Program Details
Location
Sicily,
Italy
Term
Summer Session
Housing
Apartment
Languages Taught In
English
Program Eligibility
Student Type
UofM Students
Student Year
Sophomores
Juniors
Seniors
GPA
2.5
Photos
Videos
Design in Sicily
About
Known for its unique blend of cultures especially in the arts, architecture, and food, Sicily is a fascinating place to spend a summer. With historical influences from the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, and many more, it is a location unlike any other. The city of Siracusa, where the program is based, is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the outstanding Greek, Roman, and Baroque monuments, archaeological sites, and architecture. Spend the summer using your design skills to create your own images of this beautiful city and island. Further immerse yourself in the culture by engaging in the collaborative practicum with local and international designers. This program integrates excursions to other areas around Sicily to bring course content to life.
Program Model
Housing & Meals
You will live in furnished apartments with shared bedrooms with other students on the program. Generally, apartments are 2–4 bedrooms, with 4–8 students per apartment. Meals are not included, but kitchen supplies are available for you to cook your own meals.
Excursions
This program includes several full-day excursions to other parts of Sicily. Some possible excursions are the Baroque cities of Modica and Noto, the Valley of the Temples, and the Necropolis of Pantalica, a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating from the 13th to 7th centuries BC. These excursions are designed to provide context to the history and culture of Sicily.
Accessibility
If you have a disability and plan to study abroad, visit our Accessibility Abroad page to learn about considerations, answer questions, and request accommodations before you go abroad.
Flight
The Learning Abroad Center works with Village Travel, a local travel agency, to arrange a coordinated flight for program participants. The flight is optional, and is arranged for those who want to fly with other program participants. Group flight information is typically available by the program application deadline, if not before.
If you take the group flight, or are able to arrive before the group flight and wait, our staff will meet you at the airport and bring you to your housing at no added cost. If you do not take the group flight, you will need to make your own way to the ACCENT center upon arrival. Specific arrival instructions will be sent out prior to your departure.
For immigration purposes, you should purchase a round-trip ticket, since you must be able to show your entry and exit dates from Italy.
Program Structure
Program Level
3000 level courses
Courseload
Take 6–7 credits in the summer.
This program will appeal to you if you are a design student who wants to engage with Sicily in a meaningful way. Participate in the Italian Design Studio to really use Siracusa as your classroom as you use the city to work on your image-making, and explore the many ways that design is incorporated into this city. The collaborative practicum allows you the opportunity to engage in the design process with local and international designers as well as fellow design students from a wide range of design backgrounds.
Coursework
View the Course List for brief course descriptions and University of Minnesota–Twin Cities course equivalencies.
You will take either 6 or 7 credits on this 7-week program. The Italian Design Studio: Image-Making course and the Collaborative Practicum in Sicily courses are required. If you haven't taken Italian before, you will also take the 1-credit Survival Italian course, to assist with your adjustment to life in Italy.
Global Identity
Global Identity: Connecting Your International Experience with Your Future is an optional 1-credit online course that helps you process your international experience and apply what you've learned upon your return. Global Identity gives you the opportunity to work individually with a trained cultural mentor, helping you articulate your newly acquired skills and differentiating you from your peers.
To access more information about the course, visit the Global Identity Course Information page.
Full Course List
Survival Italian
Course ID
SCLY 1201
Terms
-
Fall
-
Spring
-
Summer
1
Credit
The course is designed for college students who are approaching the study of the Italian language for the first time. Lessons are held exclusively in Italian and take into consideration the need to combine the study of lexis and grammar with the development of communication skills and cultural awareness. The instructor encourages you to put the language structures and vocabulary studied in class into practice in real life situations, thus accelerating the learning process and bringing you into contact with local society so that they may fully appreciate the way of life and cultural differences. This knowledge is an integral part of linguistic competence.
Language Taught In
- Italian
Design Studio in Italy: Image-making
Course ID
SCLY 3151
Terms
-
Summer
3
Credits
This 3-credit seven-week design studio provides students from all design disciplines with an exploration of image making in design processes and practice. Course projects center around the theme of how meaning is created through both the still and the moving image, and will include explorations of meaning through a variety of forms of visual representation including drawing from observation and imagination, illustration, photography, video, and collage. Students will create visual projects in response to their Italian experience, honing their own sensibilities as designers in the rich visual cultures of Sicily and Rome.
