The IES Abroad Rome Language & Culture Program provides you with the opportunity to begin Italian language studies or improve existing skills, while studying Art and Art History in Italy's capital. Language classes, ranging from beginner to advanced, develop your ability to communicate effectively in Italian through a focus on grammar, conversation, and composition. Specially designed area studies courses are taught in English and incorporate visits to some of Rome's most significant cultural and artistic sites into coursework.
Over the course of the summer, you will come to know Rome's lively piazzas, winding streets, and unique charm. The Rome Language & Culture Program offers enrollment in IES Abroad courses including a Italian language courses, housing in student apartments, and field trips; you will have the opportunity to meet Italian and international students alike. Starting at the IES Abroad Center beside the Tiber River across from the Castel Sant’ Angelo, this program will help you to gain a meaningful cultural experience and a deeper knowledge of what it means to be a citizen of the world.
Course Offerings
Enroll in the following course options for a total of 6 credits:
Additional Exciting Program Offerings
These dates are preliminary and are subject to change. Students should not book flights according to these dates.
Our mission is simple: to provide you with the best study abroad program possible—which includes the highest quality academic and cultural experiences.
You enroll in a required Italian language course and one English-taught area studies course, for a total of 6 credits.
Placement in the IES Abroad language course is determined by an on-site language placement test conducted during orientation.
This is a list of planned course offerings. After you are accepted, you will see a list of final course offerings in your MyIESabroad account.
IES Abroad Rome organizes field study trips that complement what you’re learning in the classroom, and contribute to your general knowledge of Italian culture and society.
Our job is to make sure that your greatest challenge is deciding what landmarks to see first or discovering the best café—not finding a place to live where you feel comfortable. We do our best to locate housing that is reflective of how the local students are living. Our goal is that when you leave Rome, it will feel like home.
Apartments Live with other IES Abroad students, and have the option of living with an Italian Student Companion, a local Italian host who provides opportunities to engage in local culture and activities.
Apartments are furnished, single-sex, and generally accommodate four to seven students, with two IES Abroad students sharing a bedroom. Internet access is available. Meals are not included, but apartments offer equipped kitchens. If you are interested in improving your language proficiency, you may opt to sign an Italian-only language pledge with your roommates.
Part of making you feel at home in Rome is doing our best to help you feel safe and cared for. Whether it’s the orientation program that prepares you for what’s ahead, your housing that is well-located and comfortable, or the field trips that take you to places off the beaten path—we’re all about our student services. This is just one of the things we’re known for.
After arrival, you participate in a day-trip to a town outside of Rome to see more of the Lazio region. Orientation sessions include information on:
You will receive an IES Abroad Rome USB drive with important information on the IES Abroad Rome Program, Rome city living, and useful information for your time abroad.
Explore Italian culture and get to know your classmates through cooking classes, trattoria nights, and daytrips to the Roman beachside.
Explore Italy through IES Abroad-organized field trips. The cost of one field trip is included in the program fee. Past locations have included:
Situated in the heart of Rome along the Tiber River across from the Castel Sant’ Angelo and the Vatican, the IES Abroad Rome Center is a newly renovated 1920s-era building within walking distance of the Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, and the Vatican.
Features include:
Acting Director, IES Abroad Rome Dott. Gianni Ponti
Dott. Ponti is an archaeologist specialized in Imperial Roman architecture. After earning a BA in Classics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dott. Ponti obtained a Laurea in archaeology from the University of Rome. He has worked on a number of archaeological excavations in the Mediterranean, including Troy, Aphrodisias and Leptis Magna. His studies and research focus on the use of marble in Roman construction, the ancient marble trade, quarrying and carving techniques. Dott. Ponti has worked on a number of excavations in Rome, including the Palatine Hill and the Imperial Fora. He has done research for the Department of Antiquities on a number of conservation projects including the Ara Pacis, the Column of Trajan and the Arch of Constantine. He is currently directing an excavation at the Villa of Maxentius on the Via Appia, as well as conducting architectural studies at Leptis Magna, Libya, with the Università di Rome Tre. Dott. Ponti has taught at the Istituto Centrale del Restauro of the Department of Antiquities and is currently Archaeology Advisor of the American Academy in Rome. He has been teaching archaeology courses at IES since 2004. Since 2007 he is Academic Dean of the IES Abroad Rome Center.
IES Abroad Staff Giovanna CuccinielloAssistant Director
Simona Di GiustinoInternship Coordinator
Arianna GaffiStudent Services Coordinator
TBAAcademic Dean
Silvana SodiniHealth & Safety Advisor
Luisa TaffaraAdministration Manager
Faculty
Christopher AltieriReligious StudiesPhD – Philosophy, Pontifical Gregorian University Monica BandellaItalian LanguagePhD - Italian Studies, University of Salzburg Giulia Bottero,Italian LanguagePh.D in Foreign Languages, Università di Venezia, Ca' Foscari. Barbara Briganti,Art HistoryProfessor of History of Garden Architecture at the Facoltà di Architettura "Valle Giulia" Maddalena Cardarelli,Italian LanguageLettere all'università di Roma I, " La Sapienza" Barbara CastaldoLiterature and AnthropologyPhD - Italian Studies, New York University Stefano CastellaniPhotographyMa- Latin Epigraphy, La Sapienza University of Rome Alessandro CoppolaUrban StudiesPhD - Urban Studies, University of Roma Tre Efisio Espa,EconomicsDegree in Economics, University of Siena Laura Fasanaro,International RelationsPh.D. in International Relations, University of Florence Anna Ferrari Aggradi,Italian LanguageDegree in Foreign Languages and Literatures from the University of Roma La Sapienza; DITALS Certificate for Teaching of Italian as a Foreign Lanague from the University of Siena Daniele Fiorentino,HistoryPh.D. in U.S. History, University of Kansas; Ph.D. in American Studies, University of Rome I “La Sapienza” Valentina FolloRoman HistoryPhD candidate, Art & Archaeology of the Mediterranean World, University of Pennsylvania Federica Giacomini,Art HistoryMA in Art History, University of Rome I “La Sapienza”; Ph.D. in Art History and Conservation, University of Tuscia Lori KingReligious StudiesPhD - Sacred Theology, Pontifical Gregorian University Philip Larrey,Religious StudiesPh.D. in Philosophy, Pontifical Gregorian University; S.T.B (BA in Theology), Pontifical University of St. Thomas Elisabetta Lodoli,Film StudiesM.A., California Institute of the Arts Marta Marchetti,Theater/LiteraturePh.D. in Theater, Université de Paris VII and the University of Siena Claudia MariottiPolitical SciencePhD – Political Sociology, University of Roma Tre Registilla Aloisi Masella,Italian LanguageDegree in Translation for French and English; Specialization certificate from DILIT in Teaching Italian as a Second Language; Oral Proficiency in Italian from ACTFEL Renato Moro,HistoryPh.D. in History, University of Rome I "La Sapienza"Provost, University of Rome III Giulia Parte,Italian LanguageDegree in Lingue e Letterature Straniere Moderne Gianni Ponti,Art HistoryBA in Classics, UNC; Graduate Degree in Archaeology, Università di Roma 2 Pier Paolo Racioppi,Art HistoryPh.D. in Medieval and Modern Art History, University of Rome I "La Sapienza" Mattia Toaldo,Political ScienceUniversity Degree in Political Sciences at the University of Rome, Roma 3 Silvia ZanazziInternship SeminarPhd candidate - Educational Research, La Sapienza University of Rome
Vertical Tabs