Study Abroad 

The resources of the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area are many, but your education at the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation can be further enriched by diverse study-abroad opportunities. 

In the summer and winter academic periods, students and faculty participate in study programs in locations across Europe, Asia and South America. There are two programs based in Italy, one focusing on Rome and the other on the ancient site of Stabiae.

In each of these programs, students gain an understanding of the architecture and urbanism of foreign cultures through an intensive program of drawing, analysis and historical studies. Students travel in the company of the school's own faculty, who expertly guide students on visits to both the historic and contemporary monuments of architecture and urbanism.

Study-abroad programs (please note that not all programs are offered each year):

• The Bangkok Experience
  This past summer, a unique partnership with the international design firm Gensler set the stage for a study abroad program like no other. Under the direction of Gensler Managing Director and Principal Jordan Goldstein (UMD B.S.ARCH ?94) and Magnolia Quality Development Corporation in Bangkok, 12 students from four Universities set out to design a sustainable, affordable housing prototype to replace the growing slum conditions found throughout Thailand. The result, aptly named ?The Bangkok Experience? intersects culture, community, education and practice in a revolutionary learning program.
  
  The student team, comprising students from Maryland?s Architecture Program, the University of Pennsylvania and two Thai Universities developed this video short explaining their mission, their experiences and the resulting project.
  
  To see a comprehensive recap of their travels and to follow the project, visit the students blog, here.
  
  
• Italy (Rome, Florence, Venice, Vicenza): Architecture
  The Italy program is primarily based in Rome, where the streets and squares of the Eternal City form the classrooms in which the students and faculty study the history of the city and learn the design principles of its architecture. Florence, Venice, Vicenza and Como are included in the study-tour portions of the program.
  Rome Program 2011
  
  
• Southern Italy (Stabiae and Pompeii): Architecture and Archaeology
  In Southern Italy, students have the opportunity to study the history of ancient Roman architecture at the archaeological sites in Pompeii and Stabiae. Working alongside archaeologists and architects, students survey and draw excavations and structures.
  Stabiae and Pompeii Summer
  
  
• France: Architecture
  Paris, a city pivotal in the role of development of architecture and urbanism during the last two millennia, is the central focus of the School's summer program in France. The majority of the session is spent in Paris with several day trips in the Parisian basin and a field trip to the Loire Valley and La Tourette.
  Paris Summer 2009
  
  
• Scandinavia (Copenhagen, Helsinki & Stockholm): Architecture
  This education abroad course will increase students’ awareness of the role that culture, geography and history contribute to architectural form through the investigation of the built and natural environment in Scandinavia. The course includes travel to Sweden, Denmark and Finland; the itinerary involves extended stays in the national capitals of Copenhagen, Helsinki and Stockholm, using these urban locales as bases for excursions into the wider metropolitan milieu. The program is organized and led by Professors Peter Noonan & Isaac Williams.
  Scandinavia 2012
  
  
• Turkey: Architecture
  In Turkey, students are exposed an 8000-year architectural and urban heritage generated by close proximity of Eastern and Western cultures. In Istanbul and in Anatolian Turkey, study sites include monumental and vernacular buildings and urbanism from prehistory through Classical, Byzantine, Selcuk, Ottoman and Republican Turkish periods.
  Turkey Summer 2009
  
  
• England: Historic Preservation
  Students of historic preservation, architecture and other related disciplines have the opportunity to study in England. The school's base of operations is Kiplin Hall, the ancestral home of the Calvert family and Lord Baltimore. Kiplin Hall provides students with a unique opportunity to learn about historic preservation firsthand, while affording day trips into the surrounding countryside and excursions to some of England's principal cities.
  Kiplin Summer 2009
  
  
• St. Petersburg Summer 2012
  Since 1995, the University of Maryland?s School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation has taught summer interdisciplinary study abroad courses for students in the historic city of Saint Petersburg, Russia. The program offers students a case study of a historic European city and its adaptation to a changing modern society; balancing contemporary urban development with historic preservation and managing the challenges of becoming an emerging market economy. Click here to see photos from the St. Petersburg program summer 2012
  
  
• China Summer 2009
  
  
• Dubai Winter 2010
  

In addition to the above opportunities, the School also frequently offers study tours in Peru, Egypt and other countries.

More study-abroad information:

View student work from Italy and Turkey

University of Maryland Study Abroad Office