Language Taught In
- English
Prerequisite
1000 level course in foundations design or art, or by instructor permission
Fulfills Liberal Education Requirement
-
Arts/Humanities
Collaborative Practicum in Sicily
Course ID
SCLY 3205
Terms
-
Summer
3
Credits
This course is an exciting way for you to develop skills and confidence by working in multidisciplinary teams on a project based in Siracusa. Each summer, the design project will be new, or beginning a new phase of work from another design team. Regardless, you will work with local community partners and professional Italian designers as mentors to help shape a design response to an unmet need or opportunity in Siracusa.
Your mentors will lead the design team in ways that are not unlike professional practice. They will help divide the work into manageable parts and smaller working groups, and help you determine ambitious, yet achievable goals for the amount of time scheduled for the practicum during the summer program.
You will be working alongside other design students (apparel design, architecture, graphic design, interior design, product design and retail merchandising) to realize at least some aspects of the design proposal at full scale—as prototypes, partial models, or bespoke objects or events. In previous summers, for example, community projects included: designing and building a gateway structure at the edge of the sea, implementing wayfinding strategies, and screenprinting apparel and accessories—all as part of neighborhood revitalization; and generating adaptive reuse strategies for an historic structure in the center of Ortigia, which included graphic identity and branding, prototyping furniture and build-outs, and hosting a communal event to share ideas.
Language Taught In
- English
Program Dates
Submit the online application and complete the assigned application checklist according to the appropriate deadline:
Application Open Date: August 1, 2025
Application Deadline: Extended to March 6, 2026
| Schedule | Date |
|---|---|
| Depart US | May 16 |
| Arrive Sicily | May 17 |
| Classes end | July 4 |
| Depart Sicily | July 5 |
Orientation Dates & Locations
The Learning Abroad Center provides pre-departure orientation in preparation for your time abroad. It is your responsibility to know the information shared at these orientations.
Orientation consists of several sessions, all of which are created to support your preparation to go abroad:
- Online Health & Safety Orientation: This asynchronous module can be accessed in your LAC checklist and is mandatory.
- LAC Program Orientation: Program-specific and important UofM registration information will be covered (academic registration, finances, arrival, housing etc.). Details will be sent to you via email.
The Learning Abroad Center also offers 2 optional orientations:
Fees
University of Minnesota participants pay the program fee instead of on-campus tuition and fees for the term they are abroad.
Fees or tuition from home institutions may be added to or differ from the University of Minnesota Learning Abroad Center fees listed on this page.
Billing & Payments
Visit Billing for information about the billing process for application fees, deposits, and program fees.
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Visit Financial Information for information on using financial aid and scholarships for study abroad.
Bridging Loan
Bridging Loan, a no-interest/no-fees loan that funds the confirmation deposit and/or flights cost, is available for this program for eligible students going abroad during an eligible term.
Cancellation Policy
Before you apply to or confirm your participation on this program, review the Learning Abroad Center's Cancellation Policy to inform yourself of the timeline and financial obligations for canceling.
Summer 2026
Design in Sicily
Prepare
Complete pre-application advising.
Current US passport processing times are longer than normal. If you do not have a passport, or your passport expires less than 6 months after your return date from your time abroad, apply for a new passport now.
Apply
You will be charged a $50 application fee for each application you submit.
Complete
After you submit your application, you will receive an email notification confirming that your application was received. Submitted applications are assigned an application checklist, which will include the following items:
- Application Essay
Detailed descriptions and instructions for submitting each checklist item are included on the application checklist assigned to you.
If you do not meet the GPA requirement for this program you will be required to submit an additional essay. It will be added to your checklist after you start your application, and you will be notified when it has been added.
Application Review Process
After your application checklist is complete, your application is reviewed by our program team. You will be notified of an acceptance decision by email. If accepted, you will be assigned a confirmation checklist, which you will complete to confirm your participation in the program. If you decide not to continue with the application process, log into the online application system and submit a Cancel Request.
After You Apply
Before your program begins, review these resources.
Health & Safety
Learn more about staying healthy and safe abroad, including mental health and wellness, international travel insurance, and safety precautions.
Power of Attorney
Consider designating someone as your power of attorney to act as your legal representative while you’re abroad.
Student Identity
Consult our resources on student identities as you prepare for your abroad experience.
Travel Resources
Ready to go abroad? Our travel resources will help you pack and learn what to expect.
Program Contact
For further information or questions about this program, send an email to
Molly Green at [email protected],
or call at
612.625.6076.
Contact Program Alum
Below is a list of additional students who participated in past program sessions. They are ready and willing to answer your questions about this program. Feel free to contact them during your decision-making process or anytime during your pre-departure preparation to get a student perspective.
Anna A. - Summer 2025, Journalism Major, Poli Sci Minor