Courses

A full-time course load at the Umbra Institute is defined by Arcadia University as 15-17 U.S. credits per semester. This program requires a minimum of one Italian language course based on your proficiency.

• Please review your courses with your academic or study abroad advisor to ensure they will transfer back to your home school and that you are following your home school’s policies.
• We unfortunately can’t guarantee specific courses. If your participation in the program depends on a particular course, be sure to make a note on your online course form.
• On your academic preferences form please indicate 6-8 courses, including alternates, that you are pre-approved for and can take while abroad. In the event of scheduling changes, time conflicts, prerequisites or cancellations, this ensures that you will be prepared to finalize your courses once overseas.

Academic Structure with ISI Perugia - The Umbra Institute

You can view the complete ISI Perugia Umbra Institute course catalogue here. Refer to the program's website for course descriptions and syllabi (where available).

Descriptions of the various program tracks can be found here:

• General Studies (16 credits)
• Food, Sustainability & Environment (17 credits)
• Multi-Cultural Psychology (17 credits)
• Intensive Italian (Universita per Stranieri, 16 credits)
• Università degli Studi di Perugia (15 credits)
  • You should have a minimum of four semesters of Italian language courses and have achieved a B2 or higher proficiency in Italian based on the Common European Framework for this option.
• Scholar's Program (16 credits)

Independent Research:

You have the option of replacing one ISI Perugia - The Umbra Institute course with your own research project to complete with faculty support. An excellent achievement to add to a resume. Contact your program advisor for more information.

Prerequisites and Restrictions

• Students must take at least one Italian language course. You will take a placement test during orientation to confirm Italian proficiency level.
• You cannot enroll in online ISI courses: Arcadia University is unable to process credits of online courses offered at the Umbra Institute due to transcript & Title IV reporting constraints.

Selecting Your Courses

• Review all course information for the program carefully.
• You are required to enroll in at least one Italian language course.
• If you participate in the Food, Sustainability & Environment or Multi-Cultural Psychology pathways you will be required to enroll in the associated core course. 
  • The Food, Sustainability & Environment program requires additional fees.
• Secure approval for at least 6 elective courses.
• Please list courses in order of preference.

Enrollment Process

As part of the admissions process, you will select your courses from the ISI Perugia course catalog and complete your Arcadia Abroad Academic Preferences Form (APF). Arcadia will share this information with ISI, and students can make changes to that list until approximately one month prior to departure (ISI will confirm the date directly).

Following arrival in Perugia, you will be given your course schedules. You'll then have approximately one week to work with ISI Perugia staff and make changes to your schedule during this formal add/drop period. After this point, the only changes that can be made is the dropping of classes (not recommended) or a minor adjustment to a language class based on level alone. 

Grade Scale 

Grades will be reported exactly as they appear on the ISI Perugia - The Umbra Institute transcript.