Summer: Rutgers- Sicily and the Mediterranean World

Sicily, Italy

Program Overview

Term Start Date End Date Application Deadline
Summer 2024
Jun 02, 2024
Jun 18, 2024
Mar 01, 2024
Language(s) of Instruction
English
No
No
No
Class Standing
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Good Academic Standing
Credits

3

Program Advisor

The Program

This is a unique opportunity to learn about the history, culture, food, and environment of Sicily in the crossroads of the Mediterranean.

This two-and-a-half-week, 3-credit program will explore the environment and culture of Sicily, Italy and its centrality to the history of the Mediterranean. Students will have the opportunity to learn Italian while living in the historic Ortigia section of the city of Siracusa on the eastern coast of Sicily. They will learn about and visit pre-historic and historic sites from the Greek, Roman, Islamic, and Norman periods of Sicily’s history.

We will have a multi-day excursion to tour Roman villa, walk through ancient Greek temples in Agrigento, and visit the capital city of Palermo. Students will also have an opportunity to hike Mount Etna and learn about how the volcano has shaped the island’s history and present, and to go kayaking through one of Sicily’s most scenic river valleys. There will also be a fun weekend afternoon outing where students will learn to make Sicilian-style pasta.

Sicily with students

Program Location

Image
Sicily

Italy

Sicily

Located south of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily is the largest Mediterranean island, and one of the autonomous communities of Italy. Palermo, its capital, boasts of more than eleven UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Its Greek temples and theaters, Arab fortresses, Norman Palaces, and Baroque churches make Sicily a truly Mediterranean gem.

Academics

Students will learn about the history and culture of Sicily through visits to historical sites, museums, and other places of interest. There will be daily Italian language instruction followed by lectures and site visits.

The program themes will cover contemporary issues facing social and political identities, immigration and integration, the environment, and the economy of Sicily and the Mediterranean region. In addition to lectures led by the Rutgers faculty instructors, we will host local experts and scholars.

Students will be evaluated through written work and reflections for a travel blog, participation and engagement with the program, and a final exam.

Classes will be held at the Sicily Center for International Education, located just steps away from the Piazza del Duomo amid Baroque architecture and palaces overlooking the Mediterranean.

 

Housing and Meals

Students will live in comfortable, air conditioned apartment-like residences in the beautiful coastal section of Ortygia in Siracusa. The residences have kitchens, laundry facilities, and wifi.

We will travel to other towns by bus and during overnight visits students will stay at hotels. The program will include three group dinners. In addition to the kitchens at the student residence there are many affordable, excellent dining options steps away throughout Ortigia.

Financial Information

Program Costs

This is the billed amount that will appear on your Rutgers term bill during the term you study abroad.
NJ Resident non-NJ Resident
Undergraduate $5,530 $5,860
Program Cost includes:
  • Tuition 
  • Housing
  • Some Meals
  • Administrative Fees
  • Emergency Medical Access Abroad

Out-of-Pocket Costs

These are estimated expenses that are not part of your term bill. Students will need to pay for these expenses out-of-pocket.
Airfare $1,400
Meals $300
Books and Classroom Materials $50
Local Transportation $50
Personal Expenses $400
Total $2,200.00
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 and visa costs, while some of these expenses, such as meals and local transportation, 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

Available to all Rutgers students participating in a Rutgers Global–Study Abroad program. Applications can be found inside of your study abroad program application. For more information, please visit the Scholarship section of our website.

Available to study abroad students who receive a Pell Grant.  For more information about the scholarship and additional eligibility requirements please visit the Gilman website.

Faculty Leader

Mayte Green mercado

Dr. Mayte Green-Mercado is an Associate Professor of Islamic History at Rutgers University—Newark and Newark Campus director of the Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice. She teaches courses on the history of Islamic Civilization, the Western Islamic lands, race in the medieval and early modern periods, and migration and displacement in the Mediterranean. Her research focuses on religious minorities in Spain and the Mediterranean, and the entangled relations between Muslims, Christians, and Jews, as well as forced migration and displacement in the early modern period. She has previously directed study abroad programs in Malta, Sicily, and Granada, Spain.

Dr. Brian Murphy

Brian Phillips Murphy is Associate Professor of History in the Department of History and the Program in American Studies at Rutgers University–Newark. His research is about the political economy of state-directed economic development, banking, and corporate chartering in the early American republic. At Rutgers he leads a project documenting New Jersey's 1947 state constitutional convention in partnership with the Quill Project at Pembroke College, University of Oxford. He is a faculty affiliate of the Rutgers University Center for State Constitutional Studies and a founding co-director of the Mediterranean Displacements Project.