spring 2013 semester in florence

DATES: January 19 - May 11, 2013*

Participants should plan to leave the U.S. on January 19th in order to arrive on site for the first day of the program.

PROGRAM FEE : $14,320

Program fee includes double occupancy self-catering accommodations in student apartments (homestay is additional; see below), 17 credits tuition, cultural fieldtrips, local excursions, weekend in Rome, 4 day excursion to Sicily, 4 day excursion to Berlin, Germany, evacuation and repatriation insurance, International Student ID, pre-departure orientation, and administrative fees in at Centro Fiorenza and at George Mason University.

Program fee for students choosing a single room in a shared apartment: $15,400.

Homestay Option: Italian homes with shared room: $16,420; single room $17,820.
Homestays include breakfast and dinner.

CREDITS: Students must enroll in 16 undergraduate credits. All students will take Italian language (3 or 6 credits) and Italian Culture and Society (1 credit). Other courses are listed to the right.

HOUSING: Apartments or homestays. Please see different options and costs above.

EXCURSIONS: NEW! 4 day/3 night trip to Berlin, Germany! 4 days in Sicily and weekend in Rome! Optional day tours to other cities available for an extra cost. In the past, students have toured Chianti, the Carnival in Venice, the "Best of Tuscany," Verona, and Cinque Terre, to name a few of the most popular options.

CONTACT: Email Joelle Williams or call (703) 993-2161.

Apply online today! Application deadline is October 5th, 2012.

The perfect introduction to Italian art, culture, history and language, this spring semester program in Florence is sure to please. Sign up now to join George Mason professor of Anthropology and Sociology David Haines as he leads our popular Florence semester program. Non-Mason students are welcome!

It was during the Middle Ages and Renaissance Era that Florence became the cultural hub of Europe, where artists like Leonardo DaVinci and Michelangelo, architects like Brunelleschi, and writers like Dante flourished. The evidence of their achievements is still present throughout Florence in palaces, squares, churches, monuments and museums.

These days, Florence is an active commercial center for business, banking, fashion, and the production of leather goods. The innumerable artistic treasures and natural beauty of the Tuscan countryside attracts students from all over the world who come to Florence as their place for an unforgettable study abroad experience. This unique city will be yours to absorb, explore, taste, marvel and enjoy for an entire semester! Excursions to Rome and Sicily are also included in the program's cost!

Participants study at the Centro Fiorenza, founded in 1982 and located right in the center of Florence in a prestigious seventeenth century palace called Palazzo Guicciardini. The former palace overlooks Florence's beautiful river Arno and the famous Ponte Vecchio (captured in the image below).The instruction students will receive from the Centro Fiorenza's staff is top notch and all courses are taught in English. Classes typically meet four days a week, allowing students ample opportunity to travel throughout Italy and Europe on the weekends and during Spring Break in March.

Led by George Mason University Professor David Haines, this study abroad program is open to any undergraduate student who has earned 45 credit hours (sophomore or junior standing) by January of next year, including non-Mason undergraduates. We have revised the course options for 2013 and are happy to offer some new options. This is an intense semester, but such an amazing deal when you consider that you will get 16 credits in one semester - 1 of those in a class that includes 4 day trips to various cities around Florence! While abroad, each student takes one Italian Language course (3 credits) and 13 other credits across the following disciplines, to equal 16 credits total:

• NEW! "European and American Relations in the 20th Century" (Seeking credit in GLOA, GOVT, HIST, 3 credits)
• NEW! "Head Scarves and Blue Cards: European Migration in Comparative Perspectives," taught by Professor Haines (ANTH 340, 3 credits)
  
• "The Living Art of the Renaissance " (ARTH 340, 3 credits)
• "History & Politics of Modern Italy" (GOVT 398 or HIST 398, 3 credits)
  
  NEW! All students will also take the new 1 credit course, "Italian Culture and Society" (Seeking cerdit in SOCI) This course will be conducted mainly outside of the classroom, including day trips on four Fridays to Prato, Bologna, Greve in Chianti, and Viareggio!

Check out this great video made by particpants on the Spring 2010 semester program with Dr. Paul Rogers, of the English Department, sure to inspire your own Italian adventures!!

The Academic Director

Professor David Haines received his M.A. in Southeast Asian Studies and Ph.D. in Anthropology from American University. Prior to coming to George Mason University in 1997, he worked for the federal government’s refugee resettlement program and served as a senior manager at the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission. He is a two-time Fulbright scholar (South Korea in 2004 and England/France/ Netherlands in 1987-88) and past president of the Society for Urban, National, and Transnational/Global Anthropology (SUNTA). He is the author of historical monographs on Vietnamese kinship and refugees in the United States, and editor of several volumes on immigrants and refugees. He was a recipient of George Mason's Teaching Excellence Award in 2003, and faculty study leader for GLOA's 2011 summer study program in China.

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*CGE reserves the right to make changes to a program in light of currency fluctuations, changing security and safety conditions, or any other unforeseen circumstances.