Study Abroad in Italy - School of Art | Montana State University

Every spring, the School of Art offers its students in all areas the opportunity to study in Italy for the semester. The required, discipline-specific, coursework for the BFA and BA degrees (studio art, graphic design, art education, and art history) can make it difficult for our undergraduates to participate in study abroad programs. In response, the School of Art created study abroad semester in Italy almost twenty years ago.

This program provides an intensive and engaging studio and art history experience by immersing participants in the culture of Italy, with coursework led by their own professors and created to be integrated into their graduation schedule (most participants are in their junior year). The students present research projects on-site, work alongside Italian artists in studios and workshops created specifically for them, and then stage a group exhibition at MSU on their return. The art history courses at different places along the timeline depending on the professor, with the range including ancient Roman, Greek and Etruscan, Baroque, Neoclassical and Contemporary topics.

As part of our study abroad opportunity, We are pleased to announce our association with the M.A.D.E Accademia di Belle Arti Rosario Gagliardi, an officially accredited international-level academy of fine arts and design, which hosts our students and professors for studio/design courses in Siracusa, Sicily, as we work together at “the intersection of design, art, craft, and local cultural traditions.”

Italy students group photo

Dates for Spring 2026:

Students check-in for orientation at the housing in Rome on Saturday, February 14, by 2:00 PM.

MSU Spring Break is Saturday, March 14 – Sunday, March 22. Students are released from housing in Certaldo/Florence on Saturday, March 15th. After spring break, students are due in Rome housing on Sunday, March 22 by 4:00 PM.

The last day of class is Thursday, May 7.

Students travel as a group to the Catania airport and fly to Rome to prepare for departure Saturday, May 9. Housing in Rome in provided for Friday, May 8.

Students are released from the semester Sunday, May 11.

Professors and Coursework:

(Dates for individual courses may be subject to small adjustments before November 1, 2026)

The 2026 semester abroad consists of five courses, two design/studio, two art history and one field study course. The courses total 18 credits for the semester. All Italy semester coursework is designed (and evaluated for) students from different majors and levels of proficiency.  It is intended for third-year SOA students. Participation in the Italy semester allows Studio and Graphic Design to remain on track for graduation in the spring of 2027.

ARTH491 Ancient Roman Imperial Monuments, 3 credits

February 14 – 28

Professors Regina Gee and Dani Huvaere

On February 13, students meet in Rome to start the art history component of the semester abroad program with Professors Regina Gee and Dani Huvaere. The first art history course, titled Imperial Monuments of Ancient Rome: Dynasty, Spectacle, and Propaganda is an experience-driven topographical history of the Rome and its most famous sites and monuments from the imperial period, including the Roman Forum, the Coliseum, and the Pantheon. On-site study combined with student group and individual research projects will shape the work, which is designed to be highly interactive with surviving archaeological record of the ancient city.

ARTH 375 Etruscan, Greek, and Roman foundations 3 credits

February 28 – March 13

Professors Regina Gee and Dani Huvaere

Italy students peaking behind a stone structure

The second art history course focuses on the urban and cultural history of Pompeii. It is a survey of the archaeology, art, and architecture of the ancient Roman town of Pompeii and the surrounding Bay of Naples.For this course, students travel to Naples for museum study and then on to Pompeii, where they will spend extensive time engaging with the surviving material record of the site, famously buried in AD 79 by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. In between the two courses, there is a three-day visit to Venice as part of the cultural field study course. After Pompeii, the Regina Gee and Dani Huvaere will accompany the students to Sicily for orientation and settling into the housing in the city of Siracusa.

ARTZ491 Interdisciplinary Storytelling in Italy, 5 credits

March 23 – May 7

Instructor Grace Washko

For both studio components, students will be working out of MADE The Rosario Gagliardi Academy of Fine Arts in the ancient city of Siracusa on the island of Sicily.

The theme is The Art of Sketchbook Keeping. This class is designed to augment the study abroad experience with a layer of art-making that records travels and also deepens students understanding and personal connection with art history. Through the use of travel friendly mediums and techniques students will explore different materials and journaling methods to build a habit that lasts a lifetime

ARTZ 491-005: Visual Placemaking in Italy

Instructor Alayna Rasile

March 23 – May 7

The theme is Sartorial Aesthetics: Exploring Fashion, Form, and Volume. It is a variation of a sculpture course that invites students to discover the intersection of fashion and sculpture by manipulating textiles to create dynamic forms. Students will explore materials and learn textile techniques that amplify volume, form, and movement as they learn to consider clothing an extension of the body.

ARTH 485 Field Study, all faculty, 2 credits

Note: Students do not have to be a graphic design or a sculpture major to take these courses. The Italy semester coursework is designed (and evaluated for) students from different majors and levels of proficiency. 

Ortigia, Sicily

Ortigia, Sicily

Travel

Students are expected to make their own travel arrangements to and from Italy and also for any travel they wish do during MSU’s Spring Break. Travel costs within Italy related to the course of study are paid for by MSU under the study abroad program fee.

Cost

Study Abroad Program fee: 8000.00

What it includes:

All lodging, ground and air transportation in Italy related to student participation in coursework, all museum and site admissions related to coursework, and some meals

MSU-required international travel medical health insurance (Geoblue) for the entire semester, which we will sign you up for as a group.

What it does not include:

Regular tuition (resident or non-resident) and fees (Registration, Computer, Distributed Learning, Art Program)

Your round-trip airfare to Italy, any travel you do on your own including Spring Break, optional group excursions, and meals besides those belonging to pre-arranged boarding agreements.

Tuition and Scholarships

Regular tuition, calculated as usual (in-state, out-of-state, scholarships, GI bill)

Financial Aid is also available and you apply with the same application and timeline you do when you are here. We have an example of how to fill out this form for the Study Abroad in Italy Program. Apply early!

There are two $1000.00 scholarships for Italy, and details for application will be discussed at the first orientation meeting, held in the fall.