For the seventeenth consecutive year, the University of Pittsburgh's Department of French and Italian will sponsor a summer abroad program allowing students to earn seven credits while studying the language and culture of Italy.

The University of Pittsburgh collaborates with Study Abroad Italy (SAI) to offer a program in Syracuse. The program will be led by Professors Lorraine Denman and Stefano Muneroni from the Italian Program and run in conjunction with Study Abroad Italy on the beautiful island of Sicily.

Students with two semesters of college level Italian or the equivalent are encouraged to apply. Classes will be held at the Mediterranean Center of Arts and Sciences (MCAS). Students enroll in seven credits. All students must enroll in Italian Conversation and the Culture of Syracuse courses.

Courses offered are the following:

ITAL 0003 & 0004- Intermediate Italian I & II (3 credits)
These courses are an introduction to spoken idiomatic Italian. Conversations will center around the themes and problems offered by contemporary narrative texts, partly read in class. These courses also offer a full review of the major difficulties in Italian grammar and syntax and an introduction to formal composition.

ITAL 1902 - Conversation (3 credits) 
Each student will be placed according to his/her level and will be granted 3 total credits.

ITAL 0060 / ITAL 0061- Introduction to Literary Italian  (3 credits) 
This course, one of three possible fifth-semester courses in the Italian Program curriculum,  gives students the opportunity to review advanced structures, as well as develop both the quality and quantity of their Italian in all four language skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing.

ITAL 1030—Advanced Composition (3 credits)
This course is designed to enable students to improve their understanding and use of all essential elements of written Italian. It promotes the development of writing skill s by using a writing-as-process approach. Class work and written assignments will include review of grammar, a review of verb morphology and syntax, and the writing of substantial compositions. Prerequisite: Italian 0060/0061 or the equivalent.

ITAL 1902 - Special Topics: The Culture Of  Syracuse (1 credit)
This course gives students the opportunity to better understand and appreciate Sicilian and Siracusan society, culture, history and art. Each lesson is centered around one cultural theme and majority of lessons are conducted on various sites around Siracusa and the region.  Students will be responsible for writing a weekly 'culture journal' in which they describe their experiences.  This class is conducted in English and Italian and students may choose to write in English or Italian.

Please contact Jeff Whitehead for further information (contact info listed below).

*Students planning to extend their stay or travel extensively after the program is finished should budget more for personal expenses.

Please visit the Finances page for information on funding possibilities.

Student Apartments
Pitt students will be placed in centrally located apartments with students who are enrolled in intensive Italian Language programs at SAI. A typical apartment will house 2-6 students, and contains a combination of single (1 student per room) and double (2 students per room) bedrooms. Up to four students will share one bathroom, and all apartments are fully furnished, include a living room, a kitchen with basic supplies, bed linens, towels and a washing machine. Italian apartments do not have dryers.

Homestays
A few homestay placements in Sicilian homes may be available. These may be  outside of Syracuse's historic center (Ortigia). Some apartment placements with Italian university students may be available, as well.

Meals
As part of the program fee, students will be given one meal/day while in Syracuse. Students may choose either lunch or dinner and present their meal ticket to the designated restaurant.

Friday, 29 January 2010

Download Application as Fillable PDF
Students will receive notification of admission status within two weeks after the application deadline.

For information regarding the program, please contact: