Riva San Vitale, Spring 2008
College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences

Welcome to Riva San Vitale, Switzerland Spring 2008 Program Virginia Tech's Center for European Studies and Architecture (CESA) in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland is the university's European campus center and base for operations and support of its programs in the region. The center's location in Ticino, the Italian-speaking canton of Switzerland, is also close to major northern Italian cities such as Milan. Each spring the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences sponsors an academic program based in Riva.  Approximately thirty students will live and study in Villa Maderni, Virginia Tech's two hundred year old villa.  In order to help students prepare for this experience, this website contains much information which will be of use to both students and parents. Again, welcome.  The spring semester in Riva looks to be a very exciting one!

Flight Information

Packing Suggestions

Program: Courses and Credits

Students in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland at Virginia Tech’s Center for European Studies and Architecture (CESA) in Spring 2008 will enroll in 16 credits.  For Spring 2008, students will take the following courses:

PSCI 2984 Dr. Richard Rich: "The Politics of Sustainability"

PSCI 4984 Dr. Richard Rich: "European Environmental Policy"

Books for Dr. Rich’s two classes

HUM 4104 Dr. Ann-Marie Knoblauch: "Etruscans, Greeks and Romans in Europe"
This course examines the literary, historical and especially archaeological evidence for three ancient cultures making a significant mark on Europe, particularly in the first millennium BCE. We'll focus on cultural "arrivals" in myth and archaeology, the different facets of colonization and contact, and political and military posturing of the groups in relation to each other and their local environments.

ART 3004 Dr. Ann-Marie Knoblauch: "Art in Context: A History of European Museums and Collections"
This course investigates the history of art collecting in Europe, from Roman emperors to Renaissance popes, the private collections of kings and the elite, and the formation of state museums. What historical, social, political and/or personal biases determine the contents, growth and display of an art collection?  Essentially, we want to know not just what is in a museum and/or collection, but where things came from and how they got there; who made the decisions about their display and how those decisions were made.

Books for Dr. Knoblauch's two classes

Italian 1106, Signora Eva Vadilonga

CLA 3954, 1 credit, Study Abroad Experience

These courses typically fulfill core electives such as Area 2, 3, 6, and 7.  Classes are taught in English by award winning Virginia Tech faculty.  These classes are designed to take full advantage of being taught in Europe; academic trips will include visits to sites important to the classes.

Calendar and Trip Information:

• Southern Trip
• Northern Trip
• Calendar
  

When in Riva, classes meet Monday through Thursday in the Villa Maderni.  Students are required to attend every class (held in the classroom when in Riva, held on site when traveling). In addition to traditional textbooks, other "textbooks" will be the sites and museums visited. Each of these acts like a text, and students will learn to “read” them too.

In Fall 07, the semester prior, students will also be enrolled in Italian 1105 and CLA 3954 Study Abroad Pre-Course.

Lodging and Meals

In Riva San Vitale, students live either in apartments in town (all within a five minute walk of the Villa) or at Virginia Tech's Villa Maderni, a 200 year old villa (Center for European Studies and Architecture, Via Settala 8, 6826 Riva San Vitale, Switzerland; www.oired.vt.edu/cesa).  Classes and meals are taken in the Villa.  Rooms are doubles, triples, and quads, whether in the Villa or in the apartments.  The Villa includes classroom spaces, dining room, rooms with frescoed ceilings, a library, computer facilities (wireless as well) and an immaculate garden.  Riva San Vitale is a town of about 2000; it's quiet, beautiful, and situated on Lake Lugano.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served each day.

Costs

Cost for Spring semester 2008 includes two parts:

1) Tuition and room and board, billed by the Virginia Tech Bursar in the normal fashion.  Study Abroad tuition is a bit cheaper than on-campus tuition, but room and board is a bit higher.  Tuition and room and board fees are set by Virginia Tech Bursar.  For estimated costs, see http://www.bursar.vt.edu/tuition/index.php  Scroll (all the way) down to find Center for European Studies and Architecture.

