Vatican/Rome Internships

Villanova's Computing Sciences and Communication departments have a special agreement with the Vatican in Rome to provide student interns who will enhance the Vatican's presence on the World Wide Web and provide other support. We also place interns at a few other interesting locations in Rome. Participating students spend one semester working ine Rome or the Vatican while continuing to take University approved courses through Arcadia University plus receiving 3 CSC internship course credits for their experience. While in Rome, students reside in housing provided by Roma Tre University, within easy distance to classrooms and work sites.

Study and Work in Rome

The Vatican/Rome program is an experience for select students who are interested in not only studying abroad, but also immersing themselves in a foreign world. Students learn about Italian culture while conducting specific projects as determined by their supervisor. Interns work Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to Noon. (approximately 16 hours each week). In the afternoons, students take courses through the Arcadia program, some of which hold classes in interesting locations around the eternal city - there are even classes that include trips to other locations in Italy such as Venice and Sicily.

Computing Sciences Internships

At the present time, the Department of Computer Sciences is placing interns with several offices in the Vatican including the Vatican Museums and the Directorate for Telecommunication. Projects vary and might include development of the Vatican website, security, online registration, compatibility modifications, network modeling, and virtual reality projects. We also place an intern with the Augustinians in their Rome Office right "next door" to the Vatican and one or two interns with the United Nations World Food Program, also headquartered in Rome.

To participate, students must have a junior standing at the time of the internship and must have an overall grade point average of 3.0 or higher. We encourage you to talk to your academic advisor and Dr. Daniel Joyce, Chair of the CSC Department, about this opportunity.

The Internship offers the opportunity to spend a semester in Rome, Italy, gain first-hand experience in working in the Computing Sciences field, and discover the natural wonder associated with the Vatican. The experience is something that the participants will remember for the rest of their lives.

Important Links

Check out the following links for more information and to see examples of previous projects:

• Sistine Chapel Virtual Tour
• Virtual Reality Tour of St. Paul Outside-The_Walls
• Vatican Website
• Communications Department Vatican Page
• Catholic News Article About Virtual Tour of St. Peter's Basilica