UMW in Italy

Exploring Ancient & Early Modern Empires

Program Dates

July 19 – August 12

Summer 2021

Registration

View our cancellation policy.

Program Fees

$7,030

$500 deposit due upon registration.
$6,530payment due May 10, 2021.

Included

Day-trip transportation in-country
Some meals (breakfast provided each day. Additional 3 lunches, 3 dinners included)
Housing and accommodations
Group excursions
International health insurance
UMW Education Abroad fee
Transcript and associated fees

NOT Included

Round-trip airfare
Transportation to and from US Airport
Personal expenses
Supplemental snacks, some meals
Souvenirs
Immunizations

Health Information

International travel may require immunizations or preventative medicines. Please refer to the US Center for Disease Control’s Traveler’s Health Information Page for recommendations. The UMW Health Center provides free travel consultations by appointment, as well as travel information for UMW students. The Center for International Education recommends that each student have a personalized medical consultation prior to international travel.

This program includes significant amounts of walking each day (including over uneven ground) and stair climbing. There are few elevators in museums and historic sites.

Led by Dr. Liane Houghtalin and Dr. Marjorie Och, and in partnership with SAI, the program examines the expansion and decline of ancient Rome, Renaissance Florence, and early modern Venice. Students will have the opportunity to explore the art, archaeology, history, culture, and contemporary society of these Italian cities.

Rome will be the program’s home base with visits to ancient sites including the Pantheon, Colosseum, and Forum, as well as the Renaissance and Baroque treasures of the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica. We lay the groundwork here for our study of “empire.”
Explore the streets, palaces, and museums of Florence on a 2-day trip to learn why the Renaissance begins here. Renaissance Florence offers countless opportunities to investigate how ancient Rome influenced early modern city states.
Discover Venice on a 2-day trip, a city built on the sea, to examine how this medieval town borrowed ideas from both antiquity as well as the Ottoman Empire to redefine “empire.”
Take additional day-trips to Tivoli and Ostia Antica

Accommodations

Students will stay in double or triple-occupancy shared apartments in Rome. Apartments will be equipped with air conditioning, kitchen, linens, basic utensils for eating and preparing meals, internet, and a washing machine. Each participant will have a USD $75.00 utility allotment per month. Any utility usage over this amount will be charged to the participant at the end of the program.

During overnight excursions, students will be housed in double or triple occupancy rooms in three-star hotels.

Coursework

Students will earn 6 transfer credits on this program. All students will take the 3 credit course titled “Exploring Ancient and Early Modern Empires” taught by UMW faculty members Dr. Och and Dr. Houghtalin. Students will also take an additional 3 credit course, “Cinematic Rome”, taught by Italiaidea, a local Italian institute for higher education.

This course satisfies the Experiential Learning/Beyond the Classroom or Global Inquiry/Diverse and Global Perspectives general education requirement by contract with the Faculty Director(s) only.

Requirements & Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course. Students must maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA in order to participate. This program is open to all UMW students regardless of major or year of study. It is also open to non-UMW students.

Scholarships

Faculty-Led Program Scholarships are available to UMW students (deadlines apply).

Payment

See the program fees and payment due dates in the right column. Use the Make a Payment button below to pay your deposit and regular program payment. Use the Special Payment option to pay a special amount (such as additional insurance or payment in a different amount as a result of a scholarship award).

Online payees have the choice of either credit card or eCheck payment. Credit card payments will incur a 2.75% service fee. There is no service charge for eCheck payments.

UMW in Italy | Exploring Ancient & Early Modern Empires