<p>My D is a junior in high school and just starting the college search process. She has her heart set on studying for a semester in Rome. Right now she is interested in majoring in political science. It might help her narrow her college search if she knew what schools offered study abroad programs in her area of interest. She is a very good student but probably not elite school material. She wants to go to a medium to large sized school in an urban or suburban area. Will consider LACs as well.</p>
<p>It USUALLY does not make much of a difference what UG school your d attends, as many schools will let you go on a recognized study abroad program through another university or study abroad program like IES or CIEE (??). My d just came back from a semester in Florence through Wells College. That is not her "home school" but the "program" was acceptable to her UG school. You usually have to get permission, but if it is a legit program from a peer institution, there shouldn't be much of a problem. So it may just be sufficient to find out if the school encourages Study Abroad through other school programs.<br>
At my d's school, they are accepting all 16 credits, but the GPA she earned will not be calculated into her school's GPA. Many colleges are like that when it comes to taking classes away from ther "home school". But as she is most probably applying to Law School the "Wells GPA" will be considered for Law School purposes too. Study Abroad and graduate school can be a bit of a tricky situation. Ya gotta make sure ALL transcripts and grades become available to the Graduate school (but lets not jump too far ahead).
Some schools that have Programs in Rome include Arcadia, Temple and Cornell and I am sure a HOST of others.</p>
<p>St. Mary's Indiana has a study abroad program in Rome especially designed for it's students as sophomores. Classes are in English (except for the Italian class :) )</p>
<p>As far as I am aware, there are only three Italian study abroad programs in Italy where a minimum of two years of college Italian is required, and all classes, etc. are conducted in Italian (and papers written in Italian) - Wellesley, Smith, and Middlebury. My d. just returned from the Smith one, so pm me if interested.</p>
<p>Re-reading your post. If your d's focus remains political science/international relations and she has not "mastered" the Italian language, keep the Wells Program on your radar. The "home school" in Florence is Lorenzo d'Medici and classes are in English. Though my d has a passing understanding of Italian, she did not have the proficiency to take classes in Gov't/International Relations etc. in Italian. Most Study Abroad programs are going to be in the foreign language-- That is why Australia and England are such popular destinations with USA kids. If your d's proficiency in Italian is good, then it shouldn't be a problem.<br>
If the language barrier does come into play, you may want to check out the d'Medici program. I believe UNC and a few other schools use d'medici as their study abroad school too. In the Wells program, there seemed to be alot of kids from U of Indiana and Wisconsin.</p>
<p>Actually, the vast overwhelming majority of study abroad programs in Italy are not conducted in Italian.</p>
<p>Mini- I'll take your word on that, but most of the programs that came to my kids attention were in Italian or they were very targeted programs geared toward architecture/ or other art programs etc.<br>
Trinity College (Conn) may have a program in Rome that is in English and has courses in International Relations.<br>
Again- the important thing is to check that your kids school is receptive to Study Abroad programs and they will accept the credit from another university.</p>
<p>Just make sure they know how to say, "Gelato, per favore." (world's best ice cream)</p>
<p>Syracuse University has a well-regarded study abroad program in Florence, and their Political Science program is well know because some of the professors are from the Maxwell School of Citizenship.</p>
<p>I second csleslie regarding St. Mary's College. My dd and I spoke with an ad com during the Spring Day for Juniors and it sounded like a great program.</p>
<p>i thought both the Syracuse and URoch prgms (both w/ classes in Eng) were for students interested in architecture.</p>
<p>Also, the undergrad institution D attemns may be important. While Marny1 is correct that most colleges permit students to attend prgms sponsored by other schs, the list of approved prmgs can vary greatly among colleges. I recall a number of the CTCL schools did not have extensive exchange or reciprocity agreements, same was true for a number of colleges in Ohio.</p>
<p>Syracuse University (SU) offers three options for study in Florence, including one where a student can take classes at the University of Florence. The SU program is not just for architecture students. Please see: <a href="http://suabroad.syr.edu/programs/location/florence/programInformation/%5B/url%5D">http://suabroad.syr.edu/programs/location/florence/programInformation/</a></p>
<p>Both daughters spent a semester in the Rome Program at Saint Mary's College in Indiana. School location and accomodations are superb in the heart of downtown Rome. As stated above, classes are in English, designed for sophomores. Here's the link: <a href="http://www.saintmarys.edu/%7Ecwil/php/intercultural.learning/study.abroad/italy.php%5B/url%5D">http://www.saintmarys.edu/~cwil/php/intercultural.learning/study.abroad/italy.php</a></p>
<p>There were a number of Syracuse students in the Wells Program in Florence. So you gotta really study each program carefully as some are a better fit for the individual student. Why the Syracuse kids decided to go to the Wells instead of the Syracuse program is a mystery to me- but I'll just assume that their major or academic interest was more in line with some of the programs offered at Lorenzo d'Midici.
