Language Requirement: None
Academic Standing by Program Start: Sophomore or Above
Location: Europe, Italy
GPA: 2.5

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Dates & Deadlines

Program Overview

This program will not run in summer 2026, but is tentatively planned to run in 2027. 

The rich culture and beauty of Siena will serve as the backdrop in which students will explore and develop their artistic skills and thinking through experimentation, discussion, and readings in this intensive studio art course. Designed to build on your previous experience and skills, and augmented by the wealth of materials from the Italian Renaissance, this course is open to students at all levels of drawing and painting. We will emphasize an exploration of two-dimensional space, the development of technical and material experience, as well as questions key to a critical understanding of artistic production. In addition to the studio component of this course, we will make visits to some of the most important cultural sites in Tuscany and Italy in general, such as the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and the city of Bologna.

Dates and Deadlines

Term Year Deadline Arrival Date Departure Date
Summer 2027 03/15/2027 Mid July Late August

Acceptance is based on a holistic review of your application.  This includes a review of your GPA, transcripts (including courses taken and in-progress), and the short statement.

This program is less than 90 days. Students with a US passport will be traveling to Italy under the Schengen Visa waiver program and do not require a travel visa for this program, and GEO is unable to assist U.S. citizens in obtaining a visa. If you are not a U.S. Citizen: Notify your GEO Advisor. Students who are not U.S. citizens should contact the Italian consulate in their country of residence about visa requirements, no matter the duration of the program of study.

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Faculty-Led Scholarship Opportunity

Applicants to this program are eligible for program-specific scholarship funds. Award recipients are chosen based on academic merit, financial need, and overall quality of their essay. Individual awards range from $500-$1,500. To be considered, apply to the GEO General Scholarship by the advertised deadline for the term you will be abroad. Students who apply will automatically be considered for all available funding within the General Scholarship, including this program's scholarship funds.

Discount for Pell Recipients

To expand access to study abroad, GEO is offering a $500 discount for this program to UO students who currently have the Pell Grant as part of their federal financial aid (FAFSA).

Academic Details

This course is open to beginning, intermediate, and advanced drawing and painting students, and may be recognized as studio art credit for art majors and minors by your home university. Check with your departmental advisor for more information.

Each student will enroll in one drawing class and one painting class for a total of 8 credits.

Drawing Courses:

  • ART 233: Drawing I (4 credits) - Introduction to basic drawing concepts and practices.
  • ART 333: Drawing II (4 credits) - Emphasizes synthesis of ideas and approaches, complex subjects, investigation, and expression while building on previous drawing skills. (Prereq: ART 233)
  • ARTP 391: Intermediate and Advanced Drawing (4 credits) - Continued study in observation related to visual and spatial phenomena. (Prereq: ART 333)

Painting Courses:

  • ARTP 281: Introductory Painting I (4 credits) - Basic visual elements and their application to painting as a means of expression. Incorporates traditional subject matter: still life, landscape, figure.
  • ARTP 381: Introductory Painting II (4 Credits) - Integrates concepts and approaches introduced in Introductory Painting I to develop more individual and complex strategies of form and meaning. (Prereq: ARTP 281)
  • ARTP 390: Intermediate and Advanced Painting (4 credits) - Advanced painting concepts and technical processes. Independent initiative is encouraged. (prereq: ARTP 381)

Course Equivalencies

UO students: please refer to the UO Course Equivalency Process and the UO Office of the Registrar Course Equivalency Database.

Non-UO students: Actual credit awarded is determined by the relevant department at your university in consultation with the study abroad office. Check with your study abroad advisor for more information.

Faculty and Staff

Sylvan Lionni in an associate professor in the Department of Art at the University of Oregon. He received his MFA from Bard College, NY and BFA from the School of Visual Arts, NY. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries in the United States, Europe, and Australia, including The Brooklyn Museum of Art, MoMA P.S. 1, and mumok in Vienna, Austria. His work is held in many private and public collections and has appeared, or been reviewed in ArtForum, Svenska Dagbladet, and Art in America among many others.

Housing Description

Experience life as part of an authentic Italian neighborhood, living in student residences (small dorms) with other American, Italian or international students throughout the town of Siena. You will share a bedroom with one or two other students, and share common spaces (bathroom, kitchen, etc.) with the students living in your hall. Your room will have a fridge, desk, safe, and either a sink or a private bathroom. The kitchens are equipped with utensils, plates, glasses, cookware, an electronic oven and a gas stove. You will also receive towels and linens and each apartment has access to a washing machine and drying rack.

Close by you can find small local grocers, restaurants, and cafés unique to your neighborhood.