Renaissance Life in Italy

Students will fly to Rome and travel together to Siena, the program's home base two-and-a-half hours away. With a small, walkable city center designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Siena is the ideal location to learn about the history of the region. Home to the oldest bank in the world, Monte dei Paschi, numerous important Renaissance painters’ studios, and the University of Siena, one of the oldest universities in the world, Siena is also boasts to sites such as the Torre del Mangia and the museum of Santa Maria della Scala, once a hospital.

Frequent daytrips to nearby towns and cities include Florence, the center of Italian art, culture, and fashion and the birthplace for the Renaissance, as well as Pisa, San Gimignano, Lucca, and Livorno. Students will have opportunities to socialize and practice their Italian with peers from the University of Siena while taking in the sweep of Italian history.

Requirements: A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required. Students who don’t meet the GPA requirement may still be eligible and should speak with OU’s International Education Office prior to applying.

There are no course or language prerequisites. Students with no prior knowledge of Italian are welcome to attend, as are  students at an advanced language level. The language class will be adapted to each student’s needs.

The courses will consist of four weeks of in-person classes on campus during Summer I, plus the three-week study abroad experience. The travel is a required component, and students who cannot or do not plan to travel will not be permitted to enroll.

Courses: Students will take both HST 3910: Renaissance Life in Italy (4 credits) and ML 2900: Italian Language for Study Abroad (4 credits). All students will earn 8 credits.

In Siena, students will live together in shared rooms in the Piccolo Hotel Etruria, a comfortable hotel in a historic building one block from the Piazza del Campo in the center of Siena.

Breakfast is provided at the hotel each morning. The program cost will include welcome and farewell dinners. Most other meals are students' responsibility.

Tuition: 8 Credits

You will be charged for these credits on your eBill at your normal rate of tuition.

Program Costs: $3,300

To be paid to OU on our MarketPlace payment system and includes: housing and some meals, ground transportation and all excursions while in Italy, and health insurance.

Additional Costs: $2,375

You will need additional funds for these expenses not covered by the program fee. Amounts are estimated.
Airfare: $1,600
Meals: $300
Incidental personal expenses: $300
Passport (if you don't have one): $175

Scholarships and Financial Aid: You are able to use financial aid to cover your full cost of attendance to this program (tuition, program fee and additional costs). Scholarships are also available through your study abroad application.