T
he Columbia Summer in Rome: Global Neuroscience program introduces one of the leading topics in the sciences– understanding the connection between the mind and the brain and how it impacts thoughts, perceptions, and behavior. By taking a deeper dive into the basics of neuropsychology, consciousness, and its application in real-world situations, you will:
Understand the Scientific Method: Develop the foundations of scientific knowledge and the fundamentals of scientific inquiry.
Learn Beyond the Classroom: Be exposed to cutting edge research through curated lectures, discussions, and lab visits.
Expand Your Horizons: Cultivate intercultural competencies, acquire skills in critical thinking, and deepen your self-awareness while engaging with global perspectives.
Additionally, you will enroll in a second course chosen from a broad range of courses offered by the host institution, John Cabot University, an American institution located in the heart of Rome.
Eligibility and Application
Eligibility
Open to currently enrolled undergraduates from Columbia, Barnard, and other universities
Open to all majors
Applicants should have basic knowledge of the nervous system and have completed some coursework in one of the following departments: Psychology (including The Science of Psychology or an equivalent introductory course in psychology), Neuroscience, Biology, or possess a strong computational and statistical background which may be demonstrated by coursework in Computer Science and/or Statistics
Applicants must meet the basic requirements for studying abroad: a 3.0 cumulative GPA, a 3.0 GPA during the semester before going abroad, and good academic and disciplinary standing at their home school.
How to apply
Want to apply? Click the “Start Your Application" button at the top of this page. If the button doesn't appear above, the program is not yet accepting applications. You will be asked to set up a short profile, which will allow us to send you relevant information about your application. Once you’ve created a profile, you will see a checklist of items that you will need to submit. These generally include:
Application questionnaire(s)
Personal statement
Official transcript(s)
Resume
Academic Reference
An interview may be requested
Home School Approval/Clearance: If applying from another university, please check with your home university's study abroad office about applying for permission to attend the program and to transfer the credit.
Academics
During the summer, you will be enrolled in two courses that are taught in English:
UN2470: Fundamentals of Neuropsychology, 3 points
Instructor: Alfredo Spagna, Department of Psychological and Social Sciences, John Cabot University
This is the required course for all program students and is taught by the former Director of Undergraduate Studies in Neuroscience at Columbia University.
This course explores how the analysis of lesion patterns extended across brain networks has offered invaluable insights on the relationship between brain and behavior and deepened our understanding of the causal relationships between brain lesions and their clinical consequences.
Approved as a Science Requirement for the Columbia College Core Curriculum Science Requirement and the General Studies Core Science Requirement
Fulfills the Group 2 distribution requirement for the Psychology major
Fulfills the P2 or P4 requirement for the Neuroscience & Behavior major
Pending approval by the Committee on Instruction
One John Cabot University course, 3 points
You will select one course taught in English by faculty members from John Cabot and taken alongside local Italian students and international students. Courses are routinely offered in a broad range of disciplines such as psychology, business, computer science, economics, engineering, history, mathematics, philosophy, political science, religion, and the arts. Some courses may use the city as the classroom. Courses may vary from year to year and some courses may have prerequisites.
Both courses will be listed on a Columbia transcript with grades. Whether the course will count towards major or minor requirements will be determined by the individual department.
Note: The University reserves the right to withdraw or modify the courses of instruction or to change the instructors as may become necessary.
Program Dates
The tentative program dates are the following:
May 19 (Wed) | JCU Housing Move-in |
May 19-22 (Wed-Sat) | Orientation/Registration |
May 24 (Mon) | Classes Begin |
June 2 (Wed) | Holiday |
June 18 (Fri) | Make up day for Wednesday, June 2 |
June 25 (Fri) | Last day of classes/Final exams |
June 26 (Sat) | JCU Housing Move-out deadline |
You will be required to attend the orientation which will provide an introduction to your studies, living in Rome, and other important information. The program will be intensive and you should expect to devote much of your time to your classes, coursework, and attending the co-curricular activities. A more detailed schedule will be provided at a later date. Any personal travel should be planned for after the program.
