Study Abroad | Florence

Session 1

Students in Session 1 choose one course for a recommended 3 credits. The courses available all focus on an important aspect of Italian life and culture and formal classroom teaching is supplemented by academic visits and field trips in and around Florence, with the city itself helping you to learn in a very visual and exciting way. All courses are taught in English.

Students taking both the optional Rome and Venice excursions can take an Italian Art: Selected Topics course for an additional one credit.

Session 2

This program is designed for students who wish to study multiple courses from a