Fast Facts
DATES: 24 days; June 3- June 26, 2026
GENERAL LOCATION: Siena, Italy
ENROLLMENT CAPACITY: 24
FOCUS: Public Interest Communication, International Reporting
PARTNER: University of Jamestown
PROJECT COST: $6,445 + airfare
ACADMIC CREDIT: Optoinal 6 units, $900
INCLUDES:Travel insurance; transportation from Bologna airport to Siena and return; welcome and farewell dinners; local museums and cultural activities; housing in local host families facilitated via the partnership with SIS Intercultural Study Abroad; project activities and cultural events. Academic Credit is optional. DOES NOT INCLUDE AIRFARE.
The Siena Project
Join us as we explore the unique contemporary crossroads where an ancient city with rich cultural history is faced with the modern challenges of migration in Europe. Siena has become home to one of Italy’s critical situations regarding migrants. Starting in 2021, the relatively small city of Siena, with a population of roughly 55,000, began seeing an influx of migrants, mostly from Pakistan. In a little more than one year, the number of Pakistani migrants in Siena reached 1,500 individuals, mostly young men. Many found homes through local police and were referred to housing facilities near Siena. Others were less fortunate and found shelter in places like a parking lot or behind the train station in Siena.
Narrative storytelling is key to communicating for social change. In this course, you’ll learn the theory and practice of narrative storytelling as we introduce you to the basic concepts and frameworks of the emerging academic discipline of public interest communications. Working with an organization devoted to helping migrants assimilate in Siena, Italy, you’ll learn strategic communications and storytelling skills then will put them to use to help shift narratives about migration. You will be immersed in the Italian culture as you gain proficiency in interviewing, writing, videography and photography. This course is designed to introduce students to the field of research-based strategic communications for social change and provide an opportunity to apply the concepts to a real-world challenge.
The Story
The sudden arrival of migrants is something that the city administration was never prepared for. While it’s easy to criticize politicians, many are involved with the local administration in Siena who are actively working with local organizations to help. A number of initiatives provide essential services and are gaining recognition for their efforts. SIS Intercultural Study Abroad, an independent study abroad program for international university students, seems like an unlikely protagonist in this particular situation; however staff, faculty, and students have been working tirelessly to organize courses that provide the necessary tools for cultural integration.
As a reaction to the migratory crisis in Siena, SIS, together with its sister organization the Nuova Associazione Culturale Ulisse, created the volunteer project called Home 4 The World (H4W) in 2021. H4W organizes free courses open to any migrants in Siena. These include Italian and English language courses, assistance to help study for the national driver’s license exam, cultural guidance, citizenship education and more. Home 4 The World works directly with the local public administration, the local police and immigration authorities, as well as other organizations in Siena that provide support for migrants. Fundraising has recently been added to the initiatives that Home 4 The World has taken upon itself to organize. The participants involved with Home 4 The World include the students, staff, and faculty of SIS Intercultural Study Abroad, local volunteers, and more recently volunteers from within the Pakistani community of migrants itself. One outcome to which the project aspires is to enable individuals to be cultural mediators for the communities that they represent and the culture native to Siena.
More information can be found at this website that was created as a collaboration between students attending SIS and volunteers from the Pakistani community: https://home4theworld.wixsite.com/home4theworld
The City
The incredible city of Siena is located in the heart of Tuscany, and is the perfect city in Italy for study abroad. Just far enough off of the beaten path that it isn’t overrun with tourists, it is close enough to major cities like Florence and Rome making experiencing Italy and Europe right at students’ fingertips.
During the Middle Ages, Siena was arguably one of the most influential cities in the region, comparable in size and prestige to both Florence and Paris. What’s even more incredible is how some of these medieval traditions have survived contemporary cultural shifts, and nothing illustrates this more than the traditions surrounding the famous Palio, the yearly horse race held in Piazza del Campo. The city is continuously ranked among Italy’s safest and most liveable cities. Its historical center was nominated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995, and is geographically in the middle of three of the world’s most important wine producers: Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.
