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Course Name: ANTH 48889/58889 FACES:  Human Head Anatomy with a Forensic Art Focus

Description: Renaissance artists became anatomists to create more life-like portrayals of the human figure, and Italy was in the forefront of these developments. Our course begins with studying works by these artist/anatomists: Donatello, Antonio Pollaiuolo, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and others, through walking tours to see public sculptures, visits to the Museo Nazionale Bargello, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, and lectures. We will examine drawings, paintings and sculptures of faces by these artists, and gain an appreciation for how well they understood human anatomy. We will also go to La Specola, a Natural History Museum that features anatomical wax models.

In the classroom students will study human skulls and learn the form and function of the muscles of facial expression and mastication. We will pay close attention to features of the skull that ultimately give each face its unique qualities and study the areas that indicate age and sex of the individual. Each student will sculpt the facial bones of a skull, using an exact replica cast as a model.

In the last part of the course students learn the techniques of two-dimensional forensic facial approximation. Using knowledge of head anatomy, and tissue depth data from the literature, each student will prepare detailed sketches (one man, one woman) based on a photograph of his and her skull. We will also learn about changes to the face over the life span and make sketches of older people based on photographs of them when young.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites:  None

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: ARTH 42045 Italian Art from Giotto to Bernini 

Description: This course will explore the development of art and architecture in Italy from the late Middle Ages to the Roman Baroque period. Through an in- depth analysis of the art and history of these periods, we shall develop an understanding of Italy’s role in the overall development of Western civilization. Particular emphasis will be given to Florentine Art. Florence exhibits to this day a particularly well-integrated conception of painting, sculpture, and architecture. Taking advantage of this, we will use the city as our classroom in order to examine the development of Florentine art and architecture in context. In addition to “on-site” lectures, classroom lectures will focus on the art produced in other major Italian cities.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: ARTH 42091/62095 Art Experiences in Italy

Description: This course is an introduction to the major artworks and monuments in the city of Florence, with the goal of giving the student a sense of the progression of styles from the Middle ages through the Renaissance to the Baroque. Class participants will learn to understand some of the social, political and historical contexts that led to the formation of these styles. We will analyze and discuss the great works and monuments of the Florentine Renaissance directly on the spot in front of the actual works of art, and students will also be exposed to the diverse regional productions of the great cities of Rome and Venice and the Tuscan hill towns through museum visits and a field trip to Siena.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: ARTS 45089 International Experience: Studio Art

Description: Through a daily sketchbook practice in Florence, studio art students will observe and record their environment through drawing at locations such as: gardens, museums, churches, and the many scenic views of Florence. By sketching, taking visual field notes and using photography, students will create studio-based work that builds upon and distills their direct observations. Using techniques such as drawing, watercolors, image transfer, water-based monotype printmaking, and collage, students will create a series of artworks reflective of their experience living in Florence. This studio-based class will be influenced by and will complement the numerous museum and historic site visits which are part of the Florence Summer Institute experience. The sketchbook practice will act as a travel-log/diary documenting students' trips in the region, for example to Siena and the other destinations. Students will be introduced to artists, illustrators and scientists that utilize the sketchbook as way of seeing and understanding their environment. Each week, one to two days will be dedicated to site visits and/or sketching on location and other days will be working in the studio at Palazzo Vettori which has large art/architecture tables, a printmaking press with akua inks, and other printmaking materials that are provided.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name:  BSCI 30789 Feasts and Plagues: the Science of Italian Food, Wine and Disease

Course Description: This course explores the microbial mechanisms responsible for plagues such as the Black Death as well as for their positive roles in food and wine production. These costs and benefits are explored in Florence, Italy since each is ingrained in the city's history, culture, art, and biology. Course activities include food and wine tastings and field trips to historical sites and museums in Florence and Siena. This course is designed to appeal to students with a wide array of interests in human health and society. Students will analyze genomes of microbes responsible for human disease, discuss ecological and biological factors associated with disease transmission, construct cemetery life tables, discuss the impacts of disease on Italian art, architecture, and culture, master knowledge of the fermentation process, and compare and contrast the microbiomes and environments of vineyards in Tuscany vs. California.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: BSCI 40195 Poisons and Cures: The Power of Plants in the Renaissance and Beyond

