Frequently Asked Questions

• Location: Cortona, Italy, in the region of Tuscany
• Institution: Lamar Dodd School of Art, The University of Georgia
• Student Body: Approximately 200 students per year (approximately 50 Spring Semester, 100 Summer Semester, 50 Fall Semester), with over 500 colleges represented since the beginning of the program in 1970.
• Housing: Spring, Summer, and Fall students live in a renovated 15th century monastery, in multiple-bed dormitory rooms with shared modern bathrooms.
• Activities: Orientation in Athens for summer semester for those close enough to attend; there is another onsight orientation held for all students and faculty when the group meets in Italy, course related field trips, weekend field trips, cultural activities with the local community, end-of-semester exhibition of student and faculty work, visits by artists and lecturers supplement regular course instruction, approximately 8-10 days of travel at the beginning and end of each semester to cities that have included Rome, Naples and Venice. Summer students attending on odd-numbered years will have the opportunity to visit the Venice Biennale. Reunion (in Athens, Georgia) every January.
• Information Technology: 14 new G5s with OS 10.4, a large format color printer, and a standard B&W printer, three flat bed scanners and a slide scanner
• Academic Calendar: Two thirteen week semesters (Fall Semester: August-November, Spring Semester: February-May) and one 8 week semester (Summer: June-August).
• Faculty: 6-10 professors each semester from The University of Georgia and other universities in the US and Italy. Courses taught in English. Italian classwork is taught partially in Italian.
• Estimated Class Size: 10-20 students per course with the exception of art history classes. Art History is required in Fall and Spring Semesters and thus larger. During the Summer, art history is strongly recommended but not required, but class size is usually smaller.
• Library: On-site library of well-selected volumes related to the courses offered in Cortona. The public library in Cortona is open for those who read Italian. Its holdings include an important collection of illuminated manuscripts.
• Program Fees: The basic price of the 2009 program is estimated at $10,020.00 for Spring and Fall, and $7,990.00 for Summer. Students who are not residents of Georgia or do not attend a Georgia System University or College pay an additional $250.00. If you elect to stay more than one semester, you can realize a $500 reduction in cost for the second semester. Program fees DO NOT include airfare.