The clock is ticking for the opportunity to get what program organizers say is a college experience with some international flair.

In the heart of Italy, situated among historical monuments and classical architecture in the medium-sized Tuscan city, is an OU campus that has been there only four years, classics professor Peggy Chambers said.

The deadline to apply for OU’s study abroad program in Arezzo, Italy, is Feb. 24, according to the Education Abroad website. Students can study abroad for a summer, a semester or a full academic year.

“In 1981, there was no study abroad program,” she said. “I was the chair of Latin studies, and I decided it would be a good thing to do a program to see the Mediterranean world — either in Greece or in Italy.”

Finding the destination for the program was harder than expected.

“The bigger cities were not interested in OU — all the East Coast universities were already there,” Chambers said. “My thought was, ‘There’s got to be a place.’”

And there was. OU chose Perugia, Italy, already known for being an international center for teaching Italian, to host a Journey to Italy summer program in 2003, Chambers said.

Italian literature professor Jason Houston, who will serve as an OU faculty in residence for the program next year, discovered Arezzo before he worked for OU and incorporated the town into the program.

“There were no Americans,” Houston said. “It was a welcoming town to open a program. I said, ‘Let’s give Arezzo a try.’”

In 2006, Houston and Chambers did give it a try, spending half the program in Perugia and half in Arezzo.

OU hired Kirk Duclaux, who worked for OU in Florence, and he began building something bigger in Arezzo, Houston said. Duclaux now serves as director of Italian programs in Arezzo.

In 2007, OU and the University of Siena, the main campus in Arezzo, agreed to create an exchange, Houston said. And so began the Arezzo program.

To further the cooperation, Norman and Arezzo became sister cities in 2009.

What makes it a different exchange program is there is no language requirement to study there, Houston said. Professors teach classes in English, and all the courses are OU courses, which means students receive full credit.

“The goal of this study abroad program is not language proficiency; the goal is to give American students an opportunity to have an international experience,” he said.

However, Italian is not left out — students are required to take Italian language classes, and all of them are taught by Italian professors, Houston said. Students also have the chance to take classes in Italian at the University of Siena.

“What’s unique about this program is that when students come here, they have people find housing for them; they have people who can take them to the doctor if they get sick; they have a computer lab; they’re taught by OU professors,” Graduate Resident Director Leanna Payton said. “They kind of get the best of both worlds.”

Misha Goosheh, international area studies senior, is one of the students studying in Arezzo this semester. She said the program’s design makes being abroad easier.

“It makes me feel more comfortable to know that if I get sick in the middle of the night, I’m not on my own,” Goosheh said. “It provides a really great support and eases the transition a lot.”

Because of the close ties with the Arezzo community, the campus has internships available in museums, businesses, city governments, non-governmental organizations and more, Houston said.

This type of experience is what attracted Goosheh to Arezzo, she said.

“The reason I chose to come to Arezzo is because I get to have an international work experience, and that doesn’t happen for a lot of college kids,” she said. “It’s an incredible opportunity.”

The Italian city also is close to other European countries, allowing students the opportunity to travel.

“We have a Facebook group that we’re all members of, and we just ask, ‘I wanna go to Paris this weekend. Is anyone in?’” Goosheh said. “We have no classes on Friday, so it makes weekend travels easy.”

Just by staying in Arezzo, students can discover a new culture, Payton said.

“You can just walk down the street and stop at any cafe, have a cappuccino or a slice of pizza, and you have this really awesome feeling: I’m in Italy,” Payton said.