Project Description
IFR policy requires that prior to traveling, all field school students must have completed a COVID-19 vaccine primary series AND received the most recent booster dose recommended by the CDC, if eligible.
All IFR field school applicants should familiarize themselves with IFR COVID-19 Practices BEFORE enrolling in a program. These practices are subject to change as health and risk management experts provide new recommendations and best practices.
You may want to refer to the following websites to stay informed of COVID-19 case numbers and regulations/policies for Italy:
US Embassy in Italy
US State Department
epicentro.iss.it/coronavirus/
Esteri.it
Overview
The collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts in the Museo Egizio in Turin (Italy) is among the most important in the world. It includes the Old Kingdom Tomb of the Unknown, the New Kingdom Tomb of Kha and Merit, the Nubian Temple of Ellesiya, and the Turin Papyrus Map. This field school aims to contribute to the analysis and publication of selected ceramic artifacts and ancient textiles, with a special focus on production techniques and communities of practice. Students will have opportunities to be actively involved in all aspects of the preservation, study, and presentation of museum objects.
Course Details
Course Dates: June 15 – July 22, 2023
Enrollment Status: Closed
Tuition: $5,015
Course Type: Museum Studies, Conservation
Tuition Payment Deadline: May 1, 2023
Instructors: Dr. Caroline Arbuckle MacLeod and Dr. Danielle Candelora
- Online Orientation: May 13, 9 am PT
Academic Credit: 8 Semester Credit Units (equivalent to 12 Quarter Units)
Instructors
The directors welcome emails and inquiries about the research elements of this project. More general information (tuition, health insurance, and payment schedule) can be found under the ‘Students’ tab above. Any further questions may be addressed to IFR staff. Additional details about research, course schedule, travel, accommodation, and safety can be found on the syllabus. Contacting the directors or the IFR office is encouraged and appreciated. It may help you determine if this field school is a good fit for you.
Testimonials
Learning about museum practices and Egyptian material culture in the Museo Egizio was an incredible experience. Being able to talk with museum staff and ask them questions about their work, experiences, and curatorial or conservation choices was unlike any other experience I had had before. The field school staff (Dr. Barnard, and 2 TA’s, Vera and Rachel) were supportive, very knowledgable, approachable and extremely helpful. I learned so much over the course of the field school. The program includes lectures given by field school staff and museum staff (including the director of the Museo Egizio!) and field trips to museums and cultural and archaeological sites in Italy. We even got to take a field trip to one of the museum’s outside conservationist’s workshop! Being in the field school gives you unprecedented access to the material, collections and staff of the Museo Egizio. And Turin is an incredible city to live in for 5 weeks. On the weekends, there is time to travel across Italy because it is well connected on the high speed train (my peers I went to places like Florence, Venice, and the lakes district on the weekends). We worked with 3,000 year old pottery sherds and textiles fragments and got to learn how to do ceramic and textile analysis from experts at the museum! We got to tour the museum collections with museum conservators and learn about all aspects of the museum. The exposure to museum practices was incomparable and the overall experience was unequal to any other experience I had in museums prior.
Prepping for summer 2017 was extremely exciting but once I got to Turin, Italy the experience was better than I could have ever imagined. Amazing staff support is offered to students and you get to work closely with conservators of the Museo Egizio. Turin is a wonderful city located in northern Italy with many sites to see. All the participants of the program became fast friends during our communal lunches and dinners.
Tuition Includes:
- Cost of Instruction
- Cost of Academic Credit Units
- Room & Board
- All Local Transportation
- Health & Evacuation Insurance
Student Fees
Application Fee: There is a $25 fee to submit an online application.
Deposit Payment:
- Once you have been accepted to a program, you must place a nonrefundable $500 deposit fee to hold your seat in the program until the tuition payment deadline. The tuition payment deadline can be found in the top right of each field school’s web page under “Course Details”.
- The $500 deposit fee is included as part of your total tuition fee and NOT in addition to it.
Tuition Fee
- The tuition balance is the total program tuition fee minus the $500 deposit fee.
- The full tuition fee must be paid by the tuition payment deadline in order to secure your seat in the program.
- If you do not pay the full tuition fee by the deadline, your place in the program is no longer secure, and if you are unable to participate in the program for any reason, our Late Withdrawal policy below will apply.
Late Fee: A $100 late fee will be added to all accounts not paid in full by the tuition payment deadline.
Withdrawal Policy: If you place a deposit but decide to withdraw, you must notify IFR staff in writing before the tuition payment deadline. In the event of withdrawal, the $500 nonrefundable deposit fee remains nonrefundable and will not be refunded.
