University of San Diego student Kevin Healy of Altadena is participating in the Semester at Sea program this fall.

The program provides a once-in-a-lifetime chance to investigate eight to 12 countries in a single semester, learn from leading faculty and international experts, perform service work in local communities, explore the world's most fascinating sites, earn a full semester's credit and support a nonprofit organization that's been leading global comparative education for nearly 50 years.

USD is ranked first in the nation for the percentage of undergraduate students studying abroad, according to the Institute of International Education's latest Open Doors Report. More than 71 percent of all USD undergraduate students study abroad.

Healy is majoring in computer science and plans to graduate in the spring 2013.

The University of San Diego is a Catholic institution of higher learning chartered in 1949; the school enrolls some 7,800 undergraduate and graduate students and is known for its commitment to teaching, the liberal arts, the formation of values and community service. The fall 2007 establishment of the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies brings the University's total number of schools and colleges to six. Other academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences and the schools of Business Administration, Leadership and Education Sciences, Law and Nursing and Health Sciences.