Study Abroad in Italy

Italy is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and includes the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea – Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within the Italian Peninsula, while Campione d’Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The capital city is Rome.

Geographically, Italy is mostly mountainous, with narrow coastal plains. In general, Italy has a Mediterranean climate. It is mainly mild on the coast, becomes colder inland (in the mountain regions) and can be extremely hot everywhere in the summer.

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*Video courtesy of Italian Tourism

Program Details

  • Must be between the ages of 15 and 17
  • No prior Italian language required, 2 years recommended
  • Placed with volunteer host family
  • Optional Soft Landing Camp in Milan
  • Optional language course
  • Optional sports guarantee
  • Optional metro guarantee (Florence, Venice, Naples)

Dates

  • Academic Year: Sept – June
  • Fall Semester: Sept – Jan
    Soft Landing Camp: Not available due to the pandemic
  • Spring Semester: Jan – June
  • 3 month Fall program: Sept – Dec
    Soft Landing Camp: Not available due to the pandemic
  • 3 month Spring program: Jan – April
  • 2 month Fall program: Sept – Nov
    Soft Landing Camp: Not available due to the pandemic
  • 2 month Spring program: Jan – March
  • Fall Application Deadline: April 1st
  • Spring Application Deadline: October 1st

Program Costs

  • Academic Year – $7,500
  • Semester – $7,300
  • 3 months – $4,500
  • 2 months – $4,300

Required International Health/Liability Insurance:

  • Academic Year – $660
  • Semester – $390
  • 3 months – $300
  • 2 months – $200

$1700 deposit due with application

Optional additions:
– Soft Landing Camp in Milan – $560
– Metro Guarantee– N/A
– Regional Guarantee– $615
– Sports Guarantee– $280

**Prices are subject to change**

Program Includes

Public high school acceptance

Volunteer host family placement

Visa support documents

Pre-departure orientation

Arrival orientation in local area

Monitoring and supervision by local partner while in Italy

24-hour emergency support

Program Does Not Include

International airfare

Domestic transportation within Italy

School textbooks and lunches

Extracurricular expenses for clubs, sports, etc.

Passport/visa/resident card fees

Personal spending money

High School System

Upper secondary school (scuola superiore) lasts between three to five years beginning at age fourteen. The first two years are mandatory (biennio) with coursework in general studies followed by an optional three years (triennio) of specialized education.

The students must decide if they want to go on to university or focus on more technical training after the first two years of study.

There is liceo, which is more academic in nature for those planning to go to university. Those pursuing technical training attend an istituto, which is essentially a vocational school.

Every school district has a classics (liberal arts) school, a science school and a technical or a vocational school for upper secondary students. There is also a teacher training school and an art school in larger towns. There may be several vocational schools which often reflect local industries. The school day is generally from 8 am to 2 pm.