At Thomas More College, every sophomore is given a unique opportunity: to visit Rome for an entire academic semester. In their Rome semester, TMC students traverse catacombs and cloisters, piazzas and palazzos, exploring the heart of the Christian West. The history of Christendom is written in the stones and on the ceilings, in the streets and the cemeteries, and the skyline is dominated not by skyscrapers but by the dome of St. Peter’s.
Now, for the first time ever, high-schoolers can have a foretaste of our Rome Semester by joining us for the Rome High School Summer Program!
Rome holds unparalleled historical and spiritual significance in the Christian West, serving as the epicenter of the Roman Empire and the seat of the Catholic Church. Its ancient ruins, churches, and artistic treasures bear witness to the enduring impact of Christianity on Western civilization. Therefore, Thomas More College has decided to offer a Rome High School Summer Program for rising high school seniors. This unique opportunity allows students to immerse themselves in the heart of Western civilization, exploring the foundations of Christian thought and culture. The program aligns with the College’s commitment to fostering a deep understanding of the liberal arts and the Catholic intellectual tradition in a setting rich with historical and religious importance.
The Rome High School Summer Program doesn’t just offer high school students a window into college life at Thomas More; it delivers a truly transformative experience. Many summer program participants are so deeply moved that they feel compelled to return as full-time students. Whether you’re charting a course for academia or pursuing a different path, the Rome High School Summer Program ensures a summer that is not only memorable but also life-changing. It equips participants with essential tools to navigate and triumph over life’s challenges, all within the captivating backdrop of the Eternal City.
Curriculum and Activities
Reading the Great Books is an essential part of a true education. As the great Aquinas once put it, “Every kind of knowledge and art is ordered to one end: the perfection of man, which is his beatitude.” Indeed, any truly great human work draws forth from our souls those seeds of truth, beauty, and goodness with which we have been so liberally endowed by our Creator.
To give high-school students an opportunity to participate in this aspect of the education available at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, students will spend their time in Rome visiting all manner of wonderful places: holy sites, catacombs, basilicas, museums, and (of course) restaurants and cafes. A portion of their time will be spent in reading and studying a small selection of the best that has been thought and said in prose and poetry about Rome, the Eternal City.
Rome Summer Program Curriculum
- Livy’s History of Early Rome, Book I, Chapter 1
- Virgil’s Aeneid, Book VI
- Richard Wilbur’s Roman poems:
- “A Baroque Wall-Fountain in the Villa Sciarra”
- “Piazza di Spagna, Early Morning”
- “Love Calls Us to the Things of This World”
- Selections from Seneca’s Moral Letters to Lucilius
While full course packets will be made available to all students upon arrival at our New Hampshire campus, most of these readings are readily available online, and we do recommend that students read as much as possible before the program begins.
Program Details
Date: The Rome High School Summer Program will take place from July 29–August 10, 2024. Participants will begin on our campus in Merrimack, NH before traveling to Italy. View the Rome itinerary here.
Eligibility: The Rome High School Summer Program is open to all rising high school seniors.
Application Deadline: Applications must be received before March 20, 2024. The signed commitment letter is due prior to March 20th. The Medical Forms, Waiver of Liability and Parental Consent forms are due prior to May 31st.
Price: The tuition for each student participating in the Rome High School Summer Program will be $3,800 which includes airfare from our NH campus to Rome, and back again. An initial down payment of $2,000 will be due before March 20, 2024, with the remainder of $1,800 paid before May 31, 2024. Payment can be made here.
Scholarship: A scholarship equal to the normal Summer Program scholarship will be given to each participating student in the Rome High School Summer Program upon enrollment at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts: $4,000 total upon enrollment at Thomas More—more than covering the tuition amount for attending the Summer Program. This scholarship is combinable with other scholarships.
