Experience the building of a newborn society after conflict and learn the stories of its people. As part of this 5 week program, students will take two RIT courses (for a total of 6 credits) and participate in a week-long pre-study trip to Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovnia and Serbia.

Program Overview 

Explore the history, politics and economics of conflict situations in an environment that serves as a living example of the subject. You'll learn about the background of the Kosovo conflict of the late 20th century, the dynamic nature of security in the period following the fighting, and continuing challenges to conflict transformation and development. Courses in areas such as war and peace in the Balkans, the role of the international community in conflict resolution and economic development in post-conflict areas will be taught by renowned experts who have hands-on experience in the crises of the Balkans and elsewhere. Classes include students from around the world sharing one thing in common: an interest in learning about the timeless issues of war and peace in a newly born country that has not fully recovered from violent conflict. The classroom experience will be further enhanced by day trips across the region, highlighting the rich cultural diversity of the Balkans.

Courses 

Students choose two courses:

No pre-requisites*. Program open to all majors. Full course descriptions available here. 

*Students pursuing an internship must have at least 60 completed college credit hours, of which at least 12 are at UNT; at least 12 completed credit hours in political science (of which 6 may be 1000-level courses); and an overall GPA of at least 3.0 OR a major GPA of 3.0 coupled with an overall GPA of at least 2.8.

Program Cost

Program Package Price
€3,995 (roughly $4,600)
The program package covers the following:

• Six transferable credits (two courses) from the Rochester Institute of Technology, USA
• Seven-Day Regional Study Tours to Albania, Montenegro, Croatia (Dubrovnik), Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia (incl. transportation, hotel, meals) 
• Two-day cultural excursion in Kosovo
• Seminars and Workshop
• Basic Course in Albanian Language (15 hours)
• Accommodation throughout the entire five-week program. This includes accommodation in Pristina.
• All meals throughout the program: breakfast, lunch and dinner from Monday through Friday at the RIT-K canteen.
• Bus ticket from the hotel – downtown – RIT-K campus.
• Phone card: each student will be provided with an IPKO sim card including (€3 credit).

Estimated Additional Costs:

• Round Trip Airfare to Kosovo
• Books & Supplies: € 90 ($ 100)
• Phone card refill: Students can refill their IPKO card at the local IPKO offices in Pristina. For those coming out of countries with locked phones, please unlock before arrival to Kosovo – or inexpensive phones can be found in Prishtina.
• Transport to/from the airport: The ride from the airport to RIT-K campus is 20 minutes and costs € 15 ($17). More information will be provided closer to date.

Note: The additional costs are to be covered by the applicant.

Other Personal Expenses
Personal expenses during the program vary based on individual spending.  While most of the meals are covered in the package fee, weekend meals and personal transportation costs differ depending on student preferences.   Meals in Kosovo are very reasonably priced from a range of €2 – €5 ($3 – $6) a dish.  Public transportation €0.40 cent ($0.50) and taxis from €1.50 – €5 ($2 – $6) in the surroundings of Pristina. Please contact our Program Coordinator for more information about pricing in Kosovo at summerinfo@auk.org.  Please note that evening and weekend events organized by students will be at student own expense.

Student Feedback
"The excursions that we did were amazing, we traveled to 5 countries and had many cultural experiences. We also had amazing guest speakers who I learned a lot from. The classes were very rigorous, and hard but I learned so much from the program. The professors were amazing!" - Jaden, Summer 2025