Syracuse Academy offers international educational programs aimed at promoting human and environmental peace, prosperity, equity, and justice. We are a mission-driven, values-driven organization dedicated to cultural exchange, community building, holistic sustainable development, and the belief that no person or place should be left behind in the pursuit of societal advancement.

As a Sicilian organization, we are committed to promoting the island's health and vitality, as well as the health and vitality of its inhabitants, institutions, and natural ecosystems, including land and marine biodiversity and climate change resilience, while also addressing regional and global issues.

We believe that international educational institutions should provide innovative, collaborative, and intercultural learning experiences while also attempting to provide major advantages to the local and global communities through proactive participation. Intercultural student learning and development takes place best within the framework of purposeful, subject-focused, and experiential education that also supports community sustainability, well-being, equity, prosperity, and opportunity.


Environment and Biodiversity in the Mediterranean
Focus on the ecological challenges that marine and terrestrial environments face, as well as the conservation models and strategies that are being implemented in the Mediterranean region.

This Study Track program focuses on Critical Global Issues, as identified within the framework of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. 
Each study track has a selection of one to five taught or research-based courses depending on the study length a student chooses: Summer Terms (4 or 8 weeks), Semesters (12 weeks), or full Academic Years (26 weeks). 

Not all classrooms have four walls. All our programs are designed with the fundamental principle that we view Syracuse, our city and home, as a living laboratory within which students can engage with Critical Global Issues in real-life contexts. 

With 2 state-of-the-art Study Centers and longstanding partnerships with local research and higher education institutions, Syracuse Academy serves as a gateway for international students and scholars to unlock the wide array of academic resources and opportunities available in Sicily and in the Central Mediterranean region.

This Study Track asks the fundamental question: How to preserve a biodiversity hotspot? The program then attempts to answer this question by offering one to five courses on key aspects of Sicily's geography and environmental future. Because Sicily has been a central crossroads of human activity for thousands of years, it provides a unique perspective on all of the issues and challenges associated with accommodating the coexistence of humans and indigenous flora and fauna within the densely populated and polluted Mediterranean basin. Addressing these issues necessitates a basic understanding of Mediterranean ecology.

The largest island in the Mediterranean, in fact, provides a diverse palette of habitats and ecosystems: marine, coastal, inland, and high-mountainous, owing to the presence of the Mt. Etna volcano. The ability to combine classes with field activities provides students with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to directly observe the subjects of their studies.

Courses in this Study Track include: 

• Marine Ecology: Fisheries & Biodiversity in the Mediterranean
• Volcanoes of Sicily: Living with Giants
• Mediterranean Food Systems: Identity, Innovation & Labor Rights
• Field Research in Sicily: Systems Thinking & Sustainability
• Italian Language and Culture