Late Withdrawal: If you paid the deposit fee but did not cancel your participation by the tuition payment deadline, you are legally responsible for the full tuition fee regardless of attendance at any IFR program. Please carefully read our Withdrawal & Cancellation Policy for further information.
Cancellation Policy: In the event that IFR must cancel a field school, all accepted students will be notified as soon as possible and will receive a refund of all tuition paid including the deposit fee. IFR offers students the opportunity to transfer to another field school, permitting that there are spots available and the program director approves the student to participate in their field school. Upon approval of the program director, IFR staff will make the arrangements to transfer the student’s application and payments.
Credit Card Processing Fee: A 3.5% processing fee is automatically incurred for all credit/debit card/online payments.
Academic Credit Opt Out: Students who wish to participate in an IFR field school without earning academic credit units may do so and receive the following discounts: $300 off a full program (4 or more weeks in length) or $200 off a short program (2-3 weeks in length).
Trip Cancellation Insurance: Please consider purchasing a travel interruption insurance policy that will cover your travel cost and the cost of the IFR program once you make a commitment to attend a field school.
Accommodations
Turin (Torino), on the river Po, is the capital of the Piedmont (Piemonte) region in northwest Italy. Turin became the capital the Duchy of Savoy—later the Kingdom of Sardinia—after the Savoy family moved there in 1563, and was capital of Italy from 1861 to 1864. The city is celebrated for its architecture, which offers great examples of baroque, neo-classical and art nouveau styles, and its many palaces, churches, universities, libraries, museums, theaters and restaurants. It is home to automobile manufacturers Fiat Chrysler, Lancia and Alfa Romeo, and is one of the centers of the Italian film industry, which is reflected in the cinema museum housed in the iconic Mole Antonelliana. Turin hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics and is well-known for the legendary soccer team Juventus F.C.
In Turin, students will stay in Camplus Bernini:
Corso Ferrucci 12 bis – 10128 – Torino – Italy
The residence will be booked for you from June 18th to July 24th (checkout day). If needed, you can check in on the 19th and out on the 23rd.
A few steps from the headquarters of Politecnico di Torino, the residence hall has large spaces for studying and leisure. A large modern outdoor area is designed for study, learning and relaxation in the open air. Amenities include double rooms with private bathrooms, as well as common kitchens, study spaces, gym, and laundry facilities.
All participants in a field school, students and staff, will wear masks while indoors (i.e. during lectures, during labs, in shared residential spaces, etc.). Regular hand washing will be a part of the project’s daily schedule.
On weekdays, students and staff will have lunch together in one of the many restaurants near the museum. On Wednesdays students and staff will also have dinner together. These communal lunches and dinners are considered part of the field school and the presence of all students is compulsory. These communal meals are covered by your tuition; otherwise, meals will be your own responsibility. Students with special dietary needs should discuss these with the project directors before traveling to Italy. The tap water in Turin is potable and all stores and restaurants sell both still and sparkling bottled water.
On the weekends everyone is free to explore the many lunch and dining options available in Turin, alone or in small groups. Turin is one of the centers of Italian cuisine and food is fresh and well prepared. Ample non-local options are also available, as are vegetarian and vegan food. It should be noted that dinner is typically served rather late in Turin, after 8pm, and is preceded—between 5pm and 7pm—by a light meal of aperitivo (comparable to Spanish tapas) that accompany drinks such as Aperol spritz, americano or negroni. The quality and amount of aperitivo differ greatly between bars and restaurants, some serving enough to be considered dinner, referred to as apericena.
Despite its grandeur, Turin is relatively small, with all major destinations within walking distance or a short ride on the excellent public transport system. Another service to get around is [TO]Bike, which allows subscribers to use, for half an hour, one of the bright yellow bikes that are parked in special stations throughout the city. The center of Turin is built on a classic Roman grid with limited access for cars.
Travel Info
Due to ongoing uncertainties regarding the travel regulations related to COVID-19, IFR will assess the local conditions closer to the travel date (5-6 weeks prior to the program beginning) and will make Go/No Go decisions then. We urge you to participate in the mandatory orientation meeting when we will discuss the latest travel information and regulations. We also suggest you consider postponing the purchase of your airline ticket until after the program orientation.