Description: Florence during the Renaissance was a center of botanical knowledge, where plants were studied not only for their beauty but also for their medicinal and toxic properties. This interdisciplinary summer course explores the fascinating intersection of history, pharmacology, and plant biology, tracing how plants were used as both poisons and cures from the Renaissance to contemporary applications.

Students will examine the biochemical, ecological, and cultural roles of plants, learning how secondary metabolites function in plant defense, medicine, and human society. Through lectures, walking tours, and site visits, students will explore both historical and contemporary uses of medicinal plants, including visits to historic botanical gardens, markets, and pharmacies, experiencing firsthand the traditions of medicinal plant use and the design of medicinal gardens in Florence.

By the end of the course, students will understand how historical plant knowledge connects to modern pharmacology, plant biology, secondary metabolism, and the conservation of biodiversity.

The course is designed primarily for students in biology, neuroscience, plant sciences, pharmacology, horticulture, ecology, sustainability, and Italian studies, but all students from any major are welcome to participate.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: BUS 30234 International Business

Description: This course provides an introduction to different environments, theories and practices of international business. This course is designed for all students interested in international business, regardless of their principal academic discipline. Topics covered include globalization; international companies; sustainability; the impact and importance of culture; economic, financial, social, political environments; global strategies and structures; international marketing and entry modes. In order to facilitate these goals, students are expected to prepare, present their views, and actively participate in classroom discussions. The course provides a broad survey of the theoretical and practical aspects of management practice in Europe, introducing you the major financial, economic and socio – economic, physical, socio – cultural political, labor, competitive and distributive forces that characterize business in Europe. The course will help you to develop an increased awareness of the differences between European and North American business practices, and a better grasp of the impact of differences in business practices on the conduct of business internationally. The emphasis in this course is both on understanding and applying one’s knowledge of different management practices, using national cultures as an aid to understanding the evolution of various management practices.
We begin by analyzing the international business environment that connects the phenomenon of globalization with the national and cultural differences that characterize the countries in this economy. Next we will analyze, how to first define a strategy to enter foreign markets, select then a global company structure, and define a global marketing and pricing strategies. We will delve into some strategic and functional issues that characterize the management of organizations in the global marketplace.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites:

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: CCI 40089: Branding and Social Media Strategies for Italian Lifestyle

Description: The course will analyze the phenomenon of ‘made in Italy’ with a focus on fashion, food and design from a communication perspective. Students will have the chance to better understand the branding strategies effectively operating behind some of the most important Italian brands that make Italy and Italian productions fascinating and attracting for the foreign consumers and markets. The course will focus on PR, social media and advertising strategies that are central for contemporary brands and it will investigate the main strategic areas of ‘made in Italy’ and how they are communicated and promoted. Specific case studies will be presented and discussed in class.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

Open to all students. 

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: CCI 40189 Italian Pop Culture

Description:  This course is aimed at investigating Italian contemporary pop culture with a focus on celebrity culture, television and music in Italy. While investigating media, format, genres and imageries of contemporary Italian pop culture, students will be able to immerse themselves deeper into aspects of the Italian cultural identity that inform and shape pop culture narratives such as mafia, the Catholic/religious imagery etc. The course will investigate new practices of production and consumption of media content and it will take into consideration key concepts and practices that are central to the cultural industries such as genres, format, celebrity and adaptation by presenting and discussing different media products. While focusing on the Italian case, comparisons will be made with The U.S.A. and other European countries.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

Open to all students.

