Why
CET Siena students are looking for a meaningful Italian immersion experience in a country where that isn’t always easy. Build the intellectual foundation for understanding, engaging with, and appreciating the city of Siena.
Semester
Snapshot
- Recommended Credits: 15 -17
- Italian language classes for all levels
- Customize your experience with elective options
- Traveling Seminar to Sicily
- Out-of-class learning and assignments
Curriculum & Syllabi
You take one core course, one or two semesters’ worth of Italian, and two to three electives to meet the total 15 to 17 recommended credits.
Required for UVA students, and recommended for non-UVA students.
Taught in English for 3 credits.
You choose if you want to take one or two semesters’ worth of Italian language.
1 semester’s worth of Italian
- ITAL1010 Elementary Italian 1 (4 credits)
- ITAL1020 Elementary Italian 2 (4 credits)
- ITAL2010 Intermediate Italian 1 (3 credits)
- ITAL2020 Intermediate Italian 2 (3 credits)
2 semesters’ worth of italian
- ITAL1010.1020 Elementary Italian 1&2 (8 credits)
- ITAL1020.2010 Elementary Italian 2 & Intermediate Italian 1 (7 credits)
- ITAL2010.2020 Intermediate Italian 1&2 (6 credits)
- ITAL2020.3010 Intermediate Italian 2 & Advanced Italian 1 (6 credits)
- ITAL3040.3050 Advanced Italian 1&2 (6 credits)
Choose two or three 3-credit electives for a total of 15 to 17 recommended credits (including the language and core courses):
- ARTH2054 Roman Art and Archaeology
- ARTH3525 Topics in Renaissance Art History: Imagery and Public Space in Early Modern Europe
- ARTH3525 Topics in Renaissance Art History: Sienese Art and Architecture
- ARTS2632 Life Drawing II
- ITAL3120 Contemporary Italian Literature
- ITTR2710 Italian Cultural History
- ITTR3107/MDST3107 Evolution of Media in Italy: From Unification to the Present
- ITTR3670 Contemporary Italian Cinema: From Canon to the Fringe
- ITTR/WGS 3680 Foodscapes in Women’s Writing, Culture and Society
- PLCP2110 Italian and European Politics
- PLIR2500 Special Topics in International Relations: The European Banking System
Tailor Your Semester
Traveling Seminar: Learning on the Road
Day 1: Arrive in Catania. Walk through the city with a guide and learn about the styles of architecture utilized throughout the centuries.
Day 2: Hike Mount Etna and learn about the geological history of this symbol of Sicily. Eat your way through Catania during a Sicilian street food tour.
Day 3: Participate in a discussion on organized crime with an anti-mafia group and Sicilian college students. Continue the conversation with the students over a group dinner.
Day 4: Learn about the economics of Catania’s famous fish market then use your remaining free time to explore the market on your own. Return to Siena.
Take As Much Italian As You'd Like
"If you want a completely immersive experience in terms of communicating with locals, practicing and learning/improving your Italian, and experiencing more authentic taste of Italian food culture, Siena is the place for you."
Vanderbilt University | Spring 2018
& Meals
- Apartments or homestays
- Off-campus housing
- Live with an Italian student or a local host family
- 3-6 people/apartment; 1-4 students/homestay
- 1-3 people/apartment room; 1-2 students/homestay room
- Fully-equipped kitchen, living room, shared bathroom per 2-3 students, in-unit washer
- Internet access, bedroom and bathroom linens, basic furnishing, kitchenware
You can share an apartment with CET peers and an Italian roommate, or live with a local family. Both arrangements give you independence and instant community—chat about Italian politics with your host mom, go grocery shopping with your roommate. For meals, cook for yourself or try Siena’s many restaurants and cafés. (And if you select a homestay, enjoy home-cooked breakfasts and dinners with your family.)
Live with an Italian Family
Housing option 1
See how a family birthday is celebrated in an Italian home. Watch TV with your host dad and ask him his views about Italian politics. Get your host mom to teach you the secret to making her delicious marinara sauce. Living in a homestay gives you a completely immersive experience. Your host family will love learning about your culture, and more importantly, they will love sharing theirs with you.
