Excavate in Italy in Summer 2023!
This year's dates are July 9 to August 6, 2023.
Click here to watch the Study Abroad information webinar.
If you have any questions about the program please contact Prof. Gary Farney (gfarney@rutgers.edu).
Undergraduate Application
Graduate Application
Rutgers University Archaeological Field School in Italy, in operation since 2012, is a Rutgers Study Abroad summer program that teaches undergraduate and graduate students archaeological field skills and methods. Among these are: excavation techniques; site recording and management skills; the handling, processing and preserving of site materials, such as mosaics, painted wall plaster, pottery, human remains and other small finds. Student participants will acquire this training by doing these things on site in Italy under the supervision of academic and professional field specialists.
In addition to fieldwork, there will also be seminars and readings about archaeological methods, and historical and anthropological topics related to the project currently being pursued by the field school, the Upper Sabina Tiberina Project (detailed below). For this project the field school operates in the Tiber River Valley in the northwestern part of the province of Lazio, just about 40 miles upriver from Rome. Participants live and work near the small village of Vacone, excavating a Roman villa site with evidence of Republican, Imperial and post-antique occupation and activity.
Enrollment in the Rutgers Field School is not limited to Rutgers University students, and applicants from other institutions of higher learning are welcome to apply. Although applicants with backgrounds in history, Italian studies, archaeology, anthropology and/or classics are desired, no previous experience or prerequisites are necessary, nor is any particular major or background. Moreover, no knowledge of Italian language is required.
Undergraduate students will receive 6 course-credits from Rutgers Study Abroad that may be counted toward a variety of departments and majors, including Classical Studies, History, Anthropology, and Art History. For instance, the Department of Anthropology at Rutgers-New Brunswick will accept these as equivalent to 01:070:334 ‘Archaeological fieldwork’ and 01:070:335 ‘Analysis of Archaeological data'. Please consult Prof. Farney (gfarney@rutgers.edu) if you have any questions about how these credits might apply to your situation.
Rutgers SEBS undergraduate students can apply all 6 credits toward their Core Curriculum "Arts and Humanities" requirement.
Rutgers Newark undergraduate students can apply 3 of the credits towards the "History/Literature" core-curriculum requirement, and 3 of the credits toward the "Arts/Media" core-curriculum requirement. Please see Prof. Farney (gfarney@rutgers.edu) for other possible uses of the credits.
Graduate students can earn either 6 or 3 course credits, depending on the track they wish to take. They should consult their departments to see how they will treat the credits for any degree they are pursuing. For 6 credits, they can participate for all four weeks of the field school season. For the 3 credits option, graduate students can participate in two weeks of the field school season to be arranged with Prof. Farney.
Undergraduate or Graduate Internships are available for students who already have field experience and previously acquired field skills (excavation, anthropological, geophysical, etc.). Students who wish to pursue an internship should contact Prof. Farney directly (gfarney@rutgers.edu).
Post Field School. Many of our alumni have gone on to graduate programs in History, Classics, Archaeology, Conservation and Anthropology. Among these are programs at Cambridge University, University of Oxford, University of Edinburgh, Durham University, the University of Manchester, Boston University, the University of Toronto, Harvard University, the University of South Florida, Villanova University, University of Oregon, the College of William and Mary, and the Fulbright Fellowship Program.
Living Arrangements for the Field School
Program participants will live in an agriturismo (an agriturismo is a working farm with sleeping accomodations and a restaurant), called Le Colline (http://www.agriturismolecolline.com), located very close to the Vacone villa site (< 2 km). Le Colline has rooms of two to four people, each with a separate bathroom. The agriturismo has internet access and will provide us with a means to do laundry. All meals will be provided at the agriturismo for staff and students Sunday dinner through Friday lunch as part of the program costs. Students will have to pay for their own meals at other times (Friday dinner through Sunday lunch), from the agriturismo or elsewhere. Students will also be able to visit the town of Vacone regularly.
Students will travel to Rome or other nearby locales on the weekends. On Friday afternoon, staff arrange for students to be taken to a nearby train-station (Poggio Mirteto) for a direct train into Rome (ca. 45 minutes); likewise, students are picked up on Sunday late afternoon from Poggio Mirteto back to the agriturismo. The exception will be the very last weekend when students will stay at the agriturismo until Saturday morning (the costs of which will be included in the program fees).