The American University of Rome's Summer II session runs from 24 June – 22 July 2026.
(For our Summer I program which runs from 21 May – 18 June 2026, see this page)
AUR Summer Schools offer you an educational, social, and cultural experience you’ll never forget. Immerse yourself in engaging classroom discussions, intensive language study, and in-depth courses with professors and students from around the world. Earn credits towards your degree or pursue a personal interest while exploring Rome's culture, history, and food through this unique, thought-provoking international experience.
We have a great range of courses available for summer studies. Scroll through and find the courses that fascinate you, or use these links to jump directly to a theme. You could select to do two courses under a single theme or mix and match courses that interest you. For quick access, you'll find a complete index of courses in the right sidebar (on desktop) or at the foot of the page (on mobile)..
Archaeology | Art | Art History | Business | Communication | International Relations & Global Politics | Italian Language & Culture |
An introductory off-campus course exploring the archaeological sites and ancient monuments of Rome. The course will begin with the evidence for the earliest settlement in Rome and continue through the development of the Republic, the empire, and the transition to early Christian Rome. The course will focus on placing the archaeological and architectural evidence in its topographical context. Students are responsible for all entry fees.
Course Code: ARC 101 - Download sample syllabus
A study of the legends about the origins and history of a people, their deities, ancestors, and heroes. The stories of the gods and legendary heroes of the Greco-Roman tradition have provided the fountainhead for literature and the arts in the service of religious and political imagery down to the present. While the emphasis will be primarily literary, with extensive readings of such writers as Homer and Vergil (noting, in passing, the influence upon later literature). The visual depiction of these myths will also be studied. A field trip to a museum in Rome may be required.
Course Code: CLS 101 - Download sample syllabus
Roman Sketchbook is an introductory course in drawing. On-site classes will provide landscape views, architectural forms, paintings, and three-dimensional sculpture as subject matter, using pencil, pen, charcoal, and sanguigna (red chalk) as drawing techniques. The course includes individual drawing projects and a written component related to the experience of sketching on location. The aim is to develop confidence and visual awareness in creating representations of the vast selection of art that the city of Rome has to offer.
Course Code: ART 101 - Download sample syllabus
Art of Rome is an introductory course in art history. The course focuses on Rome, from its origin to contemporary times. Masterpieces of painting, sculpture, architecture, and urban planning are examined within their historical contexts. Most of the classes are held off-campus. The course hones a method of description, critical analysis, and interpretation of art and builds an understanding of traditional forms and cultural themes useful in comprehending all western art.
Course Code: AH 100 - Download sample syllabus
This course explores the unique artistic culture of Renaissance Rome. It covers the period from the return of the papacy to Rome after the Council of Constance (1420) to the Sack of Rome by Imperial troops in 1527 and its immediate aftermath. This is the period when Bramante was completing his designs for the new Basilica of saint Peter’s; Michelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel; and Raphael and his studio were working nearby in the papal apartments . Students will be introduced to key themes in papal patronage within the larger context of Italian and European politics. Most of the teaching will be conducted on-site.
Pre-requisites: ENG 202 or equivalent or permission from the instructor
Course Code: AH 310 - Download sample syllabus
The course explores main ideas behind the sacral space on the example of sacral architecture of Rome, from the ancient times to the postmodern. The course maximizes the opportunity of onsite teaching in Rome; most of the classes are held in the real surrounding, which best illustrates particular topics of the course. Students will have the opportunity to learn about different religious traditions, various religious ideas and practices (including the ancient Roman religion, early Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism, as well as the main elements of religion and sacred spaces of ancient Judaism and Islam). Students will have the opportunity to experience a variety of sacred spaces and learn about the broader cultural and historical context in which they appeared. Short study trips outside of Rome may also take place.
Course Code: AHRE 106 - Download sample syllabus
This course elaborates and strives to disentangle complex ethical and sustainability issues in the contemporary global business environment. We examine how the ethical landscape has evolved and present a variety of frameworks for making decisions in the best interest of organizations, their stakeholders and society. Issues related to sustainability receive particular attention, and we investigate the challenges, incentives and creative solutions that might be employed in fostering changes to organizations, including examining their relationship and responsibility to individuals, governments and global society.
Pre-requisites: ENG 102 or equivalent.
