Study Abroad in Italy: History of Art & Italian Studies in Florence – Academics

Florence Curriculum: How the Academics Fit Together

As one of the leading destinations for US students, Florence is home to as many study abroad programs as the Uffizi Gallery is to works by Renaissance masters! How does CET Florence separate itself from the pack?

Unparalleled academics.

CET joins forces with Vanderbilt University to design a flexible but rigorous curriculum that gets students out the classroom door.

A core course sets students on their preferred track: history of art, or Italian and European studies. Electives then set the curricular wheels in motion. Can’t get enough Renaissance? Select courses in history or history of art. Want to understand the news behind the news of Europe’s political scene? Choose courses in politics and economics.

Course topics may differ, but here’s the common thread: no course leaves students sitting in front of a blackboard. Instead, each CET Florence elective takes students out into the city. Students see, hear and taste everything they read about in last night’s reading assignment. Students listen to course lectures at Palazzo Pitti. They do homework sitting in the piazza. They practice their Italian language at the outdoor grocery market.

Eventually, CET Florence students start to taste the reward that only those who attend a program with academic merit get to enjoy: the insight and knowledge that allows you to take Florence from “a place I visited” to “a place I lived.”

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Florence Fall & Spring Academic Requirements

Students select one core course–Italian Cultural History, or Imagery and Public Space. The core course guides the rest of the curriculum.

Students interested in Italian and European history usually select Italian Cultural History.
Students interested in history of art usually select Imagery and Public Space.

Each core course includes a faculty-led traveling seminar, typically to Sicily or Rome. Students complete assignments and attend class sessions while on the traveling seminar. Core courses are taught in English. 45 total hours, plus traveling seminar. 4 recommended credits.

Students enroll in Italian language. Beginning and intermediate language levels are offered. 60 total hours. 4 recommended credits.

Students enroll in language practicum. Students use their Italian language complete tasks around the city—they purchase train tickets, buy vegetables at the market, inquire about rates at the post office. 15 total hours. 1 recommended credit.

Students take two electives. Academic disciplines include: history of art, studio art, political science, banking, economics and history. All electives are taught in English. 45 total hours each. 3 recommended credits each. (Exception: Studio art meets for 90 total hours. 3 recommended credits.)

View all course options and download syllabi.

Florence Summer Academic Requirements

Students enroll in the core course–Italian Cultural History. This course is taught in English. 45 total hours. 3 recommended credits.

Students enroll in Italian language. Beginning, advanced-beginning and low-intermediate language levels are offered. 15 total hours. 1 recommended credit.

Students choose one elective. Academic disciplines include: history of art, studio art, political science, finance, economics and history. All electives are taught in English. 45 total hours each. 3 recommended credits each. (Exception: Studio art meets for 90 total hours. 3 recommended credits.)

View all course options and download syllabi.

Classroom Matters

Prerequisites

CET Florence is open to beginning and intermediate Italian language learners only. Advanced students interested in history of art should consider CET Siena. Advanced students who want to focus on Italian language should consider CET Sicily.

Language Class Placement

Italian language class placement is determined by:

The results of a placement exam.
The student’s transcripts.
The student’s Italian language ability as demonstrated in the application.

Adjustments to placements are made during the first week of classes.

Academic Rigor

CET Florence is a study abroad program for serious students. Classes are scheduled Mondays through Thursdays. Fridays are generally reserved for site visits and make-up classes. Students can expect at least one hour of prep time for every one hour of class time. Participation in classes and attendance at all site visits are mandatory.

Outside the Classroom

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Academic Excursions

CET wants students to walk down every cobblestone street Florence has to offer. Excursions put students on the path to exploring this beautiful city independently. Past students have:

Learned how to make pizza from the experts at a local pizzeria.
Seen an opera in the palace gardens of a 15th century residence.
Visited medieval churches lining narrow, cobblestone streets.
Sketched for their portfolios at a scenic overlook with stunning views of the Florentine landscape.

Traveling Seminar

Core courses take semester students on faculty-led seminars outside of Florence, typically to Sicily and Rome.

Sicily. For those semester students who select Italian Cultural History as a core course. Students might climb Mount Etna with a volcanologist. Or they might meet with a group of students from an anti-Mafia organization. Or even take a cooking class. While in the city of Catania, students learn the history of the famous lava stone elephant, a symbol of the city since 1200.
Rome. For those semester students who select Imagery and Public Space as a core course. The architectural differences between Rome and Florence are in full view as students visit the Vatican, Pantheon, Colosseum and Forum, and the Borghese Gallery. Faculty-led walking tours take them past some of the city’s many churches, fountains and piazzas.