19 WEEKS | 15 CREDITS
Spend a semester in the enchanting city of Rome. Explore different areas of study at John Cabot University, reflect and grow during an EF-led communication course, and dive into local culture with Italian language lessons. Enhance your academics with immersive excursions that showcase Rome’s history, art, and architecture, and enjoy overnight visits to the dynamic cities of Florence and Athens. Throughout the semester, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of Italian art and culture while exploring your own interests and passions.
UPCOMING TRAVEL DATES
Aug. 7, 2025 – Dec. 15, 2025
IN COLLABORATION WITH OUR PARTNER IN EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE, JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
These immersive visits will provide deeper insights into your host country, allow you to explore different regions, and create immersive learning opportunities.
Spend a weekend immersed in the history and culture of one of Italy’s most iconic cities. Sample local flavors during a food-focused walking tour of Florence, then enjoy some free time to explore the city’s wealth of renowned museums, charming neighborhoods, and stunning architecture. Outside the city, take in scenic vistas and centuries-old history during a day trip to the nearby towns and countryside of Tuscany.
Hop across the Adriatic Sea to Athens where you’ll enjoy a guided tour of the city to learn about its ancient and modern history. With a local expert, learn about the ancient Acropolis: the city’s crown jewel and a world-famous archeological site. On your own, spend time wandering the cobblestone streets of Plaka and soaking up centuries of history. A day cruise through the Saronic Islands offers a chance enjoy Mediterranean culture from Greece’s pristine blue waters.
Throughout the semester, connect your curriculum to the world around you alongside local experts during immersive field visits, such as visiting a local artisan to learn how Rome’s centuries of artistic legacy translate to today’s modern economy.
Students will jumpstart their journeys with an immersive Italian language course at our EF Study Center in the heart of Rome. After being placed in the class that best aligns with their skill levels, students will dive into coursework alongside learners from around the world and continue honing their language skills both in and out of the classroom.
During this EF-led course, students will examine their place in the world as they explore what matters to them, what they believe in, and what they want to achieve. Through reflection and engagement with their peers and the local community, students will learn to work through differences to address challenges related to the economy, environment, politics, education, technology, and society.
Enroll in three courses of your choosing at John Cabot University. Offering hundreds of diverse courses, their catalog covers a wide range of academic disciplines. See a sample selection of courses below:
Learn the fundamentals of cultural anthropology: the study of living people and the variations among them. Explore topics and questions around how people create, negotiate, and make sense of their own social worlds. Unpack key anthropological concepts and methods around fieldwork, participant observation, and ethnography.
Although the study of Rome has long revolved around men, many women played key roles in shaping the politics, military, society, and economics of Rome. Learn about Roman history through the stories of women across the empire and reflect on the role of gender in the construction and interpretation of histories.
Learn the skills, methods, and issues essential to building the future Art Historian’s toolkit. Develop an understanding of ancient art and material culture and evaluate how art is shaped by social and cultural interactions. Learn vocabulary and gain analytical skills that will allow you to draw observations on ancient art.
With each class meeting at a different site around Rome, this course makes the most of the unparalleled beauty of the city of Rome. Learn how to make direct observations in your sketchbooks and learn skills including how to create thumbnail sketches, render form in light and dark, and create faces and figures from classical statuary.
Explore human creativity through different scientific perspectives, including psychological, cognitive, artistic, and neurobiological. Understand the theoretical frameworks, theories, and factors that underpin creativity. Develop your own practical skills in brainstorming, generating ideas, and creative problem-solving.
Tuition for this 19-week program is $27,950 and payment plans are available. Your program tuition includes:
“Rome is simultaneously ancient and modern… It’s a living museum for every era of history and a booming incubator for art and technology.”
Conor D.
EF Director of Institutional Partnerships
Fill out this form and your dedicated Gap Year Consultant will reach out shortly to start planning your perfect program. Student applicants must be ages 18–22, a US citizen with valid passport, maintain a 2.5 GPA minimum, and be a high school graduate by departure day on an upcoming program:
Fall 2025: August 7 – December 15
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