The current COVID-19 travel restrictions to Italy dictate that you must present a negative molecular PCR or rapid antigen test result carried out within 72 hours of arrival AND one of the following:
- An Anti-COVID-19 vaccination certificate for an European Medicines Agency (EMA)-recognized vaccine. At present, EMA recognizes the following vaccines: Pfizer-BioNtech, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson, and AstraZeneca. The date of the final vaccine dose must be at least 14 days prior to travel. Travelers vaccinated in the United States can prove this via the “white card” bearing the CDC logo.
- A medical certificate confirming recovery from COVID-19 dated no more than six months before departure.
Passengers unable to present a valid vaccination or recovery certificate will have to self-isolate on arrival for five days and undergo a molecular PCR or rapid antigen test at the end of the isolation, so we highly recommend getting these tests done before travel. IFR requires a negative RT-PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to the beginning of the field school in Turin.
Students are responsible for making the necessary arrangements to get to the accommodation on Saturday June 18, 2022 (or Sunday the 19th if necessary). Turin has its own airport (Turin Caselle, TRN), but most international flights to the region land in one of the two airports near Milan: Milan Malpensa (MPX) or Milan Linate (LIN). There are frequent direct bus connections to central Turin from both Turin Caselle and Milan Malpensa. Busses and trains connect Milan Linate to the central railway station in Milan, from where there are frequent fast trains to Turin. Traveling overland to Turin is possible with one of several train companies that maintain high-speed connections between Turin and most large cities in Italy. There are two main railway stations in Turin, Porta Nuova and Porta Susa, which is also where the busses from the airports terminate. From either railway station the Camplus Bernini student housing facility (corso Lione 24) is easily reached by public transport, including the subway (Metro), or by taxi. Taxis in Turin are reliable and relatively cheap.
If you missed your connection or your flight is substantially delayed, please call, text or email the field school director immediately. A local emergency mobile phone number will be provided to all enrolled students.
Students who are planning to travel around through Italy and Europe are encouraged to do so after the field school rather than before.
The in-museum instruction will conclude on Friday July 22, 2022 (though you will have your housing in Turin through Sunday morning). Current COVID-19 restrictions on re-entering the US requires travelers to present a negative COVID-19 viral test taken within three calendar days of travel. Alternatively, travelers to the U.S. may provide documentation from a licensed health care provider of having recovered from COVID-19 in the 90 days preceding travel. At present, rapid tests are available widely in Italy for travelers; antigen tests cost approximately $25, while PCR tests cost approximately $75.
For more and updated COVID travel information, see https://it.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/.
VISA REQUIREMENTS
A passport that is valid for at least six months after your departure date is necessary to travel into Italy. U.S. citizens may enter Italy for up to 90 days without a visa. All non-residents are required to complete a declaration of presence (dichiarazione di presenza) upon their arrival, usually completed at the first accommodation after entry into Italy.
Non-U.S. citizens should consult the information provided by the Italian immigration website vistoperitalia.esteri.it/home/en and contact the project directors.
Non-E.U. visitors, including U.S. citizens, arriving overland in Italy from another Schengen state (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden or Switzerland) must request a declaration of presence form from a local police office (commissariato di zona), police headquarters (questura), or their first place of stay and submit the completed form to the police or their place of stay within eight business days.
Anyone intending to stay in Italy for longer than 90 days must obtain a permit of stay (permesso di soggiorno). For more information visit the US State Department website.
Student Safety
The IFR primary concern is with education. Traveling and conducting field research involve risk. Students interested in participating in IFR programs must weigh whether the potential risk is worth the value of education provided. While risk is inherent in everything we do, we do not take risk lightly. The IFR engages in intensive review of each field school location prior to approval. Once a program is accepted, the IFR reviews each program annually to make sure it complies with all our standards and policies, including student safety.
Students attending IFR international programs are covered by a comprehensive Health Insurance policy that includes physical illness or injury, mental or chronic conditions. No deductible and 100% of costs are covered up to $250,000. In addition, we provide Political and Natural Disaster Evacuation policy, which allow us to remove students from field school location if local conditions change. Our field school directors are scholars that know field school locations and cultures well and are plugged in into local communities and state institution structures.
Students attending IFR domestic programs (within the US) must have their own health insurance and provide proof upon enrollment. IFR field school directors are familiar with local authorities and if in need of evacuation, local emergency services and/or law enforcement will be notified and activated.
The IFR has strong, explicit and robust policy towards discrimination and harassment in the field. If students feel they cannot discuss personal safety issues with field school staff, the IFR operates an emergency hotline where students may contact IFR personnel directly.
Call (877-839-4374) or email (info@ifrglobal.org) if you have questions about the safety of any particular program.