Why
Gap students at CET Siena take intensive language classes and a core course alongside college undergrads, volunteer with a local organization, and live with a Sienese family. Not only will you return home with impressive language skills and international experience, you’ll have college credit ready to go when the time comes.
CET Responds to COVID-19
CET is continuously monitoring the impacts of COVID-19 in Italy and around the world. We are realistic about the challenges of offering programs in these terms, though, and we will we will inform affected students of any changes to the program’s status. Some aspects of your experience abroad may look different from our standard program. For more on CET’s response to COVID-19, read about our COVID Playbook for operating programs abroad.
program highlights
- Intensive Italian language courses alongside undergrads and other gap students
- Engage with the local community through volunteer service
- Live in an apartment with other students or in a homestay with an Italian family in the historic city center
- Extra support for gap students and lots of personal attention from dedicated staff
- Four-day Traveling Seminar to Sicily with the group
SEMESTER TAKEAWAYS
- College credits and an official transcript from the University of Virginia
- International and intercultural experience to benefit college essays
- Experience with college-level coursework
- International volunteer experience for résumés and internship applications
- Improved language skills and confidence
- Established study habits and structure for continued language learning success
Intensive
Program
Snapshot
- Recommended Credits: 9-11
- Cover two semesters' worth of Italian language each term
- English-taught Intercultural Communications core course
- Traveling Seminar to Sicily
- Out-of-class learning & assignments
Coursework & Syllabi
You take the core course and are placed into the appropriate level of Italian language to meet the total 9 to 11 recommended credits.
You take this 3-credit, English-taught course:
You are placed into the appropriate level to take 6 to 8 credits of Italian language:
- 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)
Intermediate and advanced levels have supplemental tutorial hours not included on listed syllabi.
Italy in Everything You Do
Maybe you’ve studied Italian language for a few semesters, or perhaps your interest in Italy is brand new. Either way, Siena is the perfect place to dive in and really immerse yourself. Not only will your curriculum cover two semesters’ worth of Italian language, you also take a core course that brings you to Sicily for comparative first-hand learning and volunteer with a local organization throughout the semester. And with a city as tightly knit as Siena, you can take everything you learn in the classroom with you as you get to know your host family, neighbors, and community.
Traveling Seminar: Learning on the Road
Day 1: Arrive in Palermo. Group lunch followed by walking tour with a local guide. Bus to Catania.
Day 2: Hike Mount Etna. Explore Catania and participate in a Sicilian street food tour. Dinner with local students.
Day 3: Discussion on organized crime with anti-mafia group. Guided tour of Monastero dei Benedettini. Group dinner.
Day 4: Visit Catania’s famous fish market followed by free time to explore on your own. Return to Siena.
"CET Siena has all the basics you might be looking for: a supportive and incredibly kind teaching and administrative staff, immersive language learning, amazing homestay opportunities, etc. What really made my semester incredible was how everyone in the program went above and beyond what was required to make me feel comfortable and also to help me explore Siena and Europe! The environment was incredibly supportive, and I made amazing friends and learned so much about Italian culture and the language!"
Vanderbilt University | Spring 2018
& Meals
- Apartment or homestay
- Off-campus housing
- Breakfasts and dinners included
- Live with peers or a local family
- 3-6 students/apartment; 1-4 students/homestay
- 1-3 students/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
Share breakfasts and dinners with your host family at home. For other meals, you can cook for yourself or take your pick of Siena’s many restaurants and cafés offering mouthwatering food. Find your favorite pizza spot or try pici al cinghiale (pasta with wild boar sauce). And don’t forget to have your fill of gelato—you are living in Italy after all.
EXTRA Support FOR GAP
With the sudden dive into intensive college-level courses, a brand new environment, and a foreign language and culture, we make sure that our gap students get a little extra support. You’ll have weekly meetings in English with the Resident Director and other gap students to unpack your experiences. Overwhelmed by culture shock? Need ideas for how to bond with your host family? Or maybe you just want to share the details on your favorite new breakfast spot. These weekly meetings provide a safe space for gap students to discuss and reflect, though all students are always welcome to approach staff with any issues.
On-site Staff
Emiliana Caldarelli
Director of Italy Programs
Victoria Van Luit
Siena Program Director
Anna DiBiase
Assistant Director for Academic Affairs
Life in
- Known locally as: Siena
- Population: 53,772
- Local Currency: Euro
- Famous for: Small town feel, rich culture, sense of community, less spoken English, medieval brick architecture, the Palio horseraces
Activities & Excursions
Give Back to Siena
Around Tuscany
"I developed my language skills so much more in Siena. I don't think my Italian could've gotten better any other way, and I've achieved a level of proficiency that I've never had with another foreign language. Living with a host family definitely helped with that."
University of Virginia | Spring 2019
Program
Spring 2021
|
$15,990
Spring 2021: $15,990
The program fee aims to be as inclusive as possible to minimize out-of-pocket costs.
All of your classes and program-related learning are included with your tuition.
Your textbooks and course supplies are covered and waiting for you on site.
We arrange for you to live in an apartment, right in the historic city center. Your program fees go toward rent, furnishing, and other management costs.
If you opt for a homestay, there is an additional fee to help cover the costs of an extra member in the household. This fee includes daily breakfasts and dinners at your home.
We take you on a four-day trip to the island of Sicily. The entire trip is covered, all you need to do is pack your bag.
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. It even includes evacuation coverage for individual medical emergencies.
The activities and excursions that we arrange are included in your program fee. All you need to do is remember to bring your camera!
You’ll receive an official transcript from the University of Virginia at the end of the program… the icing on the cake for your college applications.
Estimated
Out-of-Pocket
Costs
- Round-trip Airfare: $1,100 - $1,600
- Meals: $1,200 - $1,400
- Personal Expenses: $2,000 - $3,000
To be eligible for a Gap at CET program, you:
- Must be 18 or order at the time of program participation
- Should have a high school diploma but are not yet enrolled at a college or university degree program
- Are recommended to have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. Admissions decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, so students with lower GPAs are still encouraged to apply.
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 teachers.
Your online CET account has specific instructions for submitting an official transcript.
A phone interview is a required step of the application process. You will be contacted soon after the completion of your application.
Spring deadline:
November 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.
Kay Nguyen
Student Services Coordinator
Advises on programs in Czech Republic, Italy, & Vietnam
202.846.7656
[email protected]