J-Term in Rome: In January of 2009 Geoffrey Sumi and Mark Landon will lead a trip to Rome to study the history and monuments of the ancient city. Students interested in this program will be required to register for the trip as a January term course (and will earn two academic credits). During 10 days in Italy, students will visit ancient sites and museums in the "Eternal City" and take short excursions to Ostia (the port of Rome), Cerveteri (an Etruscan site), and Tivoli (Hadrian's Villa). As part of the course, students will also be required to attend classes at MHC for the first part of J-term (approximately one week) before embarking for Rome. Questions should be addressed to Geoffrey Sumi (gsumi@mtholyoke.edu).

Semester Programs

Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome (ICCS or “The Centro”): The ICCS was established in 1965 by representatives of ten American colleges and universities; the number of member institutions has now grown to 90. It provides undergraduate students with an opportunity in Rome to study ancient history and archaeology, Greek and Latin literature, and ancient art. Students are expected to take four courses, which is a minimum and normal load; a few students take five courses. A major part of the academic work is a required comprehensive and integrated course called The Ancient City, which is commensurate with and requires as much class and study time as two semester courses. It covers Roman archaeology and topography, aspects of social and urban history of Rome, and Roman civilization. Frequent site visits, intensive museum tours and lectures, and wider-ranging trips outside Rome (based on the Professor-in-Charge’s areas of expertise) are included in the course. In the recent past, Campania and Sicily have been the focus of extended study. Because The Ancient City course depends on prior knowledge of Roman history, students are expected to prepare themselves by taking a Roman history course or by careful reading on the subject.

ICCS in Catania, Sicily: The ICCS now offers a second program that takes advantage of Sicily’s remarkable archaeological remains. The curriculum is much like that of the ICCS in Rome, in that students may take courses in Greek, Latin, Italian, Art History, and Mediterranean Culture.

College Year in Athens (CYA): Despite its name, CYA welcomes students who want to spend one semester in Greece. Established in 1962, CYA, in association with the International Center for Hellenic and Mediterranean Studies, offers unparalleled opportunities to experience the unique historical and cultural contributions of Greece and the surrounding region. The curriculum is organized in two tracks: Ancient Greek Civilization and East Mediterranean Area Studies. This division cuts across the disciplines but students can, and often do, take courses from both tracks. Field trips are an integral part of the curriculum and a principal means by which CYA brings students into direct contact with the people, geography, landscape, natural beauties, history, civilization, sites and monuments of Greece. Although itineraries may vary, field trips to major sites in Crete, the Peloponnese, and Central and Northern Greece engage students in what Philip Sherrard called “the pursuit of Greece,” inspiring a process of discovery that can spark a life-long interest.

Summer Programs

• During the summer, UMass (Amherst) conducts an archaeological field school at Poggio Civitate in Tuscany, Italy . This program runs for approximately six weeks and instructs students on all aspects of archaeological fieldwork, including field survey, stratigraphy, excavation, cataloguing and preservation. Five College students may apply and receive academic credit for their work.

• Students who anticipate taking an advanced degree in archaeology, ancient art history, ancient history, or classics can also apply to summer sessions of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens.

• The University of Arizona's Orvieto Institute offers undergraduate and graduate (MA level) courses in Vergil and Livy. These courses are designed especially for students interested in teaching Latin at the secondary level. Contact Cynthia White (University of Arizona) for more information.

For a list of where past and present Classics and Ancient Studies majors have studied and a summary of the courses that they took abroad, check this searchable database. Note that this is not a definitive list of what is possible and should serve only as a useful guide and planning resource.

Credit Transfer

Summer Internships and Research Abroad

Internships:

Students also have the option of developing their own summer internship or research project. Support for unpaid opportunities is available through the Universal Application Form (UAF), which offers students access to funding from a variety of College fellowship sources to cover travel and living expenses for the duration of the project. Students with a family contribution of less than $5000 may also receive a $500 grant to apply towards their summer earnings contribution. Both the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives and the Career Development Center have student evaluations of past international internships on file.