TMU Italy

Importance

The modern world is the child of the Italian Renaissance. All modernist worldview issues were first fully formulated in the Renaissance, in both the sciences and the humanities. Florence, the home base of the program, is the cradle of the Renaissance and the birthplace of the modern world. It is the city of Dante, Petrarch, Giotto, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Galileo, Boccaccio, Cimabue, Brunelleschi and Donatello, the Medici banking family, Botticelli, Savonarola, Machiavelli, Rossini. And, of course, Amerigo Vespucci—for whom America was named. With all this in mind, we have created a program grounded in the exploration of the dual questions “quid est homo?” (“what is Man?”) asked by the Italian Renaissance Christian Humanist scholars, and the related biblical question “what is man that Thou art mindful of him?” (Psalm 8).

Cost

The approximate cost of the program is $14,000, which includes airfare, room and board, intercity travel to Venice and Rome, museum and historical site tickets, and tuition for 9 units.

Locations

We live in a lovely Medieval/Renaissance villa in Florence. We take trips to Rome and Venice and spend extensive time in museums, palaces, classical-era ruins, Renaissance gardens, the Vatican Museum and libraries, and the famous Mediterranean Coast.

Class Offerings

Our summer semesters are designed to help students graduate on time or even early, which means that the GE courses we offer every summer will be determined by the group of students selected and the faculty members who will join the program.

The typical students will take 9 units of courses that are interwoven throughout the program. The academically intensive tutorials will engage in socratic discussion of humankind: their origin, creative nature, purpose, and end.

The following is a CURRENT list of course offerings:

• E211 English Literature I
• ART338 Art History of the Western World (Essentials of Music and Art)
• P311 Essentials in Philosophy
• E479 Renaissance Cultural History
• LAT399 Introductory Latin
• C234 Travel Writing

For the most current course listings, please visit Prof. Esther Chua in the Department of Arts and Letters or email

Application Deadline and Fee

Applications for Summer 2027 and Summer 2028 are being accepted. The final deadline for Summer 2027 will be October 1, 2026. The final deadline for Summer 2028 will be October 1, 2027. Students will pay a $50 non-refundable application fee.

Refund Schedule

Refunds will be made for students who drop out of the program completely according to the following:

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

Before starting the program, students must sign an MOU acknowledging that they adhere to all travel, health, and conduct policies. This signature is required before going to TMU in Italy.

Likewise, students attending TMU in Italy will adhere to the Student Handbook.

Registration Policy

Course selections for each summer will be determined by and designed for the students who have been accepted into the program. As in our program description, we will offer a range of courses that fulfill GE requirements as well as upper division credit.

For registration, students will meet with Professor Chua during the month of November to discuss and register for classes. For the most current course listings, please visit Professor Esther Chua in the Arts and Letters Department (School of Humanities building on North Campus) or email .

To drop or change classes, students should schedule an appointment to meet with Professor Chua. The Add/Drop period will end March 1st.

Health

According to the TMU in Italy Application, students will mark certain medical conditions on the Application. Certain conditions, as guided by the Application, will require the student to consult with their physician as to the feasibility of participation. Those applicants who identify such conditions are required to provide a medical clearance (a doctor’s written permission) as a prerequisite to participation in the TMU in Italy program. The TMU in Italy program is physically demanding and may exacerbate pre-existing medical conditions.

When applying, students will sign a medical release, giving permission to the faculty to select a physician, to hospitalize, to secure proper treatment, to order injections, anesthesia, or surgery for the student in case of an emergency.

Safety

While student safety will be a high priority for the TMU Italy faculty, students should also be prepared to foster a culture of safety. Please refer to the student handbook for more student and faculty responsibilities. Also, students will sign a Memorandum of Understanding, which includes a statement regarding safe conduct.

Students should be aware that although traveling abroad and visiting other countries as a tourist is fun, Italy is a place where people live in. Certain cultural differences may seem strange and difficult to understand. Because the program is also an immersive cultural experience, students are expected to show a certain amount of flexibility and a strong sense of personal responsibility in their conduct with other students, tourists, and residents. Before the start of the program, students will be briefed on travel and safety procedures, which will help them navigate through the normal challenges of international travel.