Rome, Italy

IFSA Summer Internships in Rome

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Program Overview

GAIN JOB EXPERIENCE IN THE WORLD’S GREATEST TREASURE CHEST

From museums to business incubators to human rights NGOs, Rome has nearly as many opportunities for professional experience as it does wonders in art and architecture. As you discover 2,000 years of Italian history, you’ll also get to know present day culture, with coastal day trips and city-based experiences tourists miss. Add an elective to build more knowledgeand creditsduring your stay.  

This is an exclusive IFSA-Designed Program. Learn more about these affordable programs here.

Details at a Glance

Application deadline

Summer: March 15

Minimum GPA

2.00

Credit load

3–7

Housing

Apartment/Flat

Instruction language

English

Language prerequisites

Some placements may require previous Italian language experience

Visa required?

Not in most cases. Learn More.

Apply Now

Academics

Enhance your learning and develop marketable skills with an eight-week Summer Internship in Rome.

Essential Italian
If you’ve never studied Italian before, you’ll take this introductory seminar taught intensively at the beginning of your summer session to complement the IFSA internship experience. By introducing key words and phrases in the classroom—and venturing out into the city to practice them—this class also provides insights into local customs and daily life in Rome. (1 U.S. semester credit hour)

International Internship Seminar
All internships include participation in the International Internship Seminar, which uses a blended learning framework with online and in-person components. Online modules provide structured opportunities to reflect on the practical experience of the internship, learn more about your host country’s business culture, and further develop the professional skills needed for a successful transition from undergraduate coursework into a career or graduate school. Plus, you will engage with an online global cohort of IFSA internship participants, gaining exposure to business cultures around the world. At your IFSA location, you will meet in-person with fellow interns to participate in exclusive field visits, learn from guest speakers about working across cultures, and attend workshops on leveraging your strengths for your future job search at home or abroad. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

OPTIONAL CLASSES
You may enroll in one additional class in either Session 1 or Session 2. Not all classes may be offered in a given term. Click on each link below for a detailed class syllabus.

SESSION 1 CLASS

Forced Migration, Refugees, and Change
More than 60 million people are displaced by war, violence, and environmental destruction today. This class analyzes the ways that governments, NGOs, citizens, and researchers seek to solve problems associated with forced migration. Using ethnographic approaches, students will investigate the sociological and political forces behind the current increase of refugees and forced migrants currently impacting Europe. This class aims to provide a theoretical and empirical understanding of the phenomenon that can be employed as a guide for action. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

SESSION 2 CLASS

Sustainable Tourism
In the past few decades, the global tourism industry has been increasingly criticized for its disruptive impact on local communities and the environment, while a growing trend of sustainable tourism has begun promoting more responsible, eco-friendly approaches that can help preserve nature, customs, and lifestyles. This class explores how local cultures can better absorb short- and long-term tourism, the benefits of eco-tourism on natural habitats and landscapes. Through a series of field visits and meetings with experts, students will learn how a more sustainable approach to tourism can help make tourist destinations better places to live in and to visit. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

INTERNSHIPS
IFSA internships include real-world work experience, along with developing intercultural skills and experiences that are key to personal, academic, and professional success. Expect to devote a total of 120 hours working with your host organization, with supervision from your seminar instructor, coordinated by on-site IFSA team members. In addition, interns complete the International Internship Seminar for 3 U.S. semester credit hours. Internships are not remunerated.

Students have interned at galleries and museums, business incubators, development agencies, religiously affiliated non-profits, marketing firms, and human rights advocacy groups in Rome.

Your goals are carefully considered, tailoring the placement process to ensure the best possible fit. Keep in mind that final placements depend on your skills, prior experience, and availability. Although every effort is made to match your placement with your preferred field or area of business, it can’t be guaranteed. Most internships are conducted in English. If you have had at least four semesters of Italian language instruction, you can ask your IFSA Enrollment Counselor about opportunities to conduct your placement in Italian.

Application. After you submit your application, resume, and IFSA Internship Intent Form, an IFSA Enrollment Counselor and an on-site IFSA Team member will work with you to identify your professional strengths, review your goals, and refine your internship interests to establish a match. From there, you’ll have an interview with your potential internship host. You will be provided with tips and resources to prepare for your interview.

Sample Placements. The following are examples of internships IFSA students have recently completed. Placement options vary from term to term.

Organization: This historic Italian association focuses on the protection of the environment and landscape. The local chapter, based in the Garbatella neighborhood, organizes initiatives to raise awareness on environmental issues and urban sustainability, including exhibits, “Clean the world days,” and park maintenance.
Subject Areas: Environmental Science/Studies, Film Production, Marketing
Potential Projects: You would help create and edit short videos and other materials about the association’s activities, with a special focus on urban gardens and beekeeping.

Organization: This Rome-based, independent, English-language, online magazine covers everything Italy-related, offering news and opinion about politics, economy, culture, and sports.
Subject Areas: Communications, Journalism, Marketing
Potential Projects: You will help with content creation for the magazine and promotion.

Organization: This English-language event and lifestyle magazine is targeted to tourists and expats visiting or living in Rome. It includes a daily listing of the latest and most diverse cultural and lifestyle events in and around Rome.
Subject Areas: Communications, Journalism, Marketing
Potential Projects: You will help with content creation for the magazine and promotion. You can also be involved in the creation of a new Florence branch of the magazine.