Coursework
In this immersive course, your days will be split between classroom and field work. You’ll receive instruction in:
Basic Italian- Public interest communications concepts and frameworks
- Message framing
- What emotions motivate people to act
- How to use facts effectively
- How to craft an effective call to action
- Narrative change
- The difference between stories and narrative
- The components of a narrative
- How to shift narratives around complex issues
- Components of an effective story
- The ethics of storytelling
- How to partner with a community organization
- Interviewing
- Photography
- Videography
You will attain differentiating experience for their resume that will complement their portfolio when starting their career. Students of The Siena Project will:
- Understand the role of communication and culture and build your intercultural competence working with diverse populations.
- Develop an awareness and sensitivity to cultural norms and expectations as they are similar to and different from American cultural values, then use this learning in the development of a multimedia project.
- Demonstrate the mechanics and artistry of communication media, then use these skills to tell stories and shape a narrative about the community.
Culture
The Palio Experience
Students will be present for Siena’s iconic Palio horse race; Palio di Siena. Tradition and celebration that spans four incredible days, from June 29th through July 2nd. For the people of Siena, there is absolutely nothing that is more important to them than The Palio. SIS staff will make sure that students are exposed to and understand the festival and the emotions that are associated with it so that everyone can experience the incredible Palio in a way that respects the local traditions and people. SIS staff will be your guides during the four marvelous and intense days of the Palio, showing students where to see specific events as well as explaining its historical and cultural significance.
Activities
- Wine tasting
- Beach day
- Museums and cultural centers
Travel Oportunities
ieiMedia and the SIS Staff will help students plan day and weekend trips to nearby cities that could include Florence, Rome, and much more! You will have two free weekends while in Siena. That allows for an easy bus or train trip to nearby cities. Many students also use this time to continue work on their stories or bus to Gubbio, Perugia or Assisi. On warm days, you can relax in the cool streams within 10 minutes of your apartments. If you would like a longer getaway, consider some add-on extended travel at the end of the project, when classmates might want to join you.
Siena Partner Organization
ieiMedia has partnered SIS Intercultural Study Abroad, an organization based in Siena, Italy offering unique and high-impact study abroad programs designed for students that want to live their experience abroad to the fullest. Since 2004, SIS has been an innovator among full immersion and service-learning programs in Italy
Italian Instruction and Interpreters
The greater your understanding about language and culture anywhere you travel or work, the better you will be able to communicate and connect with the people of that region. ieiMedia includes Italian language and culture instruction that will be provided by our partner SIS Intercultural Study Abroad. When working on stories, you will be assigned an interpreter to help you with your Italian and to facilitate your interview. The art of working with an interpreter will be a skill you will pick up.
It is recommended to consider a self-paced online language tutorial to familiarize yourself with the local language, however, this is not required.
Housing
Project participants will stay with host families facilitated by our partner SIS Intercultural Study Abroad. See more about the host families here: https://www.sisstudyabroad.com/about/host-families/
Equipment
Students should bring their own laptop computers and mobile phones, as well as digital or video cameras and audio recorders if they have them.
Academic Credit (6)
Students have the option to earn six academic credits of an upper-division journalism elective for this course. The credits will be issued by the University of Jamestown, and we will work with you so they are easily transferable to your university. Transfer credit ultimately depends on a student’s home university. The cost for three academic credit is $900 (See the FAST FACTS at the top of the page for Program Cost).
NOTE: Students on a quarter system will be able to transfer as four(8) credits at no additional fee for ieiMedia courses that are listed as three(6) credits. Transfer credit ultimately depends on a student’s home university. Please check with your university for procedures to follow when transferring credits to your institution.
Students
The program is open to English-speaking college students and recent graduates from any school. Most of our students are journalism, creative writing or communications majors; those majoring in other subjects are welcome as well. Experience working for a college or professional publication is helpful but not required. The program is open to English-speaking students and recent graduates from around the world.Students from many universities have participated in past ieiMedia programs, including:
American University, Arizona State University, Baylor University, California State University Fullerton, California State University Long Beach, Carleton University, Colorado State University, Georgia College and State University, Georgetown University, Humboldt State University, Indiana University, Iowa State University, Ithaca College, James Madison University, Louisiana State University, New York University, Rider University, Rutgers University, Ryerson University, San Diego State University, San Francisco State University, State University of New York at New Paltz, Syracuse University, Temple University, Truman State University, UCLA, University of Arizona, University of British Columbia, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Kennesaw State University, University of Illinois, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Northern Iowa, University of Southern California, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Virginia Tech, and Washington and Lee University. We’ve also had students from Japan, the United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad participate.