So in some instances, even if the "home school" offers a particular Study Abroad option, a competing program may be a better academic fit.</p>
<p>I agree with others that you do not need to pick out a college depending on if it offers an abroad program in Italy because most colleges will allow you to do an approved abroad program through other colleges. For instance, my D attends Brown and this past year did the Study Abroad program in Florence, Italy though Syracuse University. While she is in architecture, the program offers many other majors/studies. Students who attend the program come from MANY colleges across the US, and in fact, Syracuse wasn't any more represented than other schools. My D loved the program. It was taught in English, though study of Italian was required.</p>
<p>Sometimes it's hard to leave your home school or curriculum for a semester or year long program. Your daughter also has the option of doing a SUMMER abroad program in Italy if that works out better.</p>
<p>My DD is in a BFA program at RIT and it's difficult to go away for a semester (doesn't coincide with her school's qtr system and sequential course curriculum). She's currently doing a 6 week program in Florence through Arcadia University. Although she's at an Italian design school (she's a graphic design major), she's not taking design classes because they're taught in Italian - and she didn't know a word of Italian when she arrived in June. She's the only one attending from RIT. Most of the American kids are NOT design majors. 9 of my daughter's credits will count toward her major (mostly art history electives she needs). To be considered full time in order to qualify for financial aid, she arranged to do an independent study (4 credits) through her lit dept. </p>
<p>When researching undergrad programs, find schools she likes for all the other reasons, then search for their study abroad policies. My daughter's grades won't get calculated into her college GPA but will show up when applying to grad school. That is the same policy for the gen ed classes she took at home last summer. Arcadia will provide her with this summer's transcript. I would expect schools hosting these programs (like Syracuse, Wells, etc) to provide transcripts.</p>
<p>My son will begin college in the fall and he can't wait to study abroad. Not all colleges encourage study abroad programs for a neuroscience pre-med student - so those that allowed it (or better yet, encouraged it) were high on his list. Soozievt, he'll be attending Brown.</p>
<p>jerzgrlmom, I hope your son loves Brown as much as my daughter does! By the way, yes, she has a transcript from the semester abroad through Syracuse and that will be sent to grad schools as well as her Brown transcript. </p>
<p>I agree with your suggestion to select colleges for other reasons and then look into their study abroad policies, programs, and approved programs, before deciding to attend. I also agree that it is harder to study abroad when attending certain college programs. I also have a daughter in a BFA program (in her case, it is for musical theater at NYU/Tisch) and studying abroad is possible but more difficult. It is hard to miss a semester in the conservatory and still be on track with the program. Some students do a summer abroad program and in fact, she'd have loved to do one that they offer at her school in Amsterdam in summer but it costs about $10,000 and I cannot pay for summer programs on top of college and so that option is out. She sees her sister studying and working abroad and does think it would be great to do but will not miss conservatory to do it. She got to go on a free trip to Brazil with her Scholars program which was fantastic but just ten days. She could possibly do one semester abroad senior year more easily as her conservatory aspect of her college program is 3 1/2 years and one semester is purely academic in nature and she could opt to go abroad at that time but I don't know if she will. </p>
<p>Anyway, back to your son at Brown....LOTS of students go abroad at Brown. My D met up with many in her travels while abroad. Even this summer, while she is working abroad, she is meeting up with various Brown students also abroad. So, I'm sure your son will get to go and it will be great. Many of her pre-med friends have gone abroad while attending Brown.</p>
<p>Wake Forest has a great program in Venice, Italy. You stay in a former embassy on the grand canal. Everyone I know who went, raves about the experience. Check into it.</p>
<p>Check out Boston College, know many students who have done semester abroad.</p>
<p>University of Pittsburgh has a very liberal study abroad program. My son, a polysci major, could choose just about any program for semesters abroad, though I don't know that any were tailored to his major. Some programs were (almost) cheaper than our out of state tuition. He learned that Univ. of Minnesota is also quite good, in terms of being quite flexible in accepting various programs.</p>