Live with a Local Student
Housing option 2
You can learn everything you need to know about Italian college life from a local roommate. Learn how to haggle at the mercato (market). Ask them to show you their favorite beach or thermal spring, depending on the season. Go on a picnic to their favorite spot in Tuscany.
Roommates are local university students selected by CET. You’ll share your apartment with other CET students and one local roommate.
Eating in Siena
If you live in a homestay, you’ll eat breakfasts and dinners with your hosts. For other meals, or if you stay in an apartment, cook for yourself or take your pick of Siena’s many restaurants and cafés offering some of the best dishes in Italy. Make sure to try the favorite local pasta, pici al cinghiale (pasta with wild boar sauce), and ribollita (soup with bread and vegetables).
Life in
- Known locally as: Siena
- Population: 53,772
- Local Currency: Euro
- Famous for: Strong sense of community, thriving university scene, less spoken English, medieval brick architecture, Palio horse races, Piazza del Campo
It’s no wonder Siena is a crowd-favorite—with its beautiful cityscape, impressive food scene, and close-knit community feel, it’s hard not to love this Tuscan city. Converse with friendly locals in Italian and discover the deep connection residents have to the city and their contrada (districts with origins dating back to medieval times). Bump into your neighbors at the open-air market. Stroll down winding brick alleyways. Enjoy cantucci con vinsanto (biscotti with dessert wine).
Activities & Excursions
Around Tuscany
Volunteer in Siena
"I love the day-to-day of living with a host family and having fun teasing each other. It helps a lot with picking up commonly-used expressions and forms of speech, as well. I think if I were living in an apartment I would feel much more distanced from Sienese culture and society. In a host family, I feel much closer to it all."
University of Virginia | Spring 2018
On-site Staff
Emiliana Caldarelli
Director of Italy Programs
Victoria Van Luit
Siena Program Director
Anna DiBiase
Assistant Director for Academic Affairs
Erika Eleuteri
Siena Program Coordinator
Program
Spring/Fall 2020
|
$19,990
Spring/Fall 2020: $19,990
Of the total program fee, $15,990 goes to tuition and fees, and $4,000 goes to housing and other student life fees.
All of your classes and program-related learning are included with your tuition.
We take you on a four-day trip to the island of Sicily. The entire trip is covered, even the coastal views and warm sunshine.
If you choose to live with a local roommate in an apartment, your housing is covered. If you opt for a homestay, there is an additional fee to help cover the costs of an extra member in the household.
From pre-departure to orientation, from on site to re-entry, CET provides you with the support you need every step of the way.
You’re provided with a comprehensive insurance plan through GeoBlue that includes medical evacuation coverage.
The activities and excursions that we arrange are included in your program fee. All you need to do is bring your camera!
Your textbooks & course supplies are covered and waiting for you in Siena.
You’ll also receive an official transcript jointly issued by CET and UVA at the end of the term. You also have the option to request a School of Record transcript from the University of Minnesota for an additional fee if necessary.
Estimated
Out-of-Pocket
Costs
- Homestay fee: $2,900
- Round-trip Airfare: $1,100 - $1,600
- Meals (apartment): $2,400-$2,800
- Meals (homestay): $1,200 - $1,400
- Personal Expenses: $2,000 - $3,000
- Visa Application Fee: $50
- Permit of Stay (on-site registration): $150
- Open to students from any US college or university
- GPA: 3.0 or higher preferred, but admissions decisions are made on a case-by-case basis; lower GPAs still encouraged to apply
- Open to all levels of Italian language speakers
Complete the application through your online CET account. This is a brief form that asks for basic information and has a few short answer questions about why you want to study abroad.
Use the link in your online account to send a recommendation request to one of your previous instructors.
This is an online form that your study abroad office fills out to let us know you meet the requirements to study abroad. To send the electronic form request, simply enter the name and email address of your study abroad advisor in the designated fields of of your online account.
Your online CET account has specific instructions for submitting an official transcript.
Spring deadline:
October 1st
Fall deadline:
May 1st
Price Subject to Change:
CET reserves the right to increase quoted charges at any time without prior notification, based on increased instruction costs, exchange rate fluctuation or other cost increases beyond CET’s control.