Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome (ICCS) is an overseas study center in Rome, Italy for undergraduate students in fields related to Classical Studies. The "Centro", as it is called, was first established in 1965 by ten American colleges and universities; as of 2007 the number of member institutions has now grown to 104.
Each member institution furnishes a "faculty representative" to the Centro; from these, five are elected to sit on a governing board called the Managing Committee, currently under elected-chair Professor Thomas McGinn of Vanderbilt University. The Managing Committee hires a Professor-in Charge (PIC) for each year, and three subordinate faculty, usually an Associate Professor, an Assistant Professor, and a Graduate Student Instructor, who are responsible for instruction. Students at individual member universities should contact their faculty representative for further information (a recommendation from the faculty representative is required with every application).
The Centro offers competitive admission to North American undergraduate students to study Roman Topography, Greek or Latin literature, Italian language, or (Renaissance and Baroque) Art History. Initially administered by Stanford University (and housed at Via Ulisse Seni 2), the Centro is now administered by Duke University and housed at Via A. Algardi 19. A group of 36 undergraduate students is competitively selected as "Centristi" each semester; the faculty is drawn from American colleges and universities. The hallmark of Centro instruction is first-hand experience with the ancient monuments in Rome, in museums, in Campania, and in Sicily.
The Centro has received important financial support from the Danforth Foundation, The Old Dominion Foundation, The Mellon Foundation, The David and Lucille Packard Foundation, its consortium of colleges and universities, and former students. One of its founders was the American Classicist Brooks Otis, in whose memory the center's library is named.
