Take advantage of this unique opportunity to study archaeology in Rome and Artena this summer. Choose the Archaeology Intensive track, and you will spend two class days per week in Artena, preparing materials for deposit at the museum or on-site visits and you will spend two class days per week in Rome. During the days in which you are in Artena, you will return to Rome in the evening. As a program participant, you are required to enroll in two courses. Details for those courses are listed below.

By the end of the program, students gain:

• Competency in basic archaeological field methods and artifact analysis
• An understanding of site formation processes and long-term occupation
• The ability to contextualize excavation data within Roman history and material culture
• Experience in interpreting and communicating archaeological knowledge
• First-hand exposure to professional practice in both field and museum settings

This program is ideal for students interested in archaeology, ancient history, classics, anthropology, or museum studies, and provides essential groundwork for further study or professional engagement in cultural heritage and field archaeology.

Language of Instruction

English. Basic knowledge of Italian and/or French could be useful but is not required.

Course load

2 courses, 7 credits*
*Graduate students: 1 course, 3 credits

Course Offerings

Undergraduate students are required to enroll in both of the following two (2) courses:

• Art History 2105: Roman Art and Archaeology (4 credits) and
• Anthropology 3189: Field Session in Archaeology (3 credits)

Graduate students are required to enroll in ONE of the following two (2) courses, either:

• Art History 5621: Archaeological Program (3 credits) OR
• Anthropology 5189: Field Session in Archaeology (3 credits)

View all courses.

Temple University Rome's campus is located at Via di San Sebastianello 16, adjacent to Piazza di Spagna—one of the most notable landmarks in the heart of the Eternal City and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The new campus is walking distance from the iconic Trevi Fountain as well as famous monuments such as the Pantheon, Villa Borghese, Villa Medici and Mausoleum of Augustus.

Facilities include a variety of “smart” classroom spaces, well-equipped and professional studios for visual arts, printmaking, darkroom, digital photo, sculpture, painting and architecture, a science lab, student lounges, a contemporary art gallery, a conference center and a library with over 14,000 volumes. 

Furthermore, Temple's campus includes terraces with views of Rome's city highlights and an open-air courtyard, as well as full disability access and a new 50-bed residence hall, offering a true campus experience in the heart of Rome.

Artena is a small hill town located approximately 40 miles southeast of Rome.

The archaeological site, a large artificial terrace that was part of an early Republican settlement, has revealed the remains of a Roman villa and other buildings that were in use from the 4th century BC until at least the 7th century AD. About 13,000 sq. ft. of the villa that started out as a small farmhouse to become a more sophisticated residence, have thus far been excavated.

The complex comprises an atrium, a peristyle with several rooms around it and a small private bath complex. Parts of it were decorated with wall paintings and mosaic floors. An aqueduct and large cisterns supplied the villa with water. Underneath and next to the villa important remains of pre-existing buildings of the Republican age, including another aqueduct, have been discovered. After the villa was abandoned, new structures were built that partially reused the villa and its material from the 4th to the 7th century AD. A small treasure with four gold Byzantine coins ends for the moment the occupation of the terrace. The history of the artificial platform illustrates in an impressive way the transformation of a site near Rome from a Republican town to an Imperial age villa to a late antique and early medieval settlement covering an arc of time of more than a thousand years.

Learn more about the facilities at Temple Rome.

View Temple Rome on Google maps.

Explore Artena on Google maps.

EXPLORE ROME!

Historically, Rome has few peers. Discover the possibilities of Rome -- a living museum, business center, and hub of Mediterranean culture. Rome offers the greatest co-mingling of the historic and the modern, where you will walk the streets of an ancient capital that has transformed through the centuries into a vibrant and magical contemporary city.

After you've visited all of the major tourist sites on your list, you will no doubt want to explore the local areas that most tourists never see. Rome is a city with many unique neighborhoods, making it fun to discover your favorite spots, those that will make you feel like you really have made Rome your home.

Read student blogs about studying in Rome.

EXPLORE ARTENA!

