Venice International University (VIU)

The Globalization Program (GP) is VIU's semester-long academic program on the island of San Servolo in Venice. Each semester, students from VIU member universities study together in small, interdisciplinary, English-taught courses.

The curriculum includes two types of courses:

• Core Courses are offered every semester and have established titles and academic scopes. Faculty proposing a Core course bring their own disciplinary expertise and approach while designing the course within the framework established by VIU.
• Specialization Tracks rotate by semester and include multiple faculty-designed courses organized around a broad interdisciplinary theme. Faculty develop and title their own course within the selected track.

Each selected faculty member teaches two courses during the semester.

Step 1: Explore VIU & Develop Your Course Ideas

Review the VIU course descriptions, approved courses, upcoming teaching opportunities, and Rice Global resources to understand the program and identify where your expertise may fit.

Faculty should identify up to three potential course proposals and the semester(s) they are interested in teaching. Course ideas should go beyond a title and include enough initial detail for Rice Global to understand the course concept, its fit within VIU's curriculum, and the faculty member's intended approach.

Faculty may propose no more than two courses within the same Core course or specialization track.

Step 2: Consult with Rice Global

Email your initial course ideas to global@rice.edu and schedule a consultation with Rice Global.

Rice Global will help you:

• Discuss the fit of your proposed courses within VIU's curriculum
• Identify which ideas may be strongest for submission
• Provide feedback on developing a competitive proposal
• Review the formal application requirements and next steps

Step 3: Submit Your Formal Proposal to Rice Global

Following consultation and proposal development, submit your complete application to Rice Global with the required Department Chair and Dean approval.

Rice Global will review applications and determine which faculty/course proposals to nominate to VIU.

Step 4: VIU Review & Final Selection

Proposals nominated by Rice Global are forwarded to VIU for consideration. VIU makes the final decision regarding faculty and course selection.

Rice Global will notify applicants once VIU's decision has been received.

VIU requires applicants to hold a full-time faculty appointment at a member university.

At Rice:

• Tenured and tenure-track faculty are generally eligible to apply.
• Full-time teaching faculty may also be eligible; however, because participation requires a semester-long teaching commitment in Venice, applications from teaching faculty require full support from the faculty member's Department Chair and Dean.
• All applicants must receive Department Chair and Dean approval before Rice Global can nominate their application to VIU.

Faculty should discuss the opportunity with their Chair and Dean early in the process to confirm that teaching at VIU can be accommodated within their Rice teaching responsibilities.

• International & Interdisciplinary: Students represent a wide range of nationalities, academic disciplines, and levels of study.
• Small Classes: Courses typically enroll approximately 5–25 students.
• Accessible Across Disciplines: Courses should be accessible to students from different academic backgrounds and should generally not assume prior subject knowledge.
• 15-Week Semester: 12 teaching weeks, plus orientation week, a midterm break, and exam week.
• 40 Course Hours: Each course includes 36 classroom contact hours plus 4 hours that may be used for co-curricular academic activities.
• Engaged Teaching: Active and flexible teaching methods, group work, fieldwork, presentations, and other interactive approaches are encouraged.

Core courses are offered every semester. Their titles and general academic scope are established by VIU.

1. Italy
   • History of Venice*
   • Italian Contemporary History in Films*
   • Art & Architecture in Renaissance Venice
   • Italian Language**
     
2. Cultures of the World
   • Intercultural Communication
   • Gender Studies
   • Comparing East and West
     
     
3. Global Challenges
   • Identity, Heritage, and Globalization
   • Globalization, Ethics, Welfare, and Human Rights
   • Global Governance for Peace and Security
     

Faculty proposing a Core course should design their proposal around the established scope of the course while bringing their own disciplinary expertise and perspective. Core course titles are fixed.

*VIU's current program materials indicate that applications are not sought for History of Venice and Italian Contemporary History in Films, which are assigned to permanent VIU faculty.

**Italian language is VIU Staffed and generally not available for partner universities outside of Italy.

Unlike Core courses, specialization tracks include multiple faculty-designed courses organized around a common interdisciplinary theme. Faculty develop and title their own course, but proposals should clearly respond to the aims and scope of the selected track.

