Rome Program

The College of Design Rome Program offers an optional course of study, taught in English, for students in the third or fourth year of their degree program.

Students can participate in a fall or spring semester-long program and stay on track to graduate. Our Rome Program faculty who teach during the academic year are from Italy and other parts of Europe. These local faculty have connections with art and design professionals in multiple industries, contributing to our students’ experience.

Students enroll in 12-16 credit hours during your semester in Rome, all of which are completed at the Rome Center. Students can consult with their academic advisor to ensure they’re meeting degree requirements. Registration for other online Iowa State classes is available.

Similar but shorter programs for all College of Design majors are offered during the summer and can run from three to six weeks. The summer Rome trips are organized by Iowa State faculty members as well as guests from other nationally recognized institutions. During most of the summer experiences, Iowa State faculty members accompany students to Rome.

Studio and lecture courses are held at the College of Design’s Rome Center located in Palazzo Cenci-Bolognetti, a 16th-century building in Piazza della Cinque Scole in the historic center of Rome. The facility is a stone’s throw from the Tiber River and within walking distance of iconic historical sites like the Pantheon, Teatro di Marcellus, Piazza Navona and Largo di Torre Argentina.

The Rome Center is in the heart of the traditional Jewish neighborhood known as the Jewish Ghetto. During the 1550s, many Jews in the region were restricted to this walled-in part of the town. The walls of the Ghetto were torn down in 1888 and since then, the neighborhood has transformed into a thriving community of restaurants and synagogues that combine Jewish culture with Roman architecture.

Students call the Trastevere neighborhood home during their time in Rome! Located across the Tiber River from the Rome Center, this neighborhood is heavily influenced by food, family and the beauty of the Roman landscape. Students reside in a traditional Italian apartment, allowing them to connect with locals in the neighborhood.

Each apartment contracted by Iowa State accommodates six to eight students in double or triple bedrooms with two bathrooms per unit. Apartments are professionally cleaned weekly and come stocked with basic supplies like towels, dishes, pots, pans and linens.

In addition to the semester-long Rome Program, the Rome Center hosts numerous faculty-led summer study abroad programs from Iowa State and other universities and institutions in a wide range of disciplines.

Students from Agriculture, Anthropology, Architecture, Art History, Athletics, Business, Civil Engineering, Classics, Communication, Community and Regional Planning, Education, Food Science, History, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Italian Studies, Landscape Architecture, Photography, Studio Art, and Urban Design have made the Rome Center their base during summer programs.

These opportunities create an impressive multidisciplinary community for collaboration and exploration.

All roads may lead to Rome, but the one credit DSN S 301 Rome Preparation course is a stop along the way to provide students a cultural introduction to Italy and cover the particulars of traveling and living abroad while making financial and logistical preparations. The class, taught on Iowa State’s campus in Ames, is designed to help students prepare for a positive personal and educational experience in Rome while setting expectations about studying abroad.