The International Program Center is dedicated to finding the right program for each student, and the huge array of partner universities allow them to do just that. Please call (336) 334-5404 or stop by IPC – 207 Foust to schedule an appointment to meet with a study abroad advisor. Some Schools within the College of Visual and Performing Arts also provide additional resources to support studying abroad. Please connect with your major advisor for more information.
There is no formal approval process for students that wish to study abroad. Contact the International Program Center and speak with your major advisor to get things started.
All of our disciplines have worked with the International Program Center to create informational flyers for students interested in studying abroad. Check those out and connect with your major advisor for more information.
Yes. CVPA regularly offers short-term study abroad experiences, typically in the summers, for students wishing to focus on their arts discipline. For example, the UNCG Wind Ensemble recently staged a performance tour of continental Europe. Fourteen UNCG dancers participated in the Franciscan “Day of Forgiveness” in Perugia, Italy. The School of Art sponsors a trip to Italy (see below) on even-year summers. Additional experiences are crafted by faculty members and announced internally for interested students.
Lloyd International Honors College (LIHC) has agreed that any International Honors student going abroad on a semester or year-long exchange program will meet their LIHC international experience requirement. For students who take part in short term summer programs, the individual program must meet the approval of the LIHC committee. A list of approved short term programs can be found on this LIHC web site. Some experiences offered through the college, like the School of Art’s Italy trip, are approved; others may be in process. You can find out by contacting the faculty member(s) organizing the trip!
UNCG School of Art Summer Study Abroad: Florence, Italy
JUNE 1-28, 2024
On this 4-week immersive program students will enroll in a total of 6 credits of art history and/or drawing courses taught on location in Florence, the most important of Renaissance cities. Through invaluable first-hand encounters with art at historic churches, museums and galleries, Renaissance villas and palaces, students will develop a deep understanding of art’s context, materiality and cultural function, both past and present. Students will also gain a better appreciation for the historical relevance of Florence as an artistic center and the interconnectedness of Italian visual culture and daily life in the modern city of today.
Dates
June 1-28, 2024
All majors are welcome! Students do not need to be art or art history majors to attend, however, ARH 395 does carry a prerequisite of ART 100 or ARH 111. Students who have not completed one of these prerequisites are encouraged to do so before the program begins, or to speak to one of the faculty directors about the possibility of waiving the prerequisite. Applicants should have a minimum 2.75 GPA to apply.
Accommodations
Each student will have their own bed within shared, fully-equipped apartments inside the historic center of Florence, a short walk from most major sites. Small grocery stores, fruit stands, bakeries, affordable restaurants and banks with ATMs are all nearby.
Courses
Students will enroll in ARH 395 and another course of their choosing. All courses are 3 credits.
- ART 222: The Artist’s Sketchbook
- ARH 395: Florence and the Medici
- ARH 400: Independent Study*
- ART 322: Variable Topics in Drawing/Artist Sketchbook: Methods & Making
*Available only to art history majors who have fulfilled their Studio requirement. For more course details see program website.
All majors are welcome! Students do not need to be art or art history majors to attend, however, ARH 395 does carry a prerequisite of ART 100 or ARH 111. Students who have not completed one of these prerequisites are encouraged to do so before the program begins, or to speak to one of the faculty directors about the possibility of waiving the prerequisite. Applicants should have a minimum 2.75 GPA to apply.
Itinerary
The program’s common course, ARH 395, surveys the art and architecture commissioned by the Medici in the early 15th century until the death of Grand Duke Cosimo II in 1621, while both drawing courses will directly engage the city’s Renaissance and modern environment as both subject and inspiration. The group will collectively visit sites including the Palazzo Vecchio, the Uffizi Gallery, San Lorenzo, San Marco, and the Bargello. We will also visit the Cathedral and Palazzo Pubblico of Siena.
Additional sites to be visited in Florence include:
- Accademia (Michelangelo’s David)
- Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del Carmine
- Palazzo Pitti, including the Galleria Palatina
- Florence Cathedral (il Duomo)
- Medici Palace and the Chapel of the Magi
- Santa Croce (including museum)
- The Medici Tombs of Michelangelo
Other places students might consider visiting
- PISA
- BOLOGNA
- MILAN
- VENICE /PADUA
- RAVENNA
- AREZZO
Weekly Class Schedule
Classes are held Monday-Thursday. Friday through Sunday are open to allow students time to travel.
Approximate cost
$4300-4500. These costs include tuition and lodging, health insurance, opening and closing banquets as well as the cost of all tickets and trips associated with classes. Additional costs not included: airfare, books, art supplies, additional trips, food, spending money.
APPLICATION DEADLINES
Application deadline: Dec. 1
Interviews: between Dec. 1 and 15
Students notified: Dec 15
Deadline for students to accept their place in the program and file financial commitment form: Jan 10.
* UNCG reserves the right to cancel or change program content or costs in case of conditions beyond its control.
FACULTY DIRECTORS
Prof. Barbara Campbell Thomas, MFA, University of California Berkeley, 2000. Professor Campbell Thomas is a painter whose studio practice expands the history of abstract painting by melding languages of painting and quilting. She teaches all levels of drawing at UNCG with a particular passion for sketchbook methodology and collage. Professor Campbell Thomas studied abroad in Todi, Italy the summer after her first year of college and fell hopelessly in love with the art, food, landscape and culture of this magical country. She later fed her Italy-addiction through a semester abroad in Rome, and she has been returning to Italy as often as possible ever since. You can reach her directly at [email protected].
Dr. Heather Holian, PhD. Indiana University, 2001. Dr. Holian teaches the art history of Ancient Rome, Medieval Europe, Renaissance Italy and American animation studios. She is particularly interested in the Medici of Florence, and especially the 16th C. portraiture of this dynasty’s female members, about which she has published several articles. Dr. Holian has lived in Florence and considers it a second home. Her favorite art experience in Florence is seeing Jacopo Pontormo’s Deposition in Sta. Felicita on a hot, sunny day, followed by a gelato, of course! Dr. Holian may be contacted directly at [email protected].
Dr. Anthony Cuda, Ph.D. Emory University, 2004. Dr. Cuda is a scholar of modern poetry and modernist literature with parallel interests in Italian literature and culture. He teaches classes in twentieth-century poetry but also in the Commedia, the medieval epic poem by Florence’s most renowned exile, Dante Alighieri. He studied in Rome as an undergraduate, when he learned to speak Italian; visits Italy, and Florence in particular, every chance he gets; and is proud to have relatives in Calabria in Southern Italy. You can reach him directly at [email protected].