Fall Semesters

• D.1 Economics, Management and Digital Technologies Applied to Cultural Heritage
  Explores tangible and intangible cultural heritage and the challenges of its management, preservation, and development, including questions of citizenship, Public Humanities, and the social, cultural, and ethical dimensions of heritage.
• D.2 Science & Society
  Explores the relationship between science, technology, innovation, and society, including both the impact of science and technology on society and the ways society, politics, and culture shape scientific research and innovation.
• D.3 History & Memory
  Explores history, historical consciousness, and individual and collective memory and forgetting, including their ethical and political implications.

Spring Semesters

• D.4 Environmental Management & Sustainable Development
  Explores sustainability in relation to the environment and economy, including sustainable practices and management approached through ethical and cultural perspectives.
• D.5 Cities & Global Change
  Examines cities as both drivers of and sites for responding to global change, including the social, economic, political, cultural, and environmental dimensions of urban change.
• D.6 Environmental Humanities
  Explores environmental issues through interdisciplinary humanistic inquiry, bringing fields such as philosophy, history, law, literature, geography, anthropology, and political ecology into conversation with the social and natural sciences.

Faculty should review the full specialization track descriptions in Appendix 2 before developing a proposal. Appendix 2 provides additional context, potential approaches, and examples of compatible course topics.

VIU's curriculum is intentionally interdisciplinary. Your department does not necessarily determine where your course belongs. Faculty should start with their expertise and course idea, then consider which Core course or specialization track provides the strongest intellectual fit.

For example, faculty in fields such as history, anthropology, engineering, computer science, literature, art history, political science, environmental studies, health, and other disciplines may find connections across multiple VIU areas.

Start with the full descriptions in Appendix 2. The descriptions identify the intended scope of each Core course and specialization track and provide examples of possible topics and approaches.

Please review all of the resources provided by VIU here. You can take a look at the past sillabi of previously taught courses at VIU as a reference of what may be possible.

Rice Global has created a Finding Your Fit at VIU Quick Guide as well as an At-A-Glance Chart of current opportunities available through Spring 2029.

Strong proposals should:

• Demonstrate a clear fit with the scope of the selected Core course or specialization track.
• Be accessible and challenging for an international classroom representing multiple academic disciplines and levels of experience.
• Take advantage of VIU's interdisciplinary and intercultural environment.
• Bring a distinctive disciplinary perspective to the broader VIU theme.
• Consider place-based opportunities in Venice and the surrounding region when they meaningfully strengthen the course.

Faculty selected to teach at VIU receive support from both VIU and Rice Global for their semester in Venice.

VIU provides:

• €8,500 gross Travel and Housing Allowance for faculty teaching two 40-hour courses
• Faculty office and campus resources
• Library, Moodle, and instructional technology support
• Support for coordinating co-curricular activities

Rice Global provides:

• $8,000 supplemental per diem to support living expenses during the semester
• Coverage of required visa costs and administrative assistance with the visa process
• General administrative and program support before and during the semester

Faculty should first submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) and consult with Rice Global before developing a full proposal. This initial step allows Rice Global to discuss your course ideas, provide feedback on fit with VIU's curriculum, and review the formal application requirements.

Following consultation with Rice Global, faculty moving forward will submit a complete proposal that includes:

• Rice Statement of Purpose explaining your interest in VIU, and how this opportunity is meaningful for your teaching and research.
• Department Chair and Dean approval - clear support from your department chair and your dean. We strongly recommend securing this support early in the process.
• VIU cover letter noting preferred semester(s) and any home-campus commitments.
• Curriculum Vitae (max 3 pages + up to 4 pages of publications).
• Three course proposals - Faculty may propose no more than two courses within the same Core course or specialization track.
  Each course proposal should include:
  • Course title
  • Selected Core course or specialization track
  • Approximately 500-word course description
  • Learning outcomes
  • Reading list
  • Teaching and evaluation methods
  • Percentage of the final grade assigned to each evaluation
  • Required preliminary knowledge, if any

Email: global@rice.edu