Artena is a medieval town located in the province of Rome, in the Lazio region of Italy. The hilltop town offers sweeping views of the surrounding countryside, including the nearby Valle del Sacco and the nearby mountains. Artena’s elevated position and charming medieval features make it a peaceful and scenic host location for the archaeology intensive program.

The town is characterized by its narrow, cobbled streets, stone buildings, and several important landmarks, including the Church of San Francesco and ancient Roman ruins, which highlight the town’s strategic importance in the past. 

Six weeks: mid-May through end of June

Tentative 2026 Program Dates

Do not use the above dates to book your flight, as they are tentative and subject to change. Accepted students will receive confirmed program dates and flight booking guidelines from Education Abroad before making travel plans.  

Program participants are required to be present for the entire length of the program, from the official arrival date through the program end date.

Students participating in this program will be housed in Rome, like all other students participating in the Temple Rome summer program.

Temple Rome housing options may vary by term. Check with the Program Management Team for information about your term's available options. 

• Program-arranged housing
• Independent housing: homestays
• Independent housing: other

We encourage you to apply to the program well before the deadline as program and/or housing capacity may be limited. 

Program-arranged housing

• Temple Rome program-arranged housing placements are apartment-style or Spagna dorm rooms.
• Apartment-style housing placements are in varying buildings and complexes throughout the central neighborhoods of Rome, about 10-40 minutes away from campus by foot or public transportation. 
• Dorm placements are in Temple Rome's Spagna dorm.
  • For the semester and academic year terms, placements in the dorm are limited.  
  • For the summer term, students may be placed in a dorm room. 
• The housing placements vary in size and layout and house up to eight students, with no more than three students per bedroom. All placements are non-smoking and do not have air conditioning units (air conditioning is uncommon in Italy).
• All program-arranged housing provides the following basic amenities:
  • Access to a kitchen equipped with basic utensils, cookware, refrigerator, and a stove or hot plate 
  • Bathroom
  • Wi-Fi
  • Washing machine
  • Basic bed linens and towels
  • Fire extinguisher & smoke alarm
  • First aid kits
  • Periodical cleaning service & maintenance

Independent housing: homestay

TU students, and non-Temple students with approval from their home institution, can opt to live with a local homestay family. They will work directly with a homestay agency. Interested students can reach out to the program management team for details on how to pursue a homestay. Basic information about the homestay option:

• A good option for flexible students who are interested in complete linguistic and cultural immersion.
• Provides additional opportunities for language practice, as Italian hosts do not necessarily speak any English.
• Private room in an Italian home (typically an apartment or condo).
• Includes home-cooked dinner four nights a week (Monday through Thursday). You'll be able to prepare a continental breakfast on weekdays.
• Usually located in one of many residential areas beyond the historic center of Rome, so you will get to know local neighborhoods that the casual tourist doesn't usually see.
• Commute to campus, on average, is 45 minutes by public transportation, but may be up to over an hour each way.
• If you opt for a homestay, you need to provide your confirmed housing address to Education Abroad before the start of the program.

Independent housing (other)

Temple students, and non-Temple students with approval from their home institution, may elect to arrange their own housing. If you opt for independent housing, you need to provide your confirmed housing address to Education Abroad before the start of the program.

Policies

For more detailed policies, please refer to your Temple study abroad portal. 

• Program-arranged housing is not guaranteed to all participants, but we do our best to accommodate accepted students if they apply with a preference for program-housing or if their home school requires them to live in program-arranged housing. If you are offered a spot in housing, you have 2 weeks to submit the required deposit and accept the housing policies. Once these requirements are complete, you will receive an email confirming your spot.
• Once confirmed in housing, there are likely to be financial consequences to withdrawing from housing, depending on the timeline. See our refund policies for more information. 
• Students can request roommates, and as long as the request is mutual, we do our best to accommodate these requests. Please note that we cannot guarantee roommates. 
• If you are requesting any accommodations for a disability that may affect your housing placement, please contact the program management team (program.manager@temple.edu) to discuss, as there are cultural differences related to accessibility abroad. Be sure to submit your accommodations letter from Temple or your home institution in the Temple study abroad portal. 
• Students confirmed in program-arranged housing get their address about 1-2 weeks before the program start date. 
• We cannot accommodate requests to change into a different apartment or a different housing style once housing has been assigned. Students need to be willing to accept any of the program-arranged housing options. If you have specific preferences, we encourage you to consider independent housing. 

