College of Art and Architecture

Rome

The Architecture Rome Program is an annual Fall semester offering for students in Architecture and Interior Architecture and Design. The program provides an opportunity to live and study for three months in the very center of Rome, with direct access to its historically and culturally rich architectural environments. Required courses include a Preparatory Seminar (2 credits, conducted in Moscow the preceding Spring semester), Architectural Design Studio (6 credits), History of Roman Art, Architecture, and Urbanism (3 credits), Sketching for Architecture (3 credits), and Urban Theory & Issues (3 credits). Field trips take students to various locations around Italy, with past trips including week-long visits to Umbria (Spoleto, Assisi, Perugia), and the Amalfi Coast (Paestum, Atrani, Amalfi, Ravello).

The program is directed by Professor Matthew Brehm, who studied in Rome for an academic year with the University of Notre Dame as an undergraduate architecture student in the 1980s. Prof. Brehm created the Architecture Rome Program in 2007, and has successfully guided more than 200 University of Idaho students to Rome and back since then. Guest faculty members from other programs provide studio critiques and walking tours – past guests have included faculty from Cornell University, The American University in Rome, The American Institute for Roman Culture, Northeastern University, and the Sapienza Universitá di Roma. Visits to numerous museums and archeological sites are integrated into the coursework, and group dinners happen on a weekly basis. The costs for all of these activities – and including student housing in Rome – are covered by registration fees plus a program fee. A complete breakdown of related costs can be provided upon request.