Program housing is not available outside of the program dates.
Grades and Transcripts
Click here for the Columbia summer program grading policies.
Upon successful completion of the program, grades are entered into Columbia's online grading system.
Credit is not granted to students who do not complete the full program.
All courses taken on the program are converted to an American grading scale and transmitted to students as follows:
- Columbia Students: Grades appear on SSOL and your transcript as semester grades from courses taken at Columbia. For more information, please see the section on Academic Credit in Steps to Study Abroad.
- Barnard Students: Credit completed on summer Columbia-Led programs is considered transfer credit. Transfer credit grades are not posted to your Barnard record. For more information and to obtain approval for credit transfer, please visit the Barnard Registrar's Transfer Credits page > Summer Course Approval section. To order an official transcript, please visit the Columbia University Registrar's Transcript page.
- Non-Columbia Students: You can request electronic transcripts online through Columbia's Office of the University Registrar.
Life in Rio
Housing and meals
You will apply and be assigned to one of the following two residences that house John Cabot University students. You can select to live in a shared room or a single room, if available.
The Gianicolo Residence is JCU's apartment-style, academic living community in Trastevere, just a five minute walk from the Guarini Campus and a 10-minute walk from the Frohring Campus. The building contains 70 apartments and houses around 250 students. The units vary in size and layout and can accommodate between two and nine students. These independent-living apartments include an equipped kitchen, one or two bathrooms, and a common area. It is important to note that the "common area" might not be a separate room (like a living room), but rather an additional seating space in the kitchen.
Amenities include 24/7 security; 24/7 emergency on-call number; wireless internet; regular cleaning of common areas; central or independent air-conditioning and heating; washing machine in each unit; starter kit with towels and linens; kitchen equipment (refrigerator, stove and oven, microwave, pots and pans, plates, utensils); Resident Assistants and staff in the building; gym and fitness center.
The Lungara Apartments are conveniently located across from one of the University’s campuses and provide a perfect combination of independence and comfort. Situated in close proximity to the University and JCU community, the Lungara Apartments have the benefit of integrating students into a building complex with local Italian neighbors.
The apartments vary in size and layout and can accommodate between three and nine students. Each unit offers modern amenities and furnishings, has a fully equipped kitchen, common area, washing machine and one or two bathrooms, depending on the apartment size and arrangement.
Amenities include 24/7 security; 24/7 emergency on-call number; wireless internet; regular cleaning of common areas; central or independent air-conditioning and heating; washing machine in each unit; starter kit with towels and linens; kitchen equipment (refrigerator, stove and oven, microwave, pots and pans, plates, utensils); Resident Assistants who provide support throughout the semester.
While the building is not owned by JCU, the apartments are managed directly by the Office of Housing and Residential Life.
Dining
John Cabot also has a student cafeteria where you can pay in cash or purchase a dining plan, if you want to take a break from cooking in your residence hall or eating out.
ACTIVITIES
The program will include course-related activities such as talks by guest lecturers who are involved in research that draw on current state-of-the-art technological advancements in the consciousness of neuroscience and local lab visits, where possible.
John Cabot University organizes trips and cultural activities such as cooking classes, trips to the opera or Colosseum and Palatine Hill, and weekend trips outside of Rome. You can choose to register for these activities at an additional cost.
LOCATION
John Cabot University is an American university in the heart of Rome, located in the lively Trastervere neighborhood, a short walk from the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and other world-famous landmarks. JCU offers a unique experience that combines an American liberal arts education with a European perspective. Students are enrolled as a summer student at JCU which provides them with access to the facilities and support services of the institution. The student body is composed of over 1,000 matriculated undergraduate students, including Italian and international students from all over the world.