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: CCI 40289 Italian Cinema

Description: The course introduces the student to the world of Italian Cinema. In the first part the class will be analyzing Neorealism, a cinematic phenomenon that deeply influenced the ideological and aesthetic rules of film art. In the second part we will concentrate on the films that mark the decline of Neorealism and the talent of ‘new’ auteurs such as Fellini and Antonioni. The last part of the course will be devoted to the cinema from 1970s to the present in order to pay attention to the latest developments of the Italian industry. The course is a general analysis of post-war cinema and a parallel social history of this period using films as ‘decoded historical evidence’. Together with masterpieces such as Open City the screenings will include films of the Italian directors of  the ‘cinema d’autore’ such as Life is Beautiful and the 2004 candidate for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, I Am Not Scared. The class will also analyze the different aspects of filmmaking both in Italian and the U.S. industry where I had the pleasure to work for many years in the editing department on films such as Dead Poets Society and The Godfather: Part III. The films in DVD format are dubbed in English or sub-titled.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

Open to all students.

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: CLAS 21405 The Roman Achievement

Description: This course is an introduction to the history and culture of the Roman world, from the origins of Rome through its ascent to domination of the Mediterranean world, the troubled changes from Republic to Empire, and the flourishing of the city and its provinces during the Imperial period until its crisis and consequent fall during the 4th-5th centuries AD. Political and military organizations, religious beliefs towards life and death, social identity, entertainment, private life, familial relationships, sexuality and the changes of these assets and values throughout time are examined in this course by means of the most recent archaeological and historical approaches and debates. As we search together to unravel the historical, cultural and social significance of the Roman achievement, primary sources in translation will be used to provide a fresh look of how some political events were perceived, how Roman urban life and its agents were captured by the satirical descriptions of Juvenal and Martial, and how such a catastrophic event such as the eruption of the Vesuvius affected writers such as Pliny and Seneca.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

Kent Core Humanities & Global Diversity 

Open to all students.

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: COMM 37091 Let's Talk Fashion - Seminar in Communication and Popular Culture

Description: Fashion is a complex system of non-verbal communication. Our clothes signal meanings about identity, culture, and social norms. This course examines how discourses surrounding fashion construct and reproduce these meanings. Discourse shapes fashion culture, which includes the media and industry narrative. In other words, fashion discourses frame the clothing products and, eventually, shape the consumption practices and the social values we ascribe to certain fashion. It is through the combination of arts, aesthetics, and communication that clothes are transformed into a cultural experience. This course will provide students with an experience that bridges the rich fashion focus of KSU Florence with pop culture and discourse concepts rooted in communication theory and practice. It capitalizes on KSU strengths in Fashion as well as communication & media education to connect disciplines in the Florence context.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: COMM 45959 Nonverbal Communication: Florence Edition

Description: What can a crowded piazza, a designer storefront, a cathedral, an opera performance, and a simple hand gesture reveal about human communication? Through interactive excursions, people-watching, and hands-on field experiences, this class looks at how environment, movement, facial expressions, touch, posture, voice, and public behavior shape how we interact with others. Combining communication theory with travel, culture, self-discovery, and experiential learning, students will come away with valuable insights and communication skills to apply while in Florence as well as upon returning to the U.S.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: CRIM 37095 Born Criminal? The Italian Origins of Criminology

Description: This course focuses on studying crime and criminal behavior, aiming to address the question if criminals are born as such or made by their environments. Students will examine the history of criminological theory, which originated in Italy across the 1700s and 1800s. Students will explore how crime is defined, what makes a criminal, and how society should punish people who engage in crime. Students will also study Renaissance and Enlightenment era art and its influence on narratives of justice and visit several museums to see key pieces. This will include site visits to the Bargello, a historical courthouse and prison. Then, students will investigate the legacy of these Italian criminological theories in the US criminal justice system today.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: ECON 42295 Special Topics in Economics: The European Economy & the Euro