Graduates
Graduate students are also invited to apply. We’d be happy to talk with you about supervising an independent project that would qualify for graduate credit at your school – or to offer this experience as a graduate internship.
Program Director
Your project leader will be a University of Florida professor with decades of experience in public interest communications and journalism: Angela Bradbery. Additional instruction in language, photography and videography will be provided by faculty from other universities.
Angela Bradbery
Angela Bradbery is a university professor in Public Interest Communications at a major university’s school of Journalism and Communications. Before coming to the university in 2020, she spent more than 20 years in public interest communications and advocacy at Public Citizen in Washington, D.C., As communications director there, she developed and implemented communication strategies at the national, state and local levels and led communication planning and implementation for coalitions of allied public interest organizations. In 2003, Bradbery co-founded Smokefree DC, a nonprofit, all-volunteer membership organization that achieved the passage of landmark smoke-free workplace legislation in Washington, D.C., in 2006. Before moving to Washington, she worked for 10 years as a newspaper reporter at The Palm Beach Post, the Sun-Sentinel and the Chicago Tribune.
Faculty
View complete faculty biographies on our Siena Faculty Page.
APPLICATION, PAYMENTS, AND WAITLISTS
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Our formal deadline has passed, but we are still accepting applications for summer 2025 as long as spots remain available. Please review our application instructions and reach out to admissions@ieimedia.com if you have any questions. We are here to support you through the application process and are so excited to learn more about your interest in studying abroad with ieiMedia! If you have questions about applying, you can also start a conversation with us by clicking the Get Started button. Please refer to the Application Deadline Details for more information.
PAYMENT DEADLINES: see Payment, Cancelation and Refund Policy for information on deposit deadlines and amounts.
ENROLLMENT CAPACITY AND WAITLISTS: ieiMedia projects have a defined capacity limitation for applicants. Since there is a limited number of applicants who can attend, you can only be guaranteed a spot when you (1) have paid your Application Fee and (2) made payments on time according to the Costs and Payment Schedule. If a program has reached capacity OR you have not met the requirements for enrollments, you will be placed on the waitlist until requirements are met and capacity is available.
ACADEMIC CREDIT
Academic credits can be earned for this ieiMedia Project. Requesting course credit is optional. This course offers an option to earn upper-division journalism elective credits. The cost for academic credit is $150/credit. Students choosing this option must indicate so in their application. After applying, student will find procedures in our Student Portal to request academic credit through our school of record, University of Jamestown. NOTE: Students on a quarter system will be able to transfer as four(4) or eight(8) credits at no additional fee for ieiMedia courses that are listed as three(3) or six(6) credits respectively. Transfer credit ultimately depends on a student's home university. Please check with your university for procedures to follow when transferring credits to your institution.
Application Details, Travel Advisory, Financial Aid
Application Deadline Details
Our formal deadline has passed, but we are still accepting applications for summer 2025 as long as spots remain available. Please review our application instructions and reach out to admissions@ieimedia.com if you have any questions. We are here to support you through the application process and are so excited to learn more about your interest in studying abroad with ieiMedia!
If you do not have the necessary access to submit your application, please reach out to admissions@ieimedia.com to speak with an advisor.
Get started now to reserve your place or contact the ieiMedia Director of Admissions at: admissions@ieimedia.com
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Our formal deadline has passed, but we are still accepting applications for summer 2025 as long as spots remain available. Please review our application instructions and reach out to admissions@ieimedia.com if you have any questions. We are here to support you through the application process and are so excited to learn more about your interest in studying abroad with ieiMedia!
Travel Advisory
ieiMedia will be monitoring The US Department of State Travel Advisories and will provide status updates to those who sign up for the project regarding important information.
Financial Aid
Students studying abroad for the summer term have limited financial aid options, but Pell grant recipients are encouraged to apply and receive our help in applying for a Gilman Study Abroad Scholarship which can award up to $5,000. Check with your school’s financial aid office and your study abroad offices to find out if other assistance is available. For more information on financial aid, get started by connecting with us here.
QUESTIONS? Contact the ieiMedia Director of Admissions at admissions@ieimedia.com You can also schedule an ieiMedia advising session.
Past information session recordings and slides can be viewed here.