Program Dates: May 10 - June 2, 2026*
Early Application Process
APPLICATION DEADLINE: August 28, 2025
NOTIFICATION DEADLINE: September 4, 2025
COMMITMENT DEADLINE: September 11, 2025
Basic Estimated Program Cost: $3,100† (including the $300 deposit)
Standard Application Process
APPLICATION DEADLINE: October 16, 2025
NOTIFICATION DEADLINE: October 23, 2025
COMMITMENT DEADLINE: October 30, 2025
Basic Estimated Program Cost: $3,100† (including the $300 deposit)
* May 10 is the last possible day to depart US for Italy (May 11 - arrival date).
† Approximate 2026 cost, including deposit. The final program fee is subject to change depending on student enrollment.
Course Description:
The courses offered on this program are designed for undergraduate students with career goals in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, veterinary medicine, biological and biomedical sciences, exercise science, nutrition, research, and teaching.
The setting for the UGA Cortona Program is the small, quiet, walled hilltown of Cortona, Italy. Centrally located within the Tuscany region on the crest of Mont S. Egidio overlooking the vast Val di Chiana, Cortona is surrounded by beautiful olive groves, vineyards, rich valley farmland and immense history.
The town of Cortona is a veritable museum that offers the student a rich artistic and historical environment that reveals itself through fine examples of Etruscan, Roman, Romanesque, and Renaissance art and architecture. Since 1970, the small community of Cortona and the University have shared a mutual tradition of goodwill and respect where the local government and citizens provide generous support and encouragement to the Program and its students.
In this idyllic environment, the UGA Cortona - Science Maymester Program provides a challenging opportunity for the serious student who wishes to combine international travel with an intensive period of classroom work while merging with the lifestyle and culture of a typical Italian community. Students live in a newly renovated 15th century monastery that provides premium studio spaces and living quarters with historic surroundings.
Academic Program
Course Offerings:
BCMB 3433 — Biology for Medicine (4 credit hours)
Prerequisite: BIOL 1107 or equivalent.
University of Georgia Faculty: Dr. Zachary Wood, Dr. Walter Schmidt
ARHI 2121 — Introduction to Italian Art (3 credit hours)
Students will learn how to appreciate, analyze, and think critically about original works of art in situations unlike the traditional art appreciation or art history classes. The emphasis will be on seeing and discussing actual works of art in their cultural settings, not reproductions through digital images. Each student will be given a specific work that they will prepare in advance in order to present to the class on site.
2026 Tentative Program Itinerary
First Half of the Program:
- Orientation in Cortona
- Visits to:
- Piazza
- Cathedral and Diocesan Museum
- Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca
- San Francesco and San Domenico
- Santa Margherita
- San Niccolò and Santa Chiara
- Duomo Complex
- Baptisery
- Piazza del Campo
- Palazzo Pubblico
- Excursion to Florence:
- Brancacci Chapel
- Museo dell'opera del duomo
- Santa Croce
- Cappella Medici
- Castagno Last Supper
- San Lorenzo
- Uffizi
Second Half of the Program:
- Return to Cortona
- Day visit to Orvieto:
- Orvieto Cathedral and San Brizio Chapel
- Sant'Agostino
- Excursion to Rome:
- Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo
- Borghese Park
- Galleria Borghese
- Capitoline Museums
- Santa Maria della Vittoria
- San Carlino
- Sant' Andrea alQuirinale
- Dioscuri
- Trevi
- The Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona
- San Luigi dei Francesi
- Pantheon
- Minerva
- Vatican Museums
- Program ends and departs from Rome
Housing and Meals
Breakfast:
A continental breakfast is served every morning at the Kehoe Building. Continental breakfast consists of bread, jam, fruit juice, and coffee or tea. Students who want or need additional food for breakfast may buy groceries and keep them in the student refrigerator.
Lunches:
Lunch while in Cortona and on field trips will be on your own. In Cortona, there are many options for an inexpensive quick lunch at local grocery stores and bars, as well as numerous full-service restaurants. For lunch, sandwiches are available at most bars and grocery stores in town. A "toast" in Italy is a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, and most bars will offer other choices as well. Any of the grocery stores in town will prepare a sandwich made to your specifications or you can buy your own fruit, cheese and bread. The range of restaurants in Cortona varies from first-class full menu restaurants to more inexpensive places where you can order a pizza or a plate of pasta. If you would like to go to a full-service restaurant for lunch, the prices will generally be higher and you will pay for service. A cover charge is automatically added to your bill and you are also expected to tip your waiter. Sitting down in a restaurant means possible waiting times, as food in Italy is cooked only after you order it. In Cortona, smaller family-run restaurants are usually fairly inexpensive and provide an opportunity to make friends with the Cortonese.
Dinners:
Evening meals are shared as a group according to the Maymester program itinerary (typically 4 nights a week) during Maymester programs. While in Cortona, the group meals will be covered by a well-known and respected restaurant in the region. Students are responsible for their weekend dinners and can choose to prepare their meals or eat at one of the many restaurants in Cortona.
Program Costs
Tuition is not included in program fee. See bursar.uga.edu for tuition rates. Students take both courses. The cost of the program includes:
- Program Deposit (due after acceptance to program) - applied towards total program cost
- International Health Insurance (UGA requirement)
- Charter bus transportation on all planned field trips
- Charter bus transportation from beginning cities to Cortona, and from Cortona to program ending city
- Shared hotel accommodations when traveling and dorm in Cortona
- Breakfast and dinner while traveling with the program group (Breakfast only while in Rome)
- Dinner 4 days a week while in Cortona
- Breakfast 7 days a week while in Cortona
- Program t-shirt
Should you require additional information, please contact us by e-mail at
Scholarships
Scholarship opportunities are available for UGA Cortona students. Click here to learn more.
Accommodation Statement
UGA education abroad programs strive to provide reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. Areas of disability include, but are not limited to visual, hearing, learning, psychological, medical, and mobility impairments. If you receive disability-related accommodations at UGA or at your home university, or if you anticipate needing accommodations at your overseas site, you will arrange for them with your study abroad program director and the staff in the Disability Resource Center. Examples of accommodations include note taking assistance, extended test time, a quiet testing location, alternative text/media, and accessible housing. Please provide information about your accommodation needs at least 4 weeks prior to departure in order to allow time to arrange for accommodations. Students are asked to disclose disability-related needs prior to the start of the program to help ensure that there are no delays in accommodations and that the student can enjoy the full study abroad experience.