Italian Food, Culture, and Sustainability

Explore the connection between cuisine, social traditions, and sustainability in Italy.

Highlights:

• Experience the Slow Food Movement in its birthplace—Italy—through visits to local farms, markets, and restaurants that emphasize traditional cooking methods, biodiversity, and regional heritage.
• Travel to Turino, Italy, home of the movement’s founding, for a weekend exploring urban farms, the Porta Palazzo Market, and sustainable food initiatives.
• Hands-on Italian cooking demonstrations and meals at Slow Food-certified restaurants and tavernas will deepen your appreciation for food culture, sustainability, and community.
  
  No Italian language required, program is taught in English.

Travel to Italy to explore the origins and global impact of the Slow Food Movement, which was founded in Italy in 1989. The movement encourages the use of local, seasonal products, fosters community, and creates rituals around meals. Since its inception, Slow Food has evolved into a global movement involving millions of people in over 160 countries. You'll explore how food connects to identity, sustainability, and community by learning about Italy’s culinary heritage and diverse regional cuisines.

Italy’s emphasis on seasonal, local ingredients and its deep-rooted culinary traditions make it the ideal setting to explore sustainable food systems firsthand. Your home base will be the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, a global leader in food education. You’ll engage with local producers, analyze food systems through the lens of justice and sustainability, and gain the tools to create a healthier, more conscious food future. After returning from Italy, you'll continue your coursework in a Fall 2027 course in Rochester.

Course Term: Travel to Italy in May, followed by a Fall 2027 course in Rochester
Travel Dates: May 22-31, 2027
Credits: 3

Course Details:

• MLIT 449: Italian Food, Culture & Sustainability (3 credits)
  Students will travel to Italy in May, then will be enrolled in a Fall 2027 class in Rochester.

No course prerequisites, no Italian language required. 

Open to all undergraduate majors and graduate students, 2.5 cumulative GPA or above.

Application Deadline: Sunday, February 14, 2027

Program Cost & Financial Aid

Program Cost: Student budget worksheet - Italian Food, Culture & Sustainability Spring/Summer 2026 OUTDATED - outlines all program costs.

Financial Aid:
Financial aid may cover some program costs. As you review the budget worksheet, please remember that it does not include your RIT financial aid or scholarships, which may cover some of the program costs. The purpose of the budget worksheet is to show all the costs associated with your study abroad program, which will help your RIT Financial Aid Assistant Director determine how your aid and scholarships may be applied. 

To understand how your financial aid and scholarships may apply to your program costs:

• Make an appointment with your financial aid assistant director (call Financial Aid at 585-475-2186) and mention that you are calling for a study abroad appointment
• Upload a copy of your budget worksheet(s) via the Financial Aid upload portal at https://join.rit.edu/register/FA_upload (at least 48 hours prior to your scheduled meeting so they have time to prepare) 
  • Please rename the file name of your budget worksheet before uploading it to the Financial Aid portal based on the instructions provided in the portal (adding your name and student ID)

To find out the name of your financial aid assistant director for your degree program visit: https://www.rit.edu/admissions/aid/contact#counseling-team

We recommend you meet with Financial Aid before the application deadline so you understand how your aid will apply. The RIT financial aid office is located in Bausch and Lomb Center (Bldg. 77), 2nd floor, 2125.

Scholarships:

• RIT Education Abroad Travel Grants ($500-$1,000)
  All students with pending applications in the RIT Study Abroad Compass for this program will be automatically considered for an RIT Education Abroad Travel Grant. You will be informed of your scholarship status shortly after the application deadline. Scholarships are awarded based on financial need, as determined by financial aid and your FAFSA on file.

• Additional Scholarships
  RIT scholarships and national scholarships for study abroad are good options to explore for scholarship funding. Make sure you are checking scholarship eligibility requirements and take note of scholarship deadlines. 

To Apply

1) Start an application in the Compass (RIT's study abroad application system)
Once you login to the Compass you will need to complete some profile/registration questions, then use the “Search Programs” tab to search for “Italian Food Sustainability” to complete an application.

2) Watch this video, which goes over all important application steps for RIT Faculty-Led Programs

Contact

Elisabetta D'Amanda
Principal Lecturer, Department of Modern Languages and Cultures
College of Liberal Arts
exdgla@rit.edu