Contact the Office of International Learning

• Brian MacDonald
  Director of International Learning brian.macdonald@desales.edu 610.282.1100 x1510  
• Location:
  DeSales University
  2755 Station Avenue
  Center Valley, PA 18034
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DeSales University in Rome

Imagine waking up in Rome, walking the tree-lined streets of your Roman neighborhood, and climbing the steps to the top of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, where you catch a spectacular view of the city and the distant Colli Albani hills.  In the afternoon, you catch the Metro and speed uptown to Piazza Bologna for your classes in a charming Roman palazzo.  After class, you and your friends have dinner "al fresco" at your favorite local pizzeria and then take a leisurely walk along the River Tiber. 

As a student at DeSales University, you have the unique opportunity to study abroad in Rome for the same cost as a semester at DeSales.  View requirements.

• Your financial aid will transfer over to the Rome program to cover housing and tuition for the program. You will be responsible for meals and airfare.
• You will earn 12-15 credits after successfully completing five courses in a program custom designed to coordinate with DeSales' curriculum.
• A select few students will also have the opportunity to participate in one of four internship spaces available within the Vatican: two spaces at the Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice, and two spaces at the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
• You can travel to Pompeii, Sorrento, and Naples and to Florence and Assisi on field trips.
• A DeSales University faculty member will be in residence in Rome during the semester and will teach courses in the program.
• Professor Elizabeth Rosa, program coordinator, will help you register for courses.
• Brian MacDonald, director of international learning will help you with the necessary study abroad documents and visas, and prepare you for other aspects of your semester abroad.
• Student emergency services will be facilitated by the Dante Alighieri Italian Language Center in Rome.

Students live in gender specific housing in Trastevere, where narrow cobbled streets are lined by medieval houses. At night, both natives and tourists alike flock to its many pubs and restaurants. The area is also home to:

• John Cabot University, a private American University
• the American Academy in Rome 
• the Rome campus of the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts 
• the Canadian University of Waterloo School of Architecture (between the months of September and December)
•  the American Pratt Institute School of Architecture 

The unique character of the neighborhood has attracted artists, foreign expats, and many famous people. In the sixties and seventies, the American musicians/composers Frederic Rzewski and Richard Teitelbaum, of the group Musica Elettronica Viva, lived in Via della Luce. 

Sergio Leone, the director of Spaghetti Westerns, grew up in Viale Glorioso and attended a Catholic private school in the neighborhood. There is a marble plaque to his memory on the wall of the apartment building. Ennio Morricone, the film music composer, went to the same school, and for one year was in the same class as Sergio Leone.

Requirements: 

• Must be a full-time, traditional day undergraduate student. 
• Grade Point Average of 2.75 or above. 
• Good disciplinary standing.
• Participant cannot have previously participated in the Rome program 
• Priority consideration will be given to students who submit a completed application by February 1.
• In the Personal Statement section of the Study Abroad Application, please answer the question "Why do you want to study abroad?  Why do you want to study abroad in Rome?"
• Two positive letters of recommendation, both from full-time faculty members. Please click here for the Recommendation Request Form
• Preference will be given to students who have completed a college level Italian language course. 
• Preference may be given to students who demonstrate that the studies in Rome are directly related to their major course of studies at DSU.