About Us

The Institute for Education in International Media (ieiMedia) offers journalism study-abroad courses and internship programs that help prepare students for the complex demands of 21st century global journalism. Our programs combine training in a range of media skills — photography, videojournalism, international reporting and writing for digital media — with hands-on practice reporting on a foreign culture.

Our alumni have gone on to professional careers with major media outlets, including The Chicago Tribune, Newsweek, CBS News, New York Magazine, The Hartford Courant, Wired, PCWorld, and The Charleston Gazette (find out more about our former students on the Alumni News page).

ieiMedia programs are open to English-speaking college students and recent graduates from all schools. Each media course is taught by a team of professional journalists and journalism educators.

Andrew Ciofalo, ieiMedia Founder and President

A pioneer in journalism education, ieiMedia has been taking students abroad since 2002. It was founded by Andrew Ciofalo, now a professor emeritus at Loyola University Maryland.

Our projects aim to educate students in various media disciplines while at the same time inspiring them to explore a foreign culture. For each project, students produce a publication — a multimedia website, print magazine or book — about the community where they live and learn. The stories produced range in subjects from economics and health care to language and culture. For examples of recent student work, see

Past programs have been based in Urbino, Italy (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012); Perpignan, France (2010 & 2011); Istanbul, Turkey (2011 & 2012); Armagh, Northern Ireland (2007, 2009, 2012); Cagli, Italy (2002-2008) and Camerano, Italy(2006). Nearly 450 students have participated in these programs. Students have come from more than 80 schools in the U.S. and Canada, including:

• American University                   
• Amherst College
• Arizona State University
• Baylor University
• Boston College
• Indiana University
• Ithaca College
• New York University
• Northwestern University
• Oklahoma State University
• Rice University
• Ryerson University
• San Diego State University
• San Jose State University
• Temple University
• University of Arizona
• UCLA
• University of Illinois
• University of Maryland
• University of Montana
• University of Wisconsin
• Washington and Lee University
• West Virginia University

International students have come from Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Thailand, Trinidad and the United Kingdom.

In 2009, ieiMedia formed a partnership with San Francisco State University’s Journalism Department and its College of Extended Learning. This year SFSU will provide university credit for the programs in Perpignan, France and Istanbul, Turkey. Iowa State University and James Madison University will sponsor university credit for the program in Urbino, Italy and University of Baltimore will co-sponsor the program in Armagh, Northern Ireland.

To find out more about how your department or university can co-sponsor an ieiMedia program, go to our Institutional Partnerships page.

Featured People Behind ieiMedia

Rachele Kanigel, ieiMedia Executive Director (Professor at San Francisco State University)

Bob Marshall, Reporter - The Times-Picayune (Two Time Pulitzer Prize Winning Reporter)

Dennis Chamberlin - Urbino, Italy Program Director (Pulitzer Prize Winning Photojournalist)

Mary D'Ambrosio - Istanbul Program Director and Editor of Big World Magazine

Susan West - Urbino, Italy Magazine Co-Editor and former executive editor of Smithsonian magazine

Linda Gradstein - Jerusalem, Israel instructor and Middle East Bureau Chief for The Media Line

Ilene Prusher - International Reporting Instructor and multi-genre writer based in Jerusalem

Steve Anderson - Director of ieiMedia Video Programs and Former Environmental Reporter at KCNC-TV in Denver

Doug Cumming - Armagh instructor and journalism professor at Washington & Lee University