Course Code: BUS 212 - Download sample syllabus
![](https://i.ibb.co/d0qhYn2/catania.jpg")
The study of intercultural communication is an attempt to understand communication among peoples when cultural identifications affect the message. One approach is to learn the barriers one needs to overcome such as ethnocentrism, stereotyping, nonverbal misunderstandings, and translation difficulties. Students will learn how to recognize and overcome these barriers, and how to understand and relate to other cultures.
Pre-requisites: ENG 101 or equivalent.
Course Code: COM 219 - Download sample syllabus
The course aims to offer a professional view of the world of fashion communication. Starting from a reflection linked to the world of storytelling and current narratives of fashion brands, the students will experiment with different ways of presenting their content, with specific focus on digital video and fashion film. An essential part of the program will be the identification and analysis of the relationship between art, fashion and visual communication, with an overview of the campaigns by the most successful brands and the most interesting personalities related to video production and direction. A specific focus of the course will be set design and the creation of environments for video narration. Workshops and visits to production and post-production studios will complete the project. At the end of the course a small video clip will be realized. Students are responsible for all entry fees. Course fee Euro 75
Pre-requisites: Sophomore standing or equivalent.
Course Code: COM 210 - Download sample syllabus
This course analyzes and applies principles of speech structures to oral presentation. Students learn to analyze audiences, adapt messages, apply critical listening skills and practice ethical decisions in preparing public speaking. Emphasis is placed on building a positive speech environment and practicing speech presentations.
Pre-requisites: ENG 101 or equivalent.
Course Code: COM 219 - Download sample syllabus
This course introduces a series of classical and recent topics in social and cultural anthropology: language, economy, kinship, religion, politics, myth, symbolism, gender, social stratification, ethnicity and nationalism, globalization. Showing how anthropologists have approached these topics through cultural comparison, theoretical discussions will be combined with ethnographic examples taken from the variety of world cultures. Providing a basic vocabulary to the discipline, the course will invite a systematic questioning of taken-for-granted assumptions concerning human beings and their behavior. The course fulfils information technology and oral presentation requirements.
Course Code: ANT 100 - Download sample syllabus
The course aims to provide an overview of the fundamental ethical questions relating to developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI). The course is evenly divided between a normative ethics and an applied ethics approach, first providing students with the key theoretical tools needed to understand questions of agency, responsibility and liability in relation to AI and then providing them with a selection of specific case studies where they can see the normative principles applied and questioned.
Pre-requisites: ENG 102 or equivalent and Junior standing
Course Code: POL 307 - Download sample syllabus
This course will provide a detailed perspective on how Fascism transformed Rome. Grounding students in the history, architecture and politics of this dramatic period of urban change and expansion, study of the capital under Mussolini will be contextualized within a broad analysis of Italy during the Fascist regime. Classes will include site visits, lectures and class discussion with structured group break-out work. Teaching will also include the use of historic video material.
Pre-requisites: ENG102 or equivalent, Junior standing, or permission of the instructor
Course Code: HSSO 312 - Download sample syllabus
Open to students with no previous training in Italian, the course introduces features of the Italian language needed for interaction in everyday practical situations, such as the caffè, restaurants, accommodation, and shops. The course satisfies a limited number of immediate needs necessary for survival in the target language culture. Cultural topics, such as religion in Italy, Italian geography, and Italian families, will also be studied through readings in English in order to familiarize the student with certain aspects of contemporary Italian society and culture.
Course Code: ITL 100 - Download sample syllabus
This interdisciplinary course will focus on the social and cultural aspects of food and eating in different geographical areas, emphasizing Italy and its history. The course will be taught through a variety of readings, class discussions, and presentations, and there will also be some practical experiences. Please note that this is not a cooking course. The course is delivered in English.
Pre-requisites: ENG102 or equivalent
Course Code: IS 212 - Download sample syllabus
The focus of this largely on-site course will be the city of Rome, its transformations over different periods of its history and how these periods have been portrayed in Italian literature and film. The course will combine on-site visits to areas of interest with the study of selected works of Italian literature and cinema in which the city plays a prominent role. The course is delivered in English.
Pre-requisites: ENG102 or equivalent
Course Code: IS 305 - Download sample syllabus