Description: Why did Europe created a single market and a single currency? And has it worked? This course explores the European economy through real-world questions: trade, jobs, inequality, crises, and the future of globalization. No prior economics background is required.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: Special Approval

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: ENG 38895/66895 Traveling and Writing

Description: Inspired by the environment—the landscape, art, culture, history, etc.—and by writers who have come before us, you may choose to write poetry, fiction, and/or nonfiction. As we try to absorb some portion of all we see and hear, we will employ Virginia Woolf’s practice of street haunting and consider Rainier Maria Rilke’s notion of inseeing. We will share poems or short vignettes, along with brief responses to readings, during classroom meetings, but half our time will be spent exploring. You will choose readings from a range of historical and contemporary poets and writers—from English-speaking travelers and expatriates like Mary and Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mina Loy, D. H. Lawrence, James Wright, Joseph Brodsky, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Rachel Cusk to Italians in translation like Boccaccio, Dante, Gaspara Stampa, Eugenio Montale, Cesare Pavese, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italo Calvino, and Patrizia Cavalli. Each week we will focus on a set of topics: art, myth, and religion; social justice and health care; history and politics; landscape and the environment. Related site visits will include places like the Basilica of Santa Trinita; the Museum of the Duomo; the Hospital of the Innocents Museum; the English Cemetery; Casa Guidi (home of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning); the Archaeological Area and Museum in the hillside town of Fiesole; the Cascine Park along the River Arno; and the Bardini Gardens and Villa. A longer work or a collection of polished poems or vignettes will be due at the end of the session.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: ENG 38895 Poets for Science: Ecopoetry and Environmental Writing in Florence

Description: Inspired by Florence as a site of convergence between art, science, and the natural world, this course invites students to explore ecopoetry and environmental writing as essential forms of attention and inquiry. Drawing from the Poets for Science initiative and the interdisciplinary mission of the Wick Poetry Center and the College of Sciences and Humanities, we will consider how writers engage the natural world and a changing climate through language. At a moment of increasing environmental urgency, this course emphasizes the vital role of the arts in shaping public understanding of science and fostering imaginative responses to climate and ecological challenges. Students may write poetry, hybrid forms, or creative nonfiction as they develop practices of observation grounded in both artistic and scientific ways of seeing.

As we move between classroom and city, we will take up observational practices rooted in early scientific study and poetic attention, considering how figures like Galileo Galilei, working under the patronage of the Medici family, helped shape a culture of empirical observation and scientific inquiry in Florence. We will consider how these histories intersect with poetic practices of deep attention and imaginative interpretation. Students will write from direct experiences, working in gardens, along river systems, and within museum collections, while also engaging contemporary ecopoets and interdisciplinary writers whose work bridges environmental science and the humanities.

Class time will be divided between workshop and field-based writing. Site visits will include the Giardino dei Semplici, one of Europe's oldest botanical gardens founded for the study of medicinal plants; the Boboli Gardens, developed by the Medici as a living laboratory of landscape design and environmental control; the La Specola Museum, home to early scientific collections in zoology, anatomy, and natural history; and the Arno River, a site for examining urban ecology, water systems, flooding, and climate impact in a historic city. Additional excursions may include nearby Tuscan landscapes that offer insight into agricultural traditions and biodiversity. 

Readings will pair Italian and Italian diasporic writers in translation, such as Eugenio Montale and Italo Calvino, with contemporary ecopoets such as Jorie Graham, Forrest Gander, and Camille Dungy. Students will produce weekly field journals, short creative responses, and collaborative or public-facing writing inspired by the Wick Poetry Center's interdisciplinary writing practices. A final portfolio of revised work will be due at the end of the session.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None (no previous writing or creative writing experience required)

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: ENG 41292 Teaching English as a Foreign Language Practicum

Description: (Repeatable for a maximum of 12 credits) The TEFL Practicum gives students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience teaching English in Florence, Italy. Through classroom observations, guided assisting, and independent teaching, students work in a variety of educational settings and develop practical skills for teaching English as a foreign language. Along the way, they design lesson plans, adapt and create instructional materials, and learn to make thoughtful pedagogical decisions in real classrooms. The course also encourages students to reflect critically on their own teaching and to learn from observing and discussing the teaching of others.

