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Summer 2025 in Italy

Summer 2025 Study Abroad in Montepulciano, Italy

Page under construction...stay tuned for more info.

Study geography abroad in Montepulciano, Italy, a beautiful, historic Tuscan hill town, in Summer 2025 through the KSU Italy program! I'll be teaching two geography courses (GEOG 1101 Introduction to Human Geography and GEOG 3312 Geography of Europe) at KSU's facility, a refurbished fortezza, in Montepulciano (in the Tuscany Region of Italy) during Session I of the KSU in Italy Summer 2025 education abroad program in Montepulciano, Italy. 

Geography Study Abroad in Italy Summer 2025

Program Details, Courses, and Faculty

The program is conducted in English by faculty from KSU and other USG institutions. Each class meets for 2.5 hours in the morning and afternoon for two days each week. There will also be full-day field trips with your classes and the full program group to other places two days each week. Weekends (Friday to Sunday) are free for you to explore the region around Montepulciano or to travel on your own. A variety of lower-division (general education) and upper-division courses from different subjects are offered during Session I and Session II, so it's possible to mix and match two courses in two different disciplines within the same session.

Stay tuned for more details about which courses are offered in the morning and which courses are offereing in the afternoon in each session, as well as for more info about course descriptions, course equivalencies, and specific program dates for each session.

Session I (May-June 2025)
  • GEOG 1101: Introduction to Human Geography – Discovering Cultural, Economic, and Political Globalization in Italy (social science gen ed)

    We live in a dynamic world! Geography and Geospatial Sciences equip us with the perspectives, skills, and tools to apply knowledge to better understand the world and its many diverse physical and human processes, and to contribute to sound decision-making about those processes, from the local to the global scale. Geography and maps are a fundamental language for understanding the world. They provide a framework for organizing and communicating our knowledge. Increasingly geography is used in virtually every field of human endeavor, providing a universal language for understanding, communicating ideas, and providing insights. Geography asks the big questions—Where? How? Why? What if?—and gives you the perspective to answer them with advanced technology and a solid knowledge of the world in which we all live. Through this human geography course, we’ll explore global geographic patterns of resources, population, culture, economic, political, and urban systems and their local level impacts while being immersed in a foreign culture and landscape. We will explore defining concepts in geography by focusing on the stories of real people, global trends, topics that transcend borders, and how these patterns affect local places. In essence, how do global patterns shape local lives, near and far? While in Italy, we’ll observe broader concepts as they occur on the Italian landscape, allowing us to compare and contrast these patterns with our home culture. 3 credit hours. Satisfies a Social Science general education requirement. Instructor: Dr. Paul N. McDaniel.

  • GEOG 3312: Geography of Europe – Peoples, Cultures, and Environments of Europe with an Italian Twist

    Europe has profoundly shaped our modern world! We’ll explore concepts about the regional geography of Europe as they occur on the landscapes of Italy. We’ll examine the physical setting and environment, population and migration, languages and religions, cultures, towns and cities, and geopolitical organization. We’ll consider these concepts within the framework of the European Union and broader global processes restructuring local social, cultural, economic, and political landscapes in Italy. While in Italy, we’ll observe concepts as they occur on the Italian landscape, allowing us to compare and contrast these patterns with our home culture. 3 credit hours. Satisfies an upper-division elective/related studies credit for many majors. Instructor: Dr. Paul N. McDaniel.

  • PSYC 2258: Adapting to and Thriving in the World Around Us

    Instructor: Dr. Sandra Scheier.

  • PSYC 4490: Psychology of Creativity

    Instructor: Dr. Sandra Scheier.

  • ART 1107: Arts in Society

    Instructor: Matt Haffner.

  • ART 4490: Documentary Photography

    Instructor: Matt Haffner. 

  • Introduction to International Relations

    Instructor: Dr. Steven Elliott Gower.

  • Global Perspectives: Climate Politics

    Instructor: Dr. Steven Elliott Gower.

Session II (June-July 2025)
  • ANTH 1102: Introduction to Anthropology

    Instructor: Dr. Susan Kirkpatrick Smith.

  • ANTH 4490: Death in the Mediterranean

    Instructor: Dr. Susan Kirkpatrick Smith.

  • SCI 1102: Science, Society, and the Environment

    Instructor: Dr. Marcia Hesser.

  • BIOL 4490: Human Anatomy through Art in Italy

    Instructor: Dr. Marcia Hesser. 

  • ENGL 2110: Following the Hero's Path through Italy: Connecting the World and the Self

    Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Dail.

  • WRIT 3130: Travel Writing in Montepulciano: Storytelling and Place

    Instructor: Dr. Jennfier Dail.

  • Artistic Odyssey: Exploring Italian Art and Culture

    Instructor: Valerie Aranda.

  • Sketching Italy: Art Exploration through People, Places, and Masterpieces

    Instructor: Valerie Aranda.

How to apply for this program?

To learn more about the specific details (program details, cost, application process, health and safety, and scholarships) and to apply to this program, please visit the official KSU Education Abroad Office program webpage.

Why go?

In addition to completing courses in an amazing location, this is your opportunity to visit many famous bucket list places in Italy. Field trips to many prominent cities and sights within them are included as part of the program, including: Rome, Siena, Florence, Orvieto, Lucca, and more.  You'll also have weekends (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) free to explore on your own! You might choose to remain in Montepulciano, explore some of the other nearby Tuscan hill towns and countryside of Tuscany, or travel further afield to places such as Milan, Venice, Genoa, Naples (and Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast), the Italian Lake District (including Lake Como and Lake Garda), the Italian Alps and Dolomites, the Italian Riviera (including Cinque Terre), or visit another country, and much, much more! 

Learn more about KSU Italy programs here.

More reasons to go?

  • Enhance your global awareness
  • Enhance your academic learning
  • Develop your leadership skills
  • Advance your career
  • Experience personal growth
  • Learn another language
  • Immerse yourself in a new culture
  • Learn through experience while earning credit hours
  • Explore the actual geographic landscapes you're learning about in class
  • Experience first-hand masterpieces of art, architecture, and great historic venues
  • Build your resume
  • Make new friends
  • The opportunity to study abroad is a life-changing experience! Check out these testimonials from KSU students who have participated in previous KSU Italy and other education abroad programs! 
  • For even more reasons, see Why Should I Participate in an Education Abroad Program from the KSU Education Abroad Office

Where is Montepulciano?

  • Montepulciano is a medieval and renaissance hill town in the Italian province of Siena, in the southern Tuscany region, about 1 hour south of Florence and about 2 hours north of Rome. The town sits high on a limestone ridge (1,985 ft.) overlooking the surrounding region. Check out this Google Map (be sure to view the accompanying photos) and Google Earth link!
  • Where is the Fortezza di Montepulciano (our classroom building)? Here it is on a Google Map (be sure to check out the Street View and accompanying photos) and Google Earth!
  • Overview of Montepulciano from KSU Italy.
  • Life in Italy from KSU Italy.

More Information about Italy

Videos about Montepulciano, Tuscany, and Italy

The following video was produced by a KSU student participating in the Summer 2019 KSU in Italy program in Montepulciano:

The following are episodes about Montepulciano, Tuscany, and other areas of Italy from Rick Steves' Europe. 

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