Summer: Rutgers- Global Journalism in Italy
The Program
Practice working as a foreign correspondent or travel writer in Italy!
Cover the big global stories of our time, from the struggles of Syrian, African and Ukrainian refugees surging through Europe to the post-Brexit controversies that threaten the EU’s very existence. Or, delve into the cultural side of this sophisticated university city, and write about travel, food and urban life.
Program Location
Italy
Bologna
Home to the oldest university in the western hemisphere, elegant Bologna is known in Italian as “la dotta” (referring “knowledge”), “la grassa,” for its extraordinary food, and “la rossa,” for its leftist politics. This gorgeous university city is magnificently located in one of Italy’s most exciting regions, with Florence, Venice, Rome, Milan, the Apennine mountains, Italian lakes and the Adriatic coast all a short train or bus ride away
The surrounding Emilia Romagna region is also well worth exploring: it’s home to some of Italy’s top food destinations and restaurants; to the luxury car empires of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati; and to the sophisticated Renaissance cities of Ferrara and Ravenna, known for their palaces, artistic heritage and bike-friendly medieval roads.
Italy
Ravenna
The International Reporting course will take a day trip to Ravenna, to see the city’s famous mosaics, visit Dante’s tomb, enjoy a typical meal and report and write about the city. This excursion is included in your course fee.
Italy
Parma
The travel writing course will visit Parma, to explore the city’s internationally famous food culture. This is the home of Parma ham and Parmesan cheese, and a center of both pasta making and basalmic vinegar production. The trip, meals and excursion costs are included in your course fee.
Academics
Benvenuti! Get ready for our two or four-week adventure in one of the world’ s greatest cities, where you’ll have a chance to practice working as a foreign correspondent, a travel writer, or both!
Our challenge: to get a taste of the life of a foreign correspondent and travel writer, while developing stories you can feature in your professional portfolio, and publish.
Working with University of Bologna interpretation students, Rutgers students will be organized into teams, and will have an opportunity to write and shoot a story of their choice, under Professors Mary D’Ambrosio https://comminfo.rutgers.edu/dambrosio-mary and Regina Marchi https://comminfo.rutgers.edu/marchi-regina
You’ll be invited to ask:
Who lives in Bologna?
What are the Bolognese thinking, dreaming and worrying about? What defines this city, and how can we best tell its story?
Classes will meet weekday mornings, around two modules: basic Italian, and either international reporting (June 7-June 22) or travel writing (June 22-July 7).
After lunch, you’ll put your morning studies into action: you’ll go out reporting in teams, accompanied by your interpreters, and sometimes by your professor or assignment organizer (who will revolve among the teams).
For each course, arrival weekend will be devoted to orientation, and to local excursions and visits within the city. The second long weekend – Friday, Saturday and Sunday – will be free for travel within Italy.
The course fee includes accommodations, all instruction, travel health insurance, several lunches and dinners, and a range of cultural excursions to museums, concerts and vineyards. It also includes day trips to nearby gorgeous Byzantine cities, such as Ravenna and Parma. Those staying for the full month will have two free weekends for traveling within Italy. Venice, Florence, Rome and the Cinque Terre are all easily accessible by train (students must remain inside of Italy during the program.)
We look forward to reporting, and adventuring, with you!
Course information:
International Reporting, June 7-June 22 (3 credits) 04:567:329
Travel Writing (3 credits) June 22-July 7 (3 credits) 04:567:451
See a past International Reporting course syllabus . See a past Travel Writing course syllabus .
See some sample student publications:
Bologna welcomes Ukrainian arrivals (winner of the Journalism and Media Studies “Best Immigration Reporting Award”)
How biking connects people to their city
Does Street Art Belong in a Museum?
The Multimedia World of Giovanni Pelagalli (video story)
For more information, please contact Prof. Mary D’Ambrosio, at mary.dambrosio@rutgers.edu
Housing and Meals
Students will live in a centrally located residence hall in the city center. The program covers group welcome and farewell dinners, and a number of local cultural activities and excursions. The rest of meals are on your own.
Financial Information
Program Costs
| NJ Resident | non-NJ Resident | |
|---|---|---|
| Undergrad | $3,600 | $3,930 |
Program Cost includes:
• Tuition
• Housing
• Excursions
• Administrative Fees
• Emergency Medical Access Abroad
*JMS students will receive $500 scholarship to lower the program cost. JMS UG price: $3100 or $3430
Out-of-Pocket Costs
| Airfare | $1,200 |
| Meals | $400 |
| Personal Expenses | $200 |
| Total | $1,800.00 |
Out-of-Pocket Cost includes:
The above costs are estimations and represent the known out-of-pocket costs students encounter during their time abroad.
Some of these expenses will be paid for prior to going abroad, such as an airline ticket, while some of these expenses, such as meals and personal expenses, will be paid in-country as part of your daily expenses. As you plan, you will need to budget these costs and spend wisely throughout your time abroad.
Program Costs
| NJ Resident | non-NJ Resident | |
|---|---|---|
| Undergrad | $3,820 | $4,150 |
Program Cost includes:
- Tuition
- Housing
- Some meals
- Excursions
- Administrative Fees
- Emergency Medical Access Abroad
- *JMS students will receive a $500 scholarship to lower the program cost. JMS UG price: $3320 or $3650
Out-of-Pocket Costs
| Airfare | $1,200 |
| Meals | $400 |
| Personal Expenses | $200 |
| Total | $1,800.00 |
Out-of-Pocket Cost includes:
The above costs are estimations and represent the known out-of-pocket costs students encounter during their time abroad.
Some of these expenses will be paid for prior to going abroad, such as an airline ticket, while some of these expenses, such as meals and personal expenses, will be paid in-country as part of your daily expenses. As you plan, you will need to budget these costs and spend wisely throughout your time abroad.
Program Costs
| NJ Resident | non-NJ Resident | |
|---|---|---|
| Undergrad | $7,420 | $8,080 |
Program Cost includes:
- Tuition
- Housing
- Some meals
- Excursions
- Administrative Fees
- Emergency Medical Access Abroad
- *JMS students will receive $1000 scholarship to lower the program cost. JMS UG price: $6420 or $ 7080
Out-of-Pocket Costs
| Airfare | $1,200 |
| Meals | $800 |
| Personal Expenses | $400 |
| Total | $2,400.00 |
Out-of-Pocket Cost includes:
The above costs are estimations and represent the known out-of-pocket costs students encounter during their time abroad.
Some of these expenses will be paid for prior to going abroad, such as an airline ticket, while some of these expenses, such as meals and personal expenses, will be paid in-country as part of your daily expenses. As you plan, you will need to budget these costs and spend wisely throughout your time abroad.
Scholarships
Faculty Leaders
Prof. D’Ambrosio is a journalist who specializes in writing about international affairs. She has reported extensively from Europe and Latin America, and her work has appeared in the Huffington Post, Anthropology Now, Institutional Investor, Islands, and Working Woman magazines, as well as in the San Francisco Chronicle, Newsday, and the Miami Herald. She earned her bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism from Syracuse University, and her master’s degree in economic history from the London School of Economics. Email Prof. D’Ambrosio at mary.dambrosio@rutgers.edu