Florence hosts grad school

By Ashton Smith, staff writer
Posted on November 19, 2007

Graduate students now have another opportunity to take their studies overseas.

The European Union Policy Studies Program is a one-year 33-credit graduate program set in Florence, Italy. The program offers JMU, non-JMU and European students a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from JMU. 

The idea for the political science graduate school was constructed by Jessica Adolino and is two years in the making.  She also created the curriculum for the program.

“Students have the ability to learn about the union in context and the effects of the policies most directly,” she said.  “They have the advantage of being taught by Europeans and the cultural experience as well.  They get a fuller sense of what it is to be European, and they also get access to Brussels where the union is located.”

Students will live in a 16th century palazzo, the Palazzo Capponi, located in the heart of Florence.  It is over 14,000 square feet and includes an office, computer lab, classrooms and living quarters.

Students will take twelve credits each semester and nine over the summer with professors from the University of Siena, the University of Bologna and the European University Institute. The courses will be taught in English, although Italian instruction will be provided.  

The tuition for the graduate program is around $33,000, Adolino said, including housing for the year, versus JMU graduate school at roughly $14,000 without housing.

“Right now there are 17 students in Florence [for the graduate program] and four are non-JMU students,” said Adolino. 

While a handful of students applying to the program are from other schools, students on campus weighed in on the program.

“I think it is a great idea to have a political science program abroad,” said Tony Spagnoli, a junior political science major. “It is a good way to experience a governmental ideology and a practice that’s different from the United States. Students that only have experienced American political thought and practice can have a biased view to how governance works. Italy is a great choice because they have a pluralist parliamentary government structure, which is very different than our own.”

Other political science majors think the program is a great idea, but aren’t interested in applying.

“I think the fact that the graduate program is one year in length will be a big selling point because it allows students to finish graduate school quickly,” said Kathryn McAbee, a senior political science major. “At this point, I am not considering applying to the program because it does not fit with my current career goals, but it is great to know that JMU has that option available if I decide to pursue it.”

While sophomore Anna Laura Grant is not a political science major, she went abroad to Italy last summer and she says the experience was worth it.

“I think that it makes a lot of sense to study about Europe in Europe itself because you are able to learn though tangible experience,” Grant said. “Be it from international faculty or talking with locals and other students about issues. Florence is a beautiful city and has always been one of intellectual development, starting with the Renaissance.”

To date, Adolino has received two applications for the graduate program.

“There are many students from all over the world who study there so I think the combination of everything makes it a really amazing program for JMU to offer,” Grant said.  “Besides, who wouldn’t want to live in Italy for a year?”