Credit Hours: 3-6 credit hours

Prerequisites:  (Pre or corequisite)

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: FDM 35589 Italian Fashion & Culture

Description: This class will examine the evolution of the fashion industry in Italy and the long tradition of art, craftsmanship, style and design that led to the success of the post-war era. We will study the history, creators, design and production processes with emphasis on the evolving roles of the fashion centers of Florence, Rome and Milan. The class will also examine the political, economic and industrial factors contributing to the creation of the Italian fashion system.  The lectures are supplemented by site visits and field trips to museums, artisans and factories.

*Students enrolled in this course will be responsible for an additional fee for field trips related to this course.*

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: Pre-approved Fashion Student

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: FDM 45589 Field Experience European Fashion Study Tour for Florence Students (ELR)

Description: (Repeatable for credit)Visit to European fashion markets including design and fabric houses or showrooms, retail stores, buying offices and other areas of the fashion industry.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: Fashion design or fashion merchandising major.

Only pre-approved Fashion students may register for this course.

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name:  GEOG 31080 Geography of Wine

Description: Learn about the physical environment of viticulture, including climate, soil and farm practices; the cultural tradition of wine making, consumption and trade; and regional production styles of Tuscany.

*This course has an additional course fee of $100 per student. Optional wine tastings are included in the course only for students who are 21 years or older.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

Course Name:  HDF 44089 Families in Florence, Italy: Love, Parenting and Policy

Course Description: The course explores the concepts of love, parenting, and social policy in the context of family experiences of Florence, Tuscany, and Italy. We aim to use the city of Florence as our classroom. In this course, we’ll explore how historical family honor, rituals, culture, and social context continue to influence the modern Florentine family. Students will engage in naturalistic observation of modern Florentine couples and families and explore historic family honor and power through art and fashion. We’ll work to identify family rituals and traditions passed down from the Roman empire and explore how modern social policies and culture influence love, relationships, and family. We’ll also pay particular attention to love and parenting from an Italian perspective. 

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

This course is offered through the Stark Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for regional campus tuition.

Course Name: HDF 45089 Lifespan Development Practices and Outcomes

Description: This course will explore lifespan development through the lens of Italian culture, policy, religions, and practices. Class will be spent visiting the local markets and observing historical sites, and observing everyday life while learning about the influence of gender, social roles, and state policy on child, adolescent, and adult outcomes. Students may have the opportunity to engage with Florentines while talking with local guest speakers. 

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

This course is offered through the Stark Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for regional campus tuition.

Course Name: HM 33031 Food, Wine and Beverage Pairing

Description:  This course provides students with knowledge of the sensory relationship of Food, Wine, Beer and other Spirits and the important role this process has on Hospitality Operations. Course topics will include developing an understanding of wine, beer and food pairing as a hierarchical process, gastronomic identity, Old and New World traditions, and traditional and non-traditional gastronomic pairings. Menu development and cooking play an important role in this class.

*This course has an additional course fee of $350 per student. Students must be 21 years of age or older to enroll.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: Special Approval 

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: ITAL 15201 Elementary Italian I

Description: An introduction to the Italian language in the context of Italian culture.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites: None

Open to all students.

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: MATH 10041 Introductory Statistics

Description: An introduction to statistical thinking and statistical methods. Emphasis is on statistical literacy, conceptual understanding and active learning in the classroom. No credit earned for this course if a student already earned credit for MATH 10040. Students who do not meet the prerequisites but do have a minimum of 3.5 high school GPA should contact the department for approval to register. 

