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The School for Field Studies (SFS) Italy - Sustaining Traditions: Food, Farming, and Climate (Semester) (Directory Program)

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  • Locations: Greve, Italy
  • Program Terms: Fall, Spring
  • Homepage: Click to visit
  • Program Sponsor: The School for Field Studies (SFS) 
Fact Sheet:
Fact Sheet:
Click here for a definition of this term Language of Instruction: English Click here for a definition of this term Class Status: 1-first year, 2-sophomore, 3-junior, 4-senior, 5-grad student
Housing Options: Apartment (shared) Click here for a definition of this term Areas of Study: Agriculture, Anthropology, Biochemistry, Biology, Botany, Ecology, Environmental Studies, Food Technology and Management, Geography, Human Rights, Mathematics & Statistics, Molecular Biology, Policy and Society, Political Science, Politics, Public Health, Sociology, Sustainability
Program Type: Field Study, Study Abroad Minimum GPA: 2.7
Program Description:

SFS ITALY: SUSTAINING TRADITIONS: FOOD, FARMING, AND CLIMATE
(SEMESTER)

Italy

PROGRAM DETAILS

Terms | Fall, Spring
 
Credits | 18 semester-hour credits
 
Prerequisites | One semester of college-level ecology, biology, or environmental studies/science | 2.7 GPA | 18 years of age
 
Application Deadline | Fall: May 15. Spring: November 15. Early applications encouraged!
 
Financial Aid | All accepted students can apply for need-based scholarships, grants, and loans.

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OVERVIEW

Stone terraces, chestnut groves, and coastal lagoons form a living tapestry where food, culture, and ecology are inseparable. Students kneel in vineyards to survey pollinators, track wolves along ridgelines, and study soil and water management in citrus groves, while working with cooperatives adapting to climate shifts and global markets. Students collaborate with local cooperatives during harvest season, gaining insight into sustainable food systems and agricultural practices. Yet across rural Italy, fields are abandoned even as predators reclaim old ranges and traditions strain to survive. The tension is vivid, but so too are models of renewal.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

→ Track biodiversity in Orbetello’s lagoon with artisanal fishers responding to rising salinity, policy shifts, and ecological decline.

→ Explore food’s biocultural roots during a weeklong Sicilian excursion, where Greek and Arab agricultural legacies echo through landscape, language, and cuisine.

→ Analyze agroecosystem resilience in Chianti and Maremma by assessing soil, water, and landscape indicators across working farms.

→ Share meals and language in family kitchens, where recipes and conversations open cultural and linguistic doors.

→ Conduct Directed Research: frame a stakeholder-driven question, collect and analyze field data with faculty guidance, and present actionable findings to local partners.

RESEARCH THEMES

  • Conservation of Local Agrobiodiversity by Farmers
  • Climate Change Impacts on Food Production
  • Sustainability of Organic Agriculture and Small-Scale Fisheries
  • Livestock-Wolf Conflict Management
  • Stewardship of Endangered Heritage Livestock Breeds
  • Multifunctional Forest Management

CORE SKILLS

  • Research Design and Implementation
  • Quantitative/Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis
  • Questionnaire Development
  • Stakeholder Interviews
  • Basic Statistical Analysis
  • Monetary Valuation Techniques
  • Multicriteria Analysis
  • Biodiversity Assessments
  • Population Monitoring
  • Animal Behavior Observation
  • GIS and Mapping
  • Biodiversity Survey Techniques
  • Scientific Writing and Communication
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• Email: admissions@fieldstudies.org

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