2) Program Fee, $3500: includes travel (lodging, most meals, and transportation) on academic trips, approximately three weeks, as well as entrances to museums, monuments and historical sites, transportation to those sites, and guides.  In addition, Program Fee includes airfare from Dulles to Milan Malpensa, the closest major airport, and transfer to and from Riva San Vitale, Switzerland, at the beginning and the end of the semester.  Program Fee will have set due dates for installments.  The Program Fee is billed by the Bursar, but the account is administered by the Spring Riva program.

3) T-Pay Form: This form must accompany each payment you make for this study abroad program. If you forget to use it, your money could potentially be applied to something other than your Spring 2008 in Riva. Please remember to use this form when you pay.

Tentative due dates for the Program Fee are as follows.  All dates are 2007.

March 19th or upon acceptance letter: $150

April 23rd: $350

Sept 24th: $1000

Oct 22nd: $750

Nov 12th: $750

Dec 10th: $500

Program Fee does not include textbooks, personal spending money, personal incidentals, and personal travel.

4) Deposits ( $$ ) you need to pay CESA on arrival.

Requirements:

1).  Acceptance into the program.

2).  Student must be in good academic standing at Virginia Tech.

3).  Valid passport.  No visa is necessary.

4).  Completion and submission of all required forms (see list below).  Student must keep copies of these forms to provide to the administrators on site in Riva as well.

5). Complete payment of program fee.

6).  In particular, completion of Citizen Rights and Responsibility form.  Virginia Tech reserves the right to send home any student who shows evidence of not abiding by the rules laid out in this policy.

7) Participation in the fall 07 Pre-Course and Italian 1105.

Pre-Course, Fall 2007, CLA 3954:

This course, one credit, serves as an orientation to your spring 2008 semester in Riva San Vitale. Each meeting will have a particular topic. We will consider the history of Switzerland, introduce you to the town of Riva, and the canton of Ticino, and prepare you for your semester there.

Preparatory Information

1. U.S. Passport Application Information
2. Virginia Tech's Office International Research and Development Webpage on Riva
   This site is a tremendous resource on Riva for both students and parents (e.g. packing, health insurance, financial aid, signing up for courses for next year, and more are just some of the topics it covers). It also contains many images of Casa Maderni and of town.
3. Virginia Tech Education Abroad Pre-Departure Information
   This page is only one of many on the Virginia Tech Education Abroad website. This one provides information for students as they prepare to depart. This is a must visit site.
4. Official Swiss Webpage for Riva San Vitale
   The official page of Riva San Vitale, it is in Italian. It's a good place for you to practice your Italian. Take a look through its many pages.

Required Forms:

1. Health Insurance Certificate
   Please verify your health insurance information and submit the Health Insurance Certificate. It is your responsibility to understand how your personal health insurance policy covers you overseas. We encourage you to consider purchasing insurance for personal liability, property loss, trip cancellation, etc.
2. The Program Liability Agreement verifies that you understand the risks associated with study abroad.
3. Emergency Contact Form
   The Emergency Contact Form is necessary so that our office knows who to call in case you have an emergency in your host country.
4. Optional Form: Authorization for Release of Information
   Many students who study abroad have parents or family members who would like to speak with someone in Education Abroad. Please note that we cannot release any information to your loved ones unless you have filed a signed Authorization for Release of Information form to the Education Abroad Office, or completed the Authorization section of the Emergency Contact Form.
5. Citizenship Expectations and Responsibility Form

Contact Information at Virginia Tech:

1) Trudy Harrington Becker and Andrew S. Becker
Co-Directors, Study Abroad in Riva San Vitale
email: thbecker@vt.edu; andrew.becker@vt.edu

2) Lois Doherty, Administrative Assistant
email: doherty@vt.edu

Contact information:
1) Paul L. Knox
University Distinguished Professor
Senior Fellow for International Advancement
Office of the President and Director of CESA
email: knox@vt.edu

2) Daniela Doninelli, Managing Director, Riva
email: daniela@vt.edu
phone: 011 41 91 648 3652

3) In the Villa: Downstairs: 011 41 91 648 3496
Upstairs: 011 41 91 648 3096
These are student phones.