As a Teacher at Sea, you will be expected to:

• Provide evidence of good health as determined by a completed medical history and have a TB test done within 12 months of the sailing date
  
• Submit a report to the NOAA Teacher at Sea Program detailing the cruise events and ideas for implementation in the classroom
  
• Create a mini-unit of lessons (8-10) based on the experiences at sea
  
• Submit an article for publication OR conduct a presentation at an educators' conference for colleagues
  
• Pay transportation costs to and from the docking sites (there may be funding opportunities in 2005 that will cover travel)

Teachers will be assigned to a vessel on a space-available basis only. They will work with the scientific team under the direction of the Chief Scientist, and the ship's Captain. Independent scientific projects must be coordinated with the Chief Scientist.

To apply for the Teacher at Sea Program, you may complete the forms on-line and print them or print them to fill them out by hand and mail them to the Teacher at Sea Office at the address below. PLEASE NOTE: If you fill in the forms on-line, you will not be able to save the completed form unless you have the full Adobe Acrobat program, not just the free Acrobat Reader). Applications and support materials for the program must be postmarked at least three months prior to the sailing date.

• Participant's Application Forms in PDF format.
  
  • Form A - Participant's Application
  • Form B - Administrator's Recommendation
  • Form C - Colleague's Recommendation
• NOAA Health Services Questionnaire in PDF format. Instructions (HTML format) for the Health Services Questionnaire (html)

Get the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and read the Portable Document Format file.

If you would prefer, an application can be mailed to you. Send an e-mail to the Program Coordinator with your name and mailing address and state in the message that you are requesting an application package.

For information about the ships and mission descriptions, visit the Ships page.

General Shipboard Policy Information contains useful information about ship policies, procedures, drills, etc. Some individual ship's pages also have further information for visiting scientists about life aboard ship. One site supported by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center has a very useful manual for cruise volunteers and first-time sailors about life at sea.

Teacher at Sea Office Address:

Teacher at Sea Program
NOAA - Marine Operations Center, Pacific
1801 Fairview Ave. E.
Seattle, WA 98102-3767