COLLEGE EXPANDS STUDY ABROAD ROME, VIENNA PROGRAMS NOW OFFERED.

Byline: Daily News

VALENCIA - College of the Canyons is expanding its study abroad programs to give students a chance to experience firsthand the history of Rome and Vienna, focusing on the epicurean and musical cultures of Europe.

These programs join school-sponsored trips to Costa Rica and other Central American countries as well as Caribbean nations that have been a staple of the college's Spanish language program for several years.

Students in the Hotel/Restaurant Management program will go to Rome from June 25 to July 23, where three program-related classes will be offered: Hotel/Restaurant Management, Hotel/Restaurant Law and Hotel/Restaurant Supervision.

Students will be required to take Introduction to Tourism and either the Law or Supervision class while in Rome. Each three-unit class has no prerequisites. All three classes will have online learning modules that will be completed prior to departure to allow students more time to visit Rome's historical sites and take full advantage of their European learning experience.

``I know from my own experience of college in Rome and comments from students in last year's program that this is the experience of a lifetime,'' said Kevin Anthony, chairman of the hotel and restaurant management program.

Students will be housed at the University of Loyola, Chicago, John Felice Rome Center college dormitory in Monte Mario. This is the largest American university outside of the United States. Total price for air transportation, housing, bus pass and tours will be $3,650.

Applications for the program should be made by March 31 and payment is required by April 30. All participants must have a current passport.

``This year's class will have the opportunity to obtain financial aid, and the program hopes to have some fund-raisers to help defer the cost of the trip,'' he added. For additional information on 2005 classes in Rome, visit the Web site at www.canyons.edu/users/anthonyk.

Additional study abroad opportunities will be offered this summer at the College of the Canyons Vienna Institute, hosted by history professor Brad Reynolds and music professor Bernardo Feldman. They are offering a 23-day trip, departing June 14 to Vienna and Salzburg, Austria; Berchtesgaden, Germany; and Venice, Florence and Rome, Italy.

The price for this institute is $3,895, which includes round-trip airfare from Los Angeles to Europe; 21-night accommodations; 36 meals; ground transportation and transfers; sightseeing tours; and a performance at the Vienna State Opera.

The first part of the Vienna Institute will be based in Vienna, where many of the greatest composers have been inspired. Classes will be held at the University of Vienna and will be taught at historically and musically significant places.

During the second part of the program, students will travel through some of Europe's most beautiful areas. Classes will be held at those locations to allow students to absorb the atmosphere. Students will travel through the Danube Valley to Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart. A trip to Berchtesgaden will feature the countryside of the Alps as students make their way to Venice.

Excursions to Florence and the Tuscan countryside are precursors to the final destination, Rome, where students will visit St. Peter's Basilica, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and other historic landmarks.

For additional information on the Vienna Institute travel program, call Reynolds at [phone], e-mail:brad.reynolds(at)canyons.edu.; or Feldman at [phone], e-mail: bernardo.feldman(at)canyons.edu.