This article was originally reported in November 2025. A latest update is at the end.
On November 12, 2025, Temple University announced that Temple Rome, its campus in Italy, would offer complete four-year bachelor’s degree programs starting in fall 2026 (Temple Now, November 12, 2025). Until then, Temple Rome had mainly hosted semester-abroad students and first-year students in the Temple Rome Entry Year Program, who later continued in Philadelphia.
The 18 degree programs
Five Temple schools and colleges are offering 18 bachelor’s programs in Rome:
- Fox School of Business: Business Management (BBA); Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management (BBA); International Business (BBA) with a concentration in international entrepreneurship or in international marketing; Marketing (BBA).
- School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management: Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management (BS); Multidisciplinary Studies in Sport, Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management (BS).
- Klein College of Media and Communication: Communication (BA); Communication Studies (BA) with an entrepreneurship concentration or a global and community engagement concentration.
- College of Liberal Arts: Cybersecurity and Human Behavior (BA); Economics (BA); Global Studies (BA); Italian (BA); Italian Studies (BA).
- College of Science and Technology: Computer Science (BA); Information Science and Technology (BA); Natural Sciences (BA) with a biology concentration.
“This is a significant milestone for both Temple Rome and the university as a whole,” said Temple President John Fry. Emilia Zankina, dean of Temple Rome and vice provost of global engagement, called the expansion “the natural next step,” describing it as a pathway to an accredited U.S. degree while living and learning in Rome.
Background: Temple Rome and Temple Japan
- Temple Rome opened a new campus at Piazza di Spagna in September 2024 and added a 50-bed residence hall for first-year students in January 2025. In fall 2025 it enrolled 228 students, including 38 first-year students, and expected more than 300 in spring 2026. It serves students from Temple’s Main Campus and from 76 other U.S. colleges and universities, and 2026 begins the celebration of its 60th anniversary.
- Temple University Japan (TUJ) in Tokyo, which already offers full degrees, is the model. Temple describes TUJ as the oldest and largest branch campus of a foreign university in Japan. Its fall 2025 enrollment was 3,545, up from 2,777 a year earlier, with more than 650 new first-year students; its undergraduate enrollment nearly tripled over three years, and it opened a satellite location in Kyoto in 2025.
Temple’s international campuses matter to the university’s finances: in March 2026, Fry told The Philadelphia Inquirer that “growth is imperative at Temple, given the diminution in the domestic enrollment.”
What international students should know
- A U.S. degree without a U.S. student visa. Studying for all four years in Rome means you live in Italy, not the U.S. Non-EU students need Italian immigration documents (Temple Rome charges a separate permit fee for non-EU citizens), and an F-1 visa and U.S. work rights such as OPT apply only when you study in the U.S.
- Moving to Philadelphia is possible. Temple Rome says degree students may also study at Main Campus in Philadelphia and that credits transfer seamlessly (Temple Rome: Bachelor’s Degree Program Information). If you plan to switch, check the visa process and the program’s on-campus requirements early.
- Cost. The Inquirer put Temple Rome’s annual tuition and fees at about $21,000 in March 2026, well below many U.S. private universities. Housing and living costs in Rome are extra; see Temple Rome’s costs, aid and scholarships pages for current rates.
- Program limits. Only the 18 listed majors can be completed in Rome, and each is a full-time program (at least 12 credits per semester).
- Temple at a glance. Temple is No. 109 in the 2027 U.S. News National Universities ranking. IPEDS data for fall 2025 (Philadelphia-based reporting) show 2,028 international students among 29,640 enrolled. See our Temple University school page.
Latest update
By March 2026, several new students had paid deposits for the four-year programs, and some first-year students in Rome said they would stay rather than move to Philadelphia. Temple Rome had more than 300 students that spring, and Zankina said she hoped to double enrollment over the next decade. Temple is one of only three U.S.-accredited universities offering four-year degrees in Italy, according to the Inquirer (The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 22, 2026). The four-year programs were scheduled to start with the fall 2026 semester.
For Temple’s earlier move to the Piazza di Spagna campus, see our report Temple University Opens New Campus in Rome.