The College’s September course in Florence provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to earn Arts Core credit by examining drawing fundamentals and the relationship between drawing, seeing, knowing, and making sense of our experience of the world—both past and present.
The September 2025 program will take place from Saturday, August 23, 2025 through Saturday, September 13, 2025. Participants will be required to commit to the full duration of the program in line with these dates.
In September 2025, “Florence: Drawing Through the World” will be led by Katherine Desjardins, Instructional Professor in the Department of Visual Arts.
Florence, Italy—functioning as both studio and source for our examination of drawing fundamentals—will serve as catalyst for discussions of the nature of knowledge, bodily experience, and aesthetic invention from the 15th century to the contemporary.
The program begins with a visit to the oldest systematically categorized collection of dried plants in existence: The Herbarium Centrale Italicum at the University of Florence. Students will apply fundamental drawing methods associated with close looking toward drawing 15th century botanical specimens directly from observation. Building upon the experience with the Herbarium, students will consider the work of contemporary artists who employ taxonomy and morphology in their own drawing-based practices, as inspiration for their own drawings in the studio.
The human body will be the focus of week two. Working from the life model in the drawing studio, students will explore a wide range of historical approaches to bodily measurement and proportion as applied to figure drawing: from Alberti’s 15th century system of proportions to 20th century holistic and responsive drawing methods. Drawing is a physical act requiring us to draw through the body. A wide range of drawing media will be introduced in the context of discussion of the physicality of mark making and the unique signature of the drawing hand. Visits will include the Specola Anatomical Museum, the Biblioteca Laurenziana collection of prints and drawings, as well as galleries.
During the final week, the course moves outward from the figure into space—out into the city of Florence, to draw diagrammatically through the visual field, intent on expanding students’ ability to make visual and conceptual connections while sharpening observational drawing skills. Students will explore the invention of perspective and discuss several approaches to drawing architectural space. Inspired by the Renaissance idea of the Capriccio—a kind of traveler's conflation of experience into fantastical architectural mashups—the course will end by collaborating on a large-scale drawing.
Apart from studio work, the Florence program offers a series of excursions to sites of artistic and historic interest within and in the vicinity of Florence. Indeed, Florence itself plays a central role in the academic and cultural components of the program as detailed above and students will be expected to make full use of its cultural resources.
Housing abroad can vary from year to year, and precise details will be confirmed during the pre-departure process. Florence program students have historically resided in shared apartments in a variety of neighborhoods throughout the city. It is important to recognize the cultural context of housing in Italy and understand that the size and location of housing may vary. Although some of these differences may take some getting used to, remember that cultural differences extend to all aspects of your experience abroad. Having realistic expectations for your term in Florence will help you approach the study abroad experience with a positive attitude.
Participants in the Florence program will take and receive credit for one Arts Core course. This course is considered part of the students’ Summer Quarter course load and is recorded as a course enrollment on their Summer Quarter registration. For Visual Arts majors or minors, the course will count as an elective. The use of the course credit in a program of study (major or minor) other than Visual Arts must be approved by the undergraduate chair of the student’s respective department. The course title, units of credit, and grade are placed on the College transcript.
Completion of a September course abroad will earn students 1 point toward Global Honors, the College’s recognition of exceptional global engagement. Visit the Chicago Language Center’s website for information on how to apply for Global Honors.
Study abroad students pay regular Summer Quarter tuition at the one-course rate, a program fee, and a nonrefundable study abroad administrative fee. The tuition and program fee are paid in conformity with the home campus payment schedule, and a deposit toward the nonrefundable study abroad administrative fee is submitted when accepting a place in a program. Precise figures for Summer 2024 are listed below:
Study abroad administrative fee: $675
Florence program fee: $4,000
Program fee includes:
- accommodation
- instruction
- student support
- program excursions
- emergency travel insurance (ISOS)
Out-of-pocket expenses include:
- round-trip airfare to and from the program site
- passport/visa fees
- transportation on site
- meals
- course materials
- personal entertainment and travel
- communications (including cell phone usage)
- health insurance and upfront payments for care
- other miscellaneous expenses
Previous program participants report spending in the range of $200 to $275 per week on meals and incidentals while on the program, though frugal students may spend less, and others could spend much more. Bear in mind that the cost of living in Florence is relatively high and that, while it is possible to live frugally, it is also possible to run short of money if you are unwary. It is therefore essential that you budget your funds prudently, apportioning your resources so that they last for the duration of the program. If you are planning to travel before or after the program or on weekends, you should budget accordingly.
Participants in summer College-sponsored programs are eligible for need-based financial aid, following the procedure described on the Summer and September Aid page of the Financial Aid website. For more information about financial aid resources, please see our general Tuition, Fees, and Funding section.
The Florence program is open to University of Chicago undergraduate students only. Applications from outside the University are not accepted.
The program is designed for undergraduates in good academic and disciplinary standing who are beyond their first year in the College. While the program stipulates no minimum grade point average, an applicant’s transcript should demonstrate that they are a serious student who will make the most of this opportunity. Because the course is taught in English, there is no language prerequisite. No prior drawing experience required. Students from all disciplines encouraged to apply.
Each application is examined on the basis of the student’s scholastic record and personal statement. If you are interested in applying for this program, please fill out the online application.
To discuss the Florence: Drawing Through the World program and the possibility of participating, please contact Xhesika Bardhi.