Each week (6-week semester) students spend two days in Artena on-site, preparing materials for deposit at the museum, or doing site visits and two days in Rome.

• Classes are hosted at Temple Rome on Mondays and Thursdays

• Day excursions to Artena on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Transportation for these days will be arranged for you.

Key activities in Artena include:

• Cleaning of the archaeological remains
• Participation in the excavation of selected sectors
• Drawing of sections on site and of artefacts in the deposit of the museum
• Description and cataloging of artefacts in the deposit of the museum
• Classification and organization of fired materials on site (dolia, bricks, tiles, etc.)
• Producing ideas for the future of the site as a cultural destination
• Collaboration with the director of the museum to enhance its importance
• Visit to related archaeological sites in the surroundings of Artena

Excursions may include a visit to the Archaeological Museum of Artena; a visit to the temple complex of Fortuna Primigenia in Palestrina; visit to ancient sites in Rome; in house lectures on introduction to the study and cataloging of ancient pottery; visit to the ancient city of Segni.

Temple Faculty

Dr. Jan Gadeyne, a Temple Rome faculty member and archaeologist, serves as the program director overseeing the academic program for the Archaeology intensive track.

Mary Conran, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Temple Rome, provides oversight and support for all aspects of academic programs at Temple Rome.

View program faculty.

On-site Support

When you study at Temple Rome, you'll have the support of the caring staff of the campus, including a dedicated student life team, librarians and an academic support center.

Meet the Temple Rome on-site staff.

PROGRAM DEPOSIT

Students will pay a non-refundable program deposit of $400 within 2 weeks of acceptance to the program, or 2 weeks after the application deadline, whichever is earlier. This non-refundable deposit is credited to your program fees as a prepayment. 

TUITION AND FEES (6 or 7 CREDITS)

Temple students pay their usual rate by school/college and residency..

Non-Temple students are charged the non-matriculated per-credit rate based on residency for the academic year the program is offered. *Non-Temple students: your program costs may vary depending on your home institution's billing model. Please check with your study abroad office about your school's billing policies.

All students pay:

• University Services Fee
• Artena Track Fee, estimated at $450, includes orientation and training in Artena, transportation to/from campus to the archeological site, some field trips, and group meals when on site in Artena.

For complete details about billable costs and estimate for non-billable expenses, such as airfare, meals, and personal expenses, view the program cost sheet.

View detailed program costs.

SCHOLARSHIPS AND FINANCIAL AID

Education Abroad offers competitive, need-based scholarships for this program. Learn more about scholarships and financial aid.

Staying healthy and safe abroad requires good planning and strong support. Review our health and safety page for important steps to prepare to study abroad, and details about international travel medical insurance and assistance provided by Temple. In addition, Temple Rome partners with a local doctor and counselor who provide support to students on the program.

• You are enrolled as a full-time matriculated student at the time of application as well as during the semester prior to studying abroad.
• You will have completed at least two (2) semesters of college-level study by the program start.

You meet minimum cumulative GPA requirement from all colleges/universities attended. As of May 2025, the GPA requirement for most programs is 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. Exceptions include:

• Rome Internships: 3.0
• Exchange Programs: 2.75
• External Programs: various, provider requirements may differ from Temple's

You remain in good academic standing from the time of application until the start of your term abroad; students on academic warning are not eligible to participate.

You will need a passport, valid well beyond the length of your program, by the application deadline.

View deadlines and validity requirements for your host country.

You must be in good disciplinary standing at the time of application and remain so through the start of your term abroad. Students who have been found responsible for a code of conduct violation and will not be in good disciplinary standing (including disciplinary probation) may submit a petition for review.

You are at least 18 years old at the time of application.