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites: Minimum 22 math ACT score; or minimum 520 math SAT score; or minimum 35 ALEKS® math assessment score; or minimum C (2.0) grade in MATH 00022; or any higher-level MATH course.

This course is offered through the Trumbull Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for regional campus tuition. 

Course Name: MKTG 45060  International Marketing

Description: The course provides a comprehensive overview of international marketing issues characterizing international companies in foreign markets. It will introduce students to the international markets and the principles underlying the development and implementation of marketing strategies across and within foreign countries. Topics include: political, cultural, and legal environmental changes as new competitive challenges for companies involved in international businesses, international marketing strategies (domestic market expansion, multi-domestic marketing, and global marketing), multicultural marketing researches, international segmentation and competitive positioning, and international marketing mix in terms of product, distribution, communication and price decisions. During lessons the students are expected to prepare, present their views, and actively participate in classroom. In order to facilitate their participation, lessons include discussions of cases and the viewing of videos on international marketing experiences. The course is designed to stimulate curiosity about international marketing practices of companies, which seek global market opportunities and to raise the student's consciousness about the importance of an international marketing perspective in the international business management.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites:  or  or 

Open to all students with prerequisites.

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name:  MUS 22111 Understanding Western Music in Florence 

Description: This course offers a unique opportunity to explore the history of Western music, taking advantage of Florence's deep musical connections‚ from Landini and the birth of opera to Dallapiccola‚ while fully immersing yourself in the city's rich musical, architectural, and artistic heritage. Highlights include visits to significant landmarks such as the Roman amphitheater, the Baroque-era Pergola Theater, the Bargello Museum, the Davanzati Medieval Home, the cupola of the cathedral, and the Accademia. Students will also have the chance to attend live, including Gregorian chant by the Benedictine monks of the 1,000-year-old Church of San Miniato and operas at the renowned Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: MUS 22121 Music as a World Phenomenon in Florence

Course Description: An introduction to music as a world phenomenon. Study of selected art, folk and popular music from world cultures through live performances, tapes, films, video tapes and readings.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: MUS 22131 Survey of Rock Music

Description: This 4-week study-abroad course surveys rock music history from its pre-rock roots through the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and contemporary global media culture. Students study major artists, recordings, musical styles, cultural events, and technologies that shaped rock music. Because the course is taught in Florence, students also examine how rock, pop, soul, punk, reggae, hip-hop, and contemporary media circulate outside the United States through Italian youth culture, tourism, live performance, visual culture, and digital platforms.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

This course is offered through the Stark Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for regional campus tuition.

Course Name: NURS 40005 Professional Nursing Development

Description: This course focuses on professional development and transition from student to graduate nurse. Emphasis is on professional role development through exploration of contemporary nursing issues in healthcare economics; diversity, equity and inclusion of the workforce; nursing theory; the future of nursing and health care; and the importance of self-care and lifelong learning. Students are encouraged to apply critical thinking strategies and self-reflection during classroom discussions, assignments and presentations.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: NURS 30010 and NURS 30020 with minimum C grade.

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: NURS 40089 International Healthcare Policies

Description: This course looks at the organizational and societal context in which health care is delivered in specific countries worldwide. A historical perspective is developed early during the semester. Building on this, the course explores existing health care policies in a specific population or country. This course further examines existing health networks, forms of care delivery, consumer needs and economics and funding for an identified population.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: NURS 20030 or NURS 20040; and special approval. 

