This summer, College of the Canyons students will have the opportunity to travel and study in Rome and Florence, Italy, as part of a study abroad program being offered by the college.

Interested students and community members are encouraged to attend one of four upcoming information sessions about the trip in order to learn more details about this unique educational opportunity.

Meetings are currently scheduled for the following dates and times at the college’s Valencia campus:

1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 6 — Hasley Hall, Room 230
6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 7 — Hasley Hall, Room 233
1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13 — Hasley Hall, Room 230
6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19 — Hasley Hall, Room 233

COC and the ACCENT International Consortium for Academic Programs Abroad will host the program in which students will be able to explore Italian monuments and museums through a series of experiential learning excursions, as the cities of Rome and Florence become extensions of the classroom.

Students who enroll in the program will live in student apartments in Florence and throughout Rome, enabling them with the chance to become immersed in Italian history and culture — while earning college credits.

Optional one-day excursions to locations including Venice, Milan and Pompeii are also available.

Coming at a base cost of roughly $3,400 — which does not include airfare or tuition — the program will run from June 13 through July 17, 2016.

The college courses being featured for the summer 2016 program are:

ART 205: ‘Landmarks of Art and Visual Culture’
Hotel & Restaurant Management 102: ‘Introduction to Tourism’

Both are three-unit courses and transferrable to California State University campuses.

COC art professor Michael McCaffrey and Kevin Anthony, chair of the college’s hotel & restaurant management program, will teach the courses and lead the five-week program.

“When I was a student studying in Rome, I found that my experience in this wonderful city was transformational to my education and created interests and curiosities that I still pursue,” said Anthony, who will be leading his fourth study abroad trip at the college.

“The experience of studying and living abroad through this type of program is one that will benefit students beyond their time as college students,” added Anthony.

McCaffrey, who has taught art and art history at the college since 2004, will be making his second trip abroad with COC students.

For more information about the College of the Canyons Summer 2016 Study Abroad program in Italy please visit www.canyons.edu/rfi or contact Kevin Anthony at (661) 362-3712 or Michael McCaffrey at michael.mccaffrey@canyons.edu.