MiraCosta College Launches New Study Abroad Program with Trip to Italy in 2020

MiraCosta College is launching a new, independently operated, study abroad program with an inaugural trip to Italy in July 2020 that administrators hope will be the first in a series of educational visits around the globe.

Until now, MiraCosta College students wishing to study abroad had their options limited to England in the fall and Spain in the spring through a Citrus College-led consortium involving several community colleges in Southern California. Those semester-long trips are organized by the American Institute for Foreign Study, a privately-owned travel company that has been managing study abroad programs for more than half a century.

The trip to Italy is part of a new MiraCosta College-led program open to other colleges and universities in the area.

“We’re really excited,” said Jonathan Fohrman, dean of the Arts & International Languages Department. “We’ve been working toward this for a number of years.”

The July 1–29 trip includes four weeks in Florence, an overnight stay in Rome, and day trips to Venice, Siena, Bologna, and Ravenna. The courses taught will be History of Western Architecture and Introduction to Italian Culture. Both courses, six units in all, meet MiraCosta College general education requirements and are transferrable to University of California and California State University campuses.

“This is an exciting opportunity to study and learn about the subjects in the place that they were born,” said Professor David Parker, MiraCosta College Design Department chair, who will be teaching the History of Western Architecture course on the trip. “It adds another dynamic and dimension for our students to learn.”

Fohrman agreed. “Study abroad provides students with a significant, high-impact learning opportunity that is difficult to replicate,” he said. “This is a huge development.”

The trip is being organized by ACCENT International. The program will launch with up to 35 students. Upcoming informational meetings are scheduled for October 29 at 6 p.m. at the San Elijo Campus Student Center; November 13 at 2 p.m. in Room 1202 on the Oceanside Campus; and December 4 at 2 p.m. at the San Elijo Campus Student Center.

The cost of the program is $3,675, which includes lodging. Not included in the cost is airfare and the $46 per unit fee—or $276 for the total of six units. Financial aid is available.

The study abroad program is part of a wider range of MiraCosta College international education initiatives designed to enrich students’ multicultural awareness, intercultural competence, and understanding of global issues and trends in preparation for opportunities and challenges of an increasingly global economy and society. Other initiatives include a new certificate of achievement in global studies, the longstanding Institute for International Perspectives that recruits international students to study at MiraCosta College, an international film series, and an array of campus cultural events. The college also recently received an award of grant funding to support faculty in the development of online international exchanges between students in one of their courses, and those in a course at another institution outside of the U.S.

“This is a great addition to our program,” Parker said.

For more information, visit www.miracosta.edu/studyabroad or call 760.795.6897.

About MiraCosta College

The MiraCosta Community College District has served the coastal North San Diego County area for over 80 years. More than 21,000 credit students per semester in over 70 disciplines enroll in associate degrees, university transfer and workforce readiness certificate programs. The college also serves a wide spectrum of educational needs in the region ranging from programs for adult education, basic skills, and ESL to a California Community College pilot program offering the nation’s first baccalaureate degree in biomanufacturing. MiraCosta College is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).