Spring 2018

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Full-immersion course composed of: 165 contact hours of Italian Language & Culture, up to 135 hours of Humanities & Social Science courses, and Service-Learning.

After meeting the group on the arrival day at Pisa International Airport (PSA), SIS staff will accompany the group to Siena where host families meet the students. Orientation activities take place in the three days that follow. During Orientation, students get to know the city of Siena, each other, staff and are introduced to various aspects of the coming semester. They will start exploring the various intriguing, though sometimes contradictory, characteristics of Italy and Italians today.

The Orientation days also include a series of group activities, a welcome reception with host families, faculty and staff as well as a group historical tour of the ancient city.

Then the Intensive Italian Language Course begins. These first three weeks of the semester are dedicated to learning Italian, exploring the territory, visiting service sites and getting to know the host families.
Following the Intensive Italian Language Course, the group takes a break with a 4-day group excursion to a selected destination. Past trips have been north to a spa in the Italian Alps, to Genova and the Cinque Terre and to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast to the south.

Following the group excursion, the standard semester begins. During the semester students take Italian Language and choose up to 3 elective courses from the following list*:

ITALIAN LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE
- Contemporary Italian Literature
- Italian Literature: From the Middle Ages to the 20th Century
- Sociolinguistic Studies

HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
- Art History: History of Italian Costume
- Art History: Rediscovery of Humanity – The Renaissance in Central Italy
- Contemporary Italian History: From the Italian Unification to the European Union
- Cultural Anthropology
- Culture and Religion in Italy
- Italian Emigration to the Americas
- Medieval Art History
- Medieval Italian History
- History of Italy through Cuisine

BUSINESS COURSES
- Business and Legislative Italian
- Finance Ethics: From an Italian Perspective
- International Business

*All of our elective courses are gradually taught in Italian using the EUFICCS methodology and comprise 45 total contact hours.

Students enrolled in our Fall 2017 program may complete up to 19 US college credit hours. The program is composed by the following courses:

- Intensive Italian Language (75 contact hours - 3 credits)
- Semester Italian Language (90 contact hours - 6 credits)
- Reflective Writing (15 contact hours - 1 credit) taught in English.
- Up to 3 elective courses (45 hours each. Up to 9 credits)

SERVICE-LEARNING
Service is a fundamental component to the study abroad experience at Siena Italian Studies. All students are required to participate in projects that benefit the local community.

The service requirement for students is a minimum of 5 hours a week and there are many different opportunities in varying fields. Some examples are: setting tables and serving food at the city soup kitchen, visiting with the elderly at a nursing home, teaching English to local elementary school children or volunteering with Siena’s ambulance service.

To provide service in the community is an unparalleled way to improve language skills, be a part of the local social fabric, and make a genuine contribution to the host community.

INCLUDED IN PROGRAM FEE:
- Courses, meals and homestay accommodation
- Pick-up at Pisa International Airport on designated arrival day.
- Wireless internet at program offices
- Transcript issued by SIS
- Orientation and welcome cocktail
- Local bus pass (if necessary depending on location)
- 4-Day excursion (ie. Italian Alps, Italian Riviera, etc.)
- Several day-trips (ie. San Gimignano, Tuscan Coast, Organic Farms, etc.)
- Wine and cheese tastings
- Cooking lesson
- Siena city museums visits
- Uffizi gallery and Florence visit
- Opera show
- Travel advice during the program
- Final dinner & gadget