Organization: This is an historic Rome-based association, one of the first in Italy, that offers support to the LGBTQ+ community and organizes cultural events and initiatives, including the big annual Pride event.
Subject Areas: Communications, Cultural Studies, Gender Studies, Politics
Potential Projects: You will help with the organization of cultural events and contribute to the social media presence of the association.

Organization: This is a small private museum in the very heart of the historic center, focused on interactive reproductions of inventions and machines designed by Leonardo da Vinci.
Subject Areas: Communications, Museum Studies, Art History, Marketing
Potential Projects: Interns will help with front desk operations, English-led tours, as well as with promotional initiatives and social media campaigns.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Eligibility

  • You must be at least 18 years of age. Students under 18 may be accepted on a case-by-case basis.
  • You must be currently attending or recently graduated from a U.S. or Canadian community college, technical college, two-year college, four-year college, or four-year university.
  • You must have completed at least one (1) full-time semester of study at your home institution before the beginning of the term.

Recommendation Letter
Not required.

 

TRANSCRIPT
Upon completion of your program, IFSA will send an official Butler University transcript to your home university with your coursework converted to the U.S. semester credit hour system. You will also have access to an unofficial transcript in your IFSA Student Portal. The transcript reflects classes taken, credits attempted, and grades earned during your term abroad. This service is included in your study abroad program at no additional cost. See our Transcripts page for more information.

Excursions

Activities and excursions are designed to pull you into the communities you visit and encourage cultural connections of every kind. There’s no extra fee to participate in these optional outings—everything is included in your program fee.

Below are examples from previous terms; outings may be different for your program. We’ll make every effort to run them all, but sometimes things we can’t control, such as local regulations and health protocols, get in the way. As result, we cannot guarantee activities and excursions.

Activities

  • Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatino Hill Tour: Offered during orientation, this activity allows you to visit some of the most iconic monuments in world history and to explore the very heart of the eternal city.
  • Eataly and Mercato di Testaccio Visit: Eataly is a premium food market for Italian products and restaurant hall associated with the Slow Food Movement. After the visit, you will continue to the Testaccio neighborhood market and experience the Roman street food tradition.
  • Clean Up the World with Legambiente: Raise awareness on environmental issues and sustainability by volunteering with Legambiente, a historical Italian association focused on protecting the environment and landscape. You will participate in a day of activities in the community garden of the Garbatella neighborhood.
  • FAO Headquarters Visit: Learn about sustainability across agriculture, forestry, and fisheries through a guided tour of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security.
  • Riserva della Cascina Winery Visit: Riserva della Cascina is a family-run, organic winery in the outskirts of Rome, immersed in the archaeological park of the old Roman way “via Appia.” Explanation of sustainable practices will be followed by a tasting.
Excursions
  • Orvieto Day Trip: Orvieto is a medieval hill-top town with a stunning gothic cathedral and an underground series of caves dug by the Etruscan civilization.
  • Parco dell’Uccellina Day Trip: Day trip to the protected area of Parco dell’Uccellina, a regional forested park along the Mediterranean coast with opportunities to hike, rent bikes, or enjoy relaxing on the beach.
  • Tarquinia Day Trip: Tarquinia is a small town on the coast of Lazio that is home to a UNESCO World Heritage site of Etruscan tombs, paintings, and artifacts.
  • Castelli Romani Day Trip: Enjoy a day visit to the hilly area known for its papal palace-turned-museum, lush nature preserves and lakes, and wine and olive oil production.

Housing and Meals

Housing

Apartment/Flat

Meals

Self-Catering

Details

Rome students typically live in fully-furnished apartments shared by four to six students in Rome’s historic center, Prati, or Trastevere neighborhoods. Apartments vary but are generally in updated historic buildings in neighborhoods with plenty of local charm, an easy 30- to 45-minute commute from the IFSA Program Center, either on foot or using public transit.  

Your apartment mates could include other study abroad students, as well as students from Italy or other countries, and could be mixed gender. Most apartments have two or more bathrooms. Bedrooms are typically shared by two IFSA, same gender students. In a few cases, depending on the specific apartment layout, triple rooms are possible. Students are responsible for meals. 

Sample housing 

Take a look at Via Cola di Rienzo 285 to see what your Rome home might be like: 

  • Location: The Prati district, close to Rome’s historic city center. 
  • Commute: A six-minute walk to the IFSA Program Center.   
  • Living space: Apartments for four to six students in older, historic buildings. Students share bedrooms with two, same gender students per room. Bedrooms include single beds and storage. All residents share the living space, kitchen, eating area, and bathroom(s). Sometimes two students share one desk. Complete bedding and towels provided. Kitchens are equipped with oven, refrigerator, and basic dishes and kitchenware. 
  • Meals: No meal plan. Students prepare or purchase meals, and often tell us cooking together is a fun, social part of the day. Plus, we’ll share pro grocery shopping tips when you arrive.  
  • Other details: Wi-Fi included. Laundry washing machine and drying rack. Vacuum cleaner. Iron and ironing board. Fans. Air conditioning is common but not guaranteed. Weekly cleaning service of shared spaces is often included. 
  • Nearby: Cafes, markets, shopping, public transportation. Vatican City. Castel Sant’Angelo. Tiber River. Piazza del Popolo. Villa Borghese. Spanish Steps. Piazza Navona and the Fountain of the Four Rivers. 

Dates and Fees

Term
Term begins
Term ends
Program costs
Application deadline
Summer 2024
May 27, 2024
July 19, 2024
$7,225
Passed

Get Started

Eleni Katsarelas

Eleni Katsarelas

Enrollment Counselor