Italy Semester/Year Program

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY ROME, established in 1966, offers a semester or academic year program of full-time study designed primarily for third-year undergraduate students. The program is comprised of four academic components: Architecture for students enrolled in undergraduate architecture programs, and in
fall semesters, Landscape Architecture; Liberal Arts and Italian Studies, offering students the opportunity to choose from a range of courses focusing on Italy through the ages; Visual Arts with courses in painting, drawing, and sculpture, as well as photography, printmaking, and digital imaging; and International Business. Coursework is also available for Temple University students at the master’s level in Visual Arts. Courses are taught by Temple University faculty from the University’s main campus in Philadelphia, as well as faculty from Italy and other European countries.

Temple Rome is housed in the Villa Caproni, a handsome building facing the Tiber River in the heart of Rome. Just north of Piazza del Popolo and within short walking
distance of the Spanish Steps and the Borghese Gardens, the Villa Caproni is convenient to living accommodations, shops, and historical sites. Its facilities include academic classrooms equipped with “smart classroom” technology; one of Rome’s largest English-language libraries containing 16,000 volumes, a video film collection, periodicals, and access to electronic resources and online catalogs of Temple Libraries collections; computer labs and a wireless internet system; extensive professional visual arts and architecture studios; an art gallery; student lounges; and administrative offices.

Except for courses in Italian language and literature, all instruction is in English. Although Italian-language background is not required for acceptance into the Temple Rome program, students are urged to enroll in Italian language courses prior to the start of the program to ease their transition to Italian culture and enhance their overall experience. Students with no previous instruction in the Italian language are required to enroll in beginning Italian during their first semester in Rome.

The academic program is enriched by course field trips that acquaint students with the sites, paintings, monuments, and festivals associated with the people, history, and events of Italy.  A regular lecture series throughout the semester on archaeology, art, architecture, culture, current events, film studies, and literature also supplements the academic program.