People
Program Director and Instructor: Alfredo Spagna
Professor Alfredo Spagna started teaching at John Cabot University in 2026. His research examines how the brain supports attention, perception, and mental imagery, with a particular interest in how we focus on the world and how we imagine what is not physically present.
At John Cabot University, he teaches neuroscience courses ranging from introductory classes to advanced seminars. Before joining JCU, he worked for eight years in the Department of Psychology at Columbia University in the City of New York, where he also taught in undergraduate summer global programs abroad in Paris and Tokyo.
He earned his Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology from Sapienza University of Rome. During his postdoctoral training with Dr. Jin Fan at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Queens College (CUNY), he developed experimental paradigms to study attention and cognitive control, conceptualizing attention as an integrated system supported by specialized brain networks.
His current work focuses on understanding what distinguishes human imagination from perception and how attentional mechanisms operate across different sensory modalities.
Financial Considerations
Summer 2027 Tuition & Fees*
Please see our cost breakdown for detailed information.
*Tuition and fees are subject to the Board of Trustees' approval and may change.
Financial aid and scholarships
If you receive financial aid during the academic year, you may remain eligible for financial aid when you attend a summer Columbia-Led Program as long as you take a minimum of 6 points.
CC/SEAS: Contact the CC/SEAS Financial Aid & Educational Planning to understand if any of your federal financial aid may cover enrollment costs for a summer program. Please note the Columbia Grant is not available for summer studies.
General Studies: Contact the GS Office of Educational Financing to understand if any of your financial aid may cover participation in a summer program.
Other students should contact their home school financial aid offices.
For more general information and resources on financing your time abroad, please see the pages below:
GLOBAL LEARNING SCHOLARSHIP
The Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement (UGE) offers the Global Learning Scholarship (GLS) to support Columbia students so they may enhance their undergraduate education by participating in a summer global learning opportunity.
Eligibility:
You are eligible for the Global Learning Scholarships (GLS) if you are:
A Columbia College, Columbia Engineering, or General Studies student who demonstrates financial need
All other students are not eligible for the GLS
Application and Timeline:
Students apply for the Global Learning Scholarship (GLS) and the Columbia-Led summer program with two separate applications.
Scholarship applications are due: February 14, 2027 (closes at 11:59 pm EST)
GLS applicants must also submit a completed program application by the program application deadline OR no later than the following: February 14, 2027 (closes at 11:59 pm EST)
To apply to the Global Learning Scholarship (GLS), please click here.
OTHER SCHOLARSHIPS
For a list of other scholarships specific to study abroad, please visit the Scholarships for Study Abroad for more information.
For more general information and resources on financing your time abroad, please see the pages below:
Withdrawal Policy
To learn about the financial consequences of withdrawing from the program, please review the Summer Withdrawal and Refund Policy here.
Resources for Accepted Students
After being accepted to the program, we will share information and email communications regarding the next steps. We understand that there will be a lot of steps to complete, so please utilize the resources below to help you get started:
Speak to an Adviser: Want to learn more? Make an appointment to chat with the adviser for this program! You can also email them with any questions, or to arrange a meeting if you are unable to make the listed times.
Applying: Make sure to review the dates and deadlines section at the bottom of the page.
Resources: View our Steps to Study Abroad page to see advice on Where to Begin, how to Prepare to Go, and what you need to know when Returning from Abroad. We will share many resources with you throughout the application and pre-departure process for preparing to study abroad.
We recommend reviewing the following before you apply:
Having a valid passport is one of the key components of going abroad. See more on our Passports and Visas page.
Need help deciding which semester, program, and experience are right for you? Check out our Choosing a Study Abroad Program page.
Learn about finances and study abroad on our Financial Considerations page.
If considering summer study abroad, review guidance on our Summer Study Abroad page.
Plan ahead and prepare for your health, well-being, and accessibility abroad by reviewing our Well-Being Abroad resources and Identity and Diversity Abroad page.
Once accepted, make sure to review the Prepare to Go page for more resources and information about preparing for your experience abroad.