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: PH 43089 Pandemics that Shaped the World

Description: This course examines the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bubonic plague, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and pandemic influenza outbreaks to introduce students to infectious disease microbiology, core concepts of epidemiology, and the fundamentals of pandemic planning. Epidemiological principles be used to explain how pandemics erupt and propagate. Evaluation of pandemic consequences will also be explored. Inherent in the course's discussion are the social determinants that fuel pandemic outbreaks and slow recovery. We will discuss topics that combine aspects of infectious disease, pandemic planning, emergency response, and pandemic-related health care. Examples of emerging infectious diseases and threats of bioterrorism are discussed as potential new pandemics for which creative solutions are still required. Students take field trips to assess cultural changes resulting from the impact of historical pandemics.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: POL 40589 Human Trafficking, Political Corruption, and the Mafia

Description: Every year, tens of thousands of migrants and refugees attempt to cross the Mediterranean in search of safety, economic opportunity, and political stability in Europe. Along the way, many are exploited by human trafficking and migrant smuggling networks that profit from human desperation while operating in environments shaped by corruption, weak governance, and organized crime. Italy has become one of the central entry points into Europe for migrants crossing from North Africa and the Middle East, making it an ideal setting for examining the political, ethical, and policy dimensions of migration. 

This course examines the relationship between irregular migration, human trafficking, political corruption, organized crime, and democratic governance, with particular attention to the Italian context. Students will explore the socio-economic and political conditions that drive migration, the operation of trafficking and smuggling networks, the role of organized criminal organizations such as the Mafia, and the political responses that have emerged in Europe and the United States. The course also examines how migration pressures have contributed to the rise of populist political movements, debates over national identity and border security, and broader concerns about democratic governance.

By studying these issues in Florence and through site visits and engagement with Italian history and institutions, students will gain a deeper understanding of migration as both a humanitarian and political challenge with significant implications for contemporary democracy and public policy.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None (waived)

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: PSYC 41495 Emotions, Culture & Health

Description: Emotions are central in all psychological and many physiological processes. Moreover, emotions are robustly evident in daily life in both culture and in health. In this class, we will investigate the science of emotions and health as well as the broader role that emotions play in society. In particular, we will participate in a century-old yet still pressing debate as to the underlying nature of emotion: biological vs. cultural. We will discuss evolutionary and socio-cultural models of emotion as well as observe emotions elicited and expressed in both art and society. Our primary goal: to attempt to resolve this debate based on evidence accumulated throughout the course.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.

Course Name: PWS 10041 Mindful Movement

Description: This course uses movement-based contemplative practices to glean many of the benefits of traditional meditation, i.e., to build awareness that emerges through paying attention, on purpose, without judgment. The ultimate goal is to aid students in enhancing self-care and improving emotional and physical adaptations for healthier living. Students will learn experientially and conceptually how to develop their capacity to enhance mind-body awareness of present-moment experience. Movement based practices will include yoga, tai chi, knitting and contemplative walking.

Study abroad experiences are exciting and transformational, but they can also present challenges. Some challenges may be cultural adjustment, home sickness, academic rigor, daily stresses as well as other challenges. Meditative (mindful) movements can offer support for cultural presence, physical wellbeing, stress reduction, and reflective learning while abroad.

Credit Hours: 1

Prerequisites: None

This course is offered through the Tuscarawas Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tusc/tuition-fees to find costs for Tuscarawas campus tuition.

Course Name: SPA 44089/54089 Mind the Gap: Talking, Thinking, and the Space Between Us

Description: Communication is not just about exchanging information—it’s also about navigating misunderstandings, cultural differences, and the mental space between speakers. This course explores the cognitive and social foundations of conversation, with a focus on how we talk, miscommunicate, and ultimately learn from one another. Drawing on theories from cognitive science, psycho and socio-linguistics, students will investigate how ambiguity, reference, and shared knowledge shape everyday communication. Set in the culturally rich environment of Florence, this course encourages students to reflect on their own communication habits while engaging in real-world interactions. Emphasis will be placed on the productive role of miscommunication in learning and cultural exchange. Students will leave the course with a deeper understanding of the mental mechanisms behind conversation and practical tools to become more effective and empathetic communicators in both personal and global contexts.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: None

This course is offered through the Kent Campus.  Please review course tuition at /tuition to find costs for Kent campus tuition.