FACULTY-LED PROGRAMS · PROGRAM TYPES
Faculty-led program types — six formats, eight disciplines, one day in the life.
Whether you are sending a summer cohort, a full semester, or a year-long rotation, our partner desk can build the right program shape around your faculty's academic vision. Below: the program types we deliver most often, the disciplines we have hosted, and an illustrative day-in-the-life schedule.
Program types we have run or can run
2–4 week summer programs
Intensive faculty-taught programs around a single discipline — Italian civilisation, art history, architecture, design, food studies, contemporary politics, fashion, music. Cohort housing on or near campus; full cultural programming included.
Semester abroad with Italian language component
A full 12–16 week semester where your faculty teaches the core discipline course and we deliver concurrent Italian language instruction at the appropriate CEFR level. Optional integration with our long-term study-visa documentation framework.
Pre-semester language intensive + main program
Students arrive 2–4 weeks before the main faculty-led semester for an intensive Italian course, then the discipline-specific program begins. The most common pattern for "Italian + discipline" cohorts targeting B1/B2 proficiency by mid-semester.
Custom short courses (1–2 weeks)
Executive-education cohorts, MBA short courses, professional-development groups, alumni programs. Compressed, high-density academic content, custom-scheduled around home-institution calendars.
Full academic year
For institutions wanting a continuous study-abroad presence in Italy: a year-long program with cohort rotation between fall and spring semesters, optional summer continuity.
Hybrid & rotation models
Cohorts that move between two or more of our four cities during a single program — for example, Florence (heritage) + Milan (contemporary Italy) — or that combine on-site weeks with online pre-departure preparation.
Disciplines we have hosted — or can host
Our four campuses, together with our network of academic and cultural partners, support a wide range of disciplinary frames. Below: the disciplines we have worked with most often, mapped to the campus where the surrounding city offers the strongest field environment. Other disciplines welcome on request — we have run programs from environmental policy to opera studies.
Humanities & cultural studies
Italian civilisation · art history · architecture · Renaissance studies · museum studies · classical & medieval studies · religious studies · history of science · heritage conservation. Primary hub: Florence · also Mantua.
Languages & linguistics
Italian language (A1 → C2) · sociolinguistics · translation & interpreting · pedagogy of L2 · comparative literature · Italian cinema studies. All four campuses; primary hubs: Florence and Milan.
Business, management & finance
International business · management · entrepreneurship · finance · marketing · luxury & fashion management · sustainability strategy · Italian economic history. Primary hub: Milan.
Design, fashion & communication
Fashion design · industrial & product design · graphic design · advertising · media studies · digital communication · visual culture. Primary hubs: Milan and Turin.
Food, agriculture & territory
Italian food studies · Slow Food · wine & sommelier studies · food anthropology · sustainable agriculture · regional terroirs · culinary history. Primary hub: Turin · also Mantua.
Social sciences & contemporary Italy
Political science · contemporary Italian politics · sociology · migration studies · European studies · public policy · gender studies · urban studies. Primary hubs: Milan and Turin.
Arts, music & performance
Music history & opera studies · performance studies · theatre · creative writing · contemporary art (gallery scene, Castello di Rivoli, Fondazione Sandretto). All four campuses, scoped to discipline focus.
Other / interdisciplinary
Engineering site visits · automotive history · environmental policy · health-systems comparison · gerontology · architecture of historic preservation · service learning & community engagement. Scoped per program.
Sample weekly schedule — a day in the life
Illustrative schedule for a faculty-led semester program with an Italian language component, delivered at one of our campuses. The visiting faculty member teaches the discipline-specific course; our team delivers the Italian language module and the cultural programming around it.
Monday – Friday morning
09:30 – 11:00 · Faculty-taught course (visiting faculty, classroom 1)
11:00 – 11:15 · Coffee break (Unicafè or campus café)
11:15 – 12:45 · Italian language class (CEFR-level group, classroom 2)
Afternoons (varies by day)
Mon & Wed: independent study, study-room access, faculty office hours
Tue: guest lecture or curatorial visit (every 2 weeks)
Thu: language lab / conversation-partner session
Fri: field trip or site visit (scheduled per syllabus)
Evenings (optional)
Weekly: aperitivo or community-engagement session
Bi-weekly: cultural-programming event (cinema, theatre, music)
Monthly: regional dinner / food-and-wine evening
Weekends
Saturday: optional day-trip (e.g. Siena, Verona, Cinque Terre, Bologna) — scheduled approx. every other weekend
Sunday: free for independent travel and rest. Mid-program weekend break trip (3 nights, e.g. Rome or the Amalfi Coast) once per semester.
This is an illustrative schedule. The final program calendar is co-designed with the visiting faculty during scoping to align with the home institution's credit-hour requirements and the discipline-specific learning outcomes.
Talk to the partner desk about a program type
Tell us which program type fits your institution, the faculty member leading it, target dates, cohort size, and academic discipline. We respond with a draft program structure — usually within two working days.
Contact the partner desk → · How it works → · Pricing & process →
TO US