Study Abroad in Rome: Academics

This program is designed for students who wish to study art, design and media, art history, communications, economics, history, international relations, Italian language, literature, marketing, philosophy or political science. Minimum 2.5 GPA required. No previous knowledge of Italian language is required.

Students must enroll in the language orientation program in Florence prior to study in Rome. In addition, all students are required to take an Italian language course during the semester.

Class time

Classes meet for 2 weeks in Florence plus 12 weeks in Rome. Attendance and participation in classes are required. Classes are held Monday through Friday.

Credits

Equal to American units, each credit is based on a minimum of 15 classroom or 25 studio hours plus home study (or the equivalent in independent research or tutorials). One class hour equals 50 minutes. Final exams are generally given in all courses during the last week. Students should register for a minimum of 9 and a maximum of 13 credits. This is in addition to the 3 credits in Florence. Exams cannot be rescheduled for any reason.

Grades

All classes will have a term paper, mid-term and final exam. In the Richmond system, grades are numerically calculated on a grade point average (GPA) scale.

  Excellent work   A, 4.0 A-, 3.7  
  Above satisfactory work   B+, 3.3 B, 3.0 B-, 2.7
  Satisfactory work   C+, 2.3 C, 2.0 C-, 1.7
  Below satisfactory work   D+, 1.3 D, 1.0 D-, 0.7
  Fail   F, 0    

No AIFS participant is permitted to take a course without receiving a letter grade. Pass/Fail grade options are not available.

Libraries

The Richmond Study Center has a selection of books related to Richmond courses available for student reference at no extra charge, although a deposit of 12 euros is required to check-out books. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the extensive library collections available to them in Rome.

Schedules

Students may encounter scheduling conflicts, as more than one course may be offered at the same time of day.

Student advising

Students meet with the Resident Director during orientation in Florence as well as in Rome before the semester begins. The Resident Director provides academic advising and serves as liaison between students, Richmond and Rome instructors.

Transcripts and credits

Transcripts and credits are issued by Richmond, The American International University in London, a U.S. accredited University. Please visit www.richmond.ac.uk/content/academic-programs/registrar/request-a-transcript.aspx for information about transcript requests.

Attendance

Attendance and participation in classes are required. Students who accumulate more than the permitted number of absences, regardless of the reason, must withdraw from the course, or will receive an attendance failure. In courses that meet twice a week, students may not have more than four absences.