Application and Fees

·   Admission requirements
·   Application procedure
·   Deadlines
·   Fees
·   Financial aid
·   For students from UT Austin

      Before you apply please be sure to have read the admission requirements, the application procedure, and the deadlines and the fees and payment section below. Even if you contact us directly, you will still need to complete the application form by clicking on the button below. When completing the application form, you will be asked to indicate your housing preferences.

When ready, please click here:

Download registration forms here (to be sent only after your application has been accepted):    Release and waiver of liability    Travel info form

·   Admission requirements

RILA is more intellectually demanding than most ordinary study abroad programs. It requires above all a motivation to pursue ideas, not simply to see the sights of Rome. In addition, a certain maturity is required to live abroad. Hence applications will be accepted only from those students who:

• Will be at least 18 years old by the date they apply to RILA
• Will have completed at least one year of college before the date the RILA course begins
• Are in good academic and disciplinary standing (or have graduated)

·   Application procedure

     Step 1

     Apply online or mail your application to the Rome Institute of the Liberal Arts. In either case, you also need to send us the following:

• Unofficial transcripts of all post-secondary school work to date.
• Brief personal statement (1/2 - 1 page in length, simply say a little about yourself and your motivation to come to RILA).
• A $150 initial charge, 2/3 of which will be deducted from the final total amount for the course, while 1/3 will cover the application costs. The sum will be reimbursed to you if your application is not accepted, minus a $50 application fee retained by RILA.

     Please make checks payable to Rome Institute of Liberal Arts.

     Please be aware that housing options will be assigned in the order in which we receive the applications (if your application comes last you have a lesser chance of getting the housing option of your choice). Your application will not be effective until we have received all required documentation and fees. Shortly after receipt of them all, we will notify you by e-mail.

     Step 2

     Accepted students should then download, print out and send us the registration forms and fees before registration deadline. If the student is under 21 years of age, some of the forms will need a parent/guardian's signature.

     After registration, please check the Student Life page on this website for additional information about your trip and time in Rome.

     In case of withdrawal or cancellation, please check our cancellation policy (link at the bottom of any page).

·   Deadlines

     The deadline to complete the on line application and send all the required documents and fees is February20th . Application deadline for financial aid is February 13th. Please check the "Financial aid" section at the bottom of this page for details.  The deadline to send us back the registration forms and to complete the full payment of all fees is February 29th.

     Please be aware that RILA has a strict policy about deadlines. In case you have problems respecting the given dates, please let us know about it as soon as possible and we'll try to work with you at a solution. If we don't hear from you and your registration documents and fees are more than 2 days late, a late fee of $50 will be applied and it will be doubled after 3 more days.

     In case of withdrawal, please check our cancellation policy.

top of page

·   Fees

Four Week Course                 Tuition:     $ 2,800       Housing:     $ 815 - 1,625  *

*Housing fee varies according to the type of accomodation:

Four Week Course           Apartment shared with two other students, price per person :    $  812 Apartment shared with one other student, price per person :    $  1,015 Single studio apartment, price for one person :    $  1,625

     Please be aware that due to the euro/dollar exchange rate, housing fees may be subject to slight changes. Nevertheless, we guarantee that once payment for housing is mailed in we will not request further payment, even if exchange rates change.

     The expenses listed below can be used as guides for financial planning but vary greatly with individual habits, independent travel, and exchange rates.

     Other probable expenses not included in fees paid to RILA:

·   Financial Aid

     RILA is happy to announce the availability of several scholarships for next summer programs:

• Two "Ahmanson Scholarships" each for full tuition costs for one of RILA four week programs (travel and accommodation expenses are not covered by these scholarships). The Ahmanson scholarships are reserved for St. John's students only;
• The new "Don and Harriett Long Scholarship" that covers full tuition (no accommodation or travel expenses) for a four week program. The Long Scholarship is also reserved for St. John's students only;
• Two "RILA scholarships" for 50% of tuition (no accommodation or travel expenses) for any of RILA four week programs. The RILA scholarships are open to students from any institution;

Each of the scholarships will be assigned on the basis of merit. To apply for any of the scholarships please follow the instructions below.

     Given the limited number of scholarships available, we invite those students who can afford to pay full tuition costs to leave the scholarship opportunities for those who most need them. Students awarded the scholarships are expected to request the least expensive housing option, namely, shared apartment with two other people.

     To apply for a scholarship, please follow the normal application procedure to apply to be enroll in a RILA class. In addition, send us an e-mail at info@rilarts.org identifying yourself and indicating the course of your choice. Attach to your message a one page (max 400 words) essay on the theme of the course you intend to apply to. Please do not put your name on the essay. You will receive an initial message from us to confirm that we have received your request and all the required documents and fee. About one week after the deadline for scholarship requests, you will receive a second message that will inform you whether or not you have been granted a scholarship. If you are offered one, you will have three days to confirm by e-mail that you intend to accept the scholarship and complete your registration. Failure to send a confirmation e-mail within three days will cause you to lose the scholarship. Once you have accepted the scholarship, you may then complete registration following the normal procedure.

     Your request for financial aid will not be evaluated until you complete your on-line application and send in all required application documents and fees.
Deadline for scholarship requests is February 13th.
top of page

·   For students from UT Austin

     Austin students that wish to apply financial aid towards the RILA classes must complete a two-week supplement along with the four-week course, so that they receive six credits for the six weeks. For further details about this, contact the UT financial aid or study abroad office.

     In the two-week extension you meet in class and in excursions with a smaller number of students and work closely with just one tutor. In the "Beauty and the Sacred" course, the two- week supplement continues the readings in Hegel's Aesthetics, while in the "Empire and the Soul" course, readings are in Shakespeare's Roman Plays. There is also a reading period and a final take home exam. For academic details, contact the academic director (gpihas@rilarts.org).

     Two-week extension fees

     The type of accommodation available for the supplementary two weeks can only be determined after applications arrive, when we know the number of students in the program. The optional Italian course can also be extended in the supplementary two weeks for an additional fee based on the number of students. Please understand you might not assigned the same kind of accommodation you have in the first four weeks of the course.
top of page