Adriatic Italy's Travel Storytelling Program
Travel Storytelling Fact Sheet
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GENERAL LOCATION: Based in Urbino, Italy with day trips to the Adriatic coast, local wineries, and historical sites. Additional travel option includes an overnight ferry trip to Split, Croatia.
FOCUS: Storytelling from a traveler’s perspective using mobile media tools and social media channels.
PARTNER UNIVERSITIES: University of Jamestown, Colorado State University
PROGRAM COST:
TUITION: $2845
CREDIT: $450
TOTAL COST: $3,295 + airfare
INCLUDES: Tuition for three credits, accommodations, most meals, and travel insurance). Students will have the option of signing up for side trips for cost of travel. DOES NOT INCLUDE AIRFARE. Note: This program is an ideal companion to the four-week Urbino program in multimedia journalism.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Priority Application Deadline is December 15, 2023. If you do not have the necessary access to submit your application by the priority deadline, start a conversation with us by clicking the Get Started button below. Please refer to the Application Deadline Details below for more information.
PAYMENT DEADLINES:
see Payment, Cancelation and Refund Policy for information on deposit deadlines and amounts.
FINANCIAL AID: Students studying abroad for the summer term have limited financial aid options, but Pell grant recipients are encouraged to apply and receive our help in applying for a Gilman Study Abroad Scholarship which can award up to $5,000. Check with your school’s financial aid office and your study abroad offices to find out if other assistance is available. For more information on financial aid, get started by connecting with us here.
Adriatic Italy's Travel Storytelling Program
Earn three credits during a travel-focused storytelling and media production program. This photo, video, and information-gathering adventure includes travel along the central Adriatic coastline and in the enchanting countryside of Italy’s Marche region. The base of operations for this two-week program will be the medieval city of Urbino. Faculty will lead day trips by van, bus, and train to hilltop restaurants, coastal cities and beaches, and historic walled villages. All day trips focus on how to travel safely, inexpensively, and efficiently. Students will learn to use smart phones, small cameras, and microphones to connect with local citizens and culture. During alternate days in Urbino, they will work with instructors to produce professional-quality travel stories for social media. At the end of the program students will compile their work in personal online blogs suitable for a professional portfolio.
An optional excursion includes an adventure to and from Croatia. The group will travel by bus and train to Ancona, Italy, and take an overnight ferry (with comfortable sleeping cabins) to the historic coastal city of Split, Croatia. The day will be spent exploring and collecting media at historical sites, markets, and the world famous Riva Promenade on the Split waterfront. The group will take the ferry back to Italy that night, spending the following day exploring the city of Pesaro and its beaches, then returning to Urbino by bus. Including ferry, train, bus fees and meals, this optional trip will cost approximately $250.
BeautIful scenery in the Marche Region of Italy.
Students are located in the magical walled city of Urbino. The program includes lodging and most meals provided by the University of Urbino. The city will serve as a base of operations, with day trips to the coast, beautiful villages with spectacular food, out-of-the way historical sites and at least one major tourist destination. The nearby cities of Bologna, Rimini, and Ancona are easily accessible by train. Program faculty have a decade of experience in the area and are well acquainted with the region and travel options. For more information about Urbino, see the Urbino Project, a four-week program that precedes the travel journalism course.
Credits
Students will sign up for three credits of transferable upper-level journalism electives from our partner university, Jamestown University. Students who are interested in earning six credits can complete both the Urbino program and the Marche program back to back over a six week period.
Students
The program is open to English-speaking college students and recent graduates from any school. Students from many universities have participated in past ieiMedia programs, including: James Madison University, Colorado State University, Ithaca College, Iowa State University, Stanford University, Pennsylvania University, Penn State University, McGill University, Rider University, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Louisiana State University, Virginia Tech, Carleton University, Ryerson University, New York University, UCLA, Truman State University, Rutgers University, University of Wisconsin, Kennesaw State University, California State University-Fullerton, Colorado State University, Temple University, Arizona State University, State University of New York at New Paltz, University of Arizona, University of Illinois, Georgetown University, University of Northern Iowa, Humboldt State University, Indiana University, Washington & Lee University, Wilkes University, San Diego State University, American University, Nanyang Technological University, University of British Columbia, Westminster College and Baylor University. We’ve also had students from Japan, the United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, Thailand and Trinidad.
The program is based in the historic city of Urbino.
Many of our students are journalism, media, communication, or English majors, but those studying in other disciplines are welcome. For non-journalism/communication majors, experience working for a college or professional publication is helpful, but is not necessary. The program is open to English-speaking students and recent graduates from around the world.
Graduate students also are invited to apply. We’re happy to talk with you about supervising an independent project that would qualify for graduate credit at your school -- or to offer this experience as a graduate internship.
Faculty
Vineyards near Urbino.
This program is led by professors Greg Luft and Steve Weiss from Colorado State University. They have taught repeatedly in Urbino and have experience traveling to all program locations. Additional, experienced travel journalists and alumni of this program will serve as guest lecturers.
Steve Weiss is an award-winning television anchor, reporter and producer of local and network television sports and news programming. He has produced and hosted programs for ESPN, TNN, FOX Prime Sports and the Outdoor Network, among others. He began teaching part time at Colorado State University in 1992, and has been teaching full time since 2010. Steve directs the university’s program in live television production unit, first taught in Italy in 2013, and led several travel journalism courses in Croatia. Along with other awards for teaching, Steve received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the College of Liberal Arts at Colorado State University in 2021.
Greg Luft has recently been appointed as the interim Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Colorado State University. Prior to that he as held a position with the university as a professor and chair of the Journalism and Media Communication department. Greg is also an award-winning reporter and photojournalist, with a diverse career in television news and documentary production before and during his career in academia. He began teaching in Urbino in 2012. Greg served as academic dean on the Spring, 2019 Semester at Sea voyage, has served as a visiting professor at the Communication University of China in Beijing, and was named a Colorado State University Best Teacher in 2013.
View complete faculty biographies on our Marche/Italy Faculty Page.
Accommodations
Students will live in University of Urbino dorms, either in a private room with private bath or sharing a room with a private bath with one other student. Three meals a day in the student cafeteria are included. Sheets and towels are provided.
Equipment
Students are expected to bring a laptop computer and mobile phone, and are welcome to bring professional camera equipment, but this is not required. Additional accessories will be available through the program.
Interpreters
University of Urbino students with experience in this program will act as interpreters in Italy. Students find working with these Italian students to be one of the most rewarding experiences in the program.
Program Cost
$3,295 plus airfare (includes tuition for three credits, accommodations, most meals, travel insurance, farewell dinner and program-related local travel.) Modest additional costs may be incurred with optional travel.
Application Deadline Details
Our priority application deadline for Summer 2024 programs is Friday, December 15th, 2023. Applications submitted after the priority deadline will be accepted on a rolling basis dependent on program capacity.
Submitting your application by the priority deadline means you will be accepted to a priority spot on the program of your choosing, as well as secure additional time to prepare for payment deadlines and scholarship and financial aid opportunities.
If you do not have the necessary access to submit your application by the priority deadline, please reach out to admissions@ieimedia.com to speak with an advisor.
Application deadline: Priority Application Deadline is December 15, 2023. ROLLING ADMISSIONS UNTIL PROGRAM IS FULL. Applications received after the deadline can be accepted until program capacity limitations are reached.
TRAVEL ADVISORY: ieiMedia will be monitoring the situation with COVID-19 and will provide status updates to those who sign up for the program.
VACCINATIONS: Students must be vaccinated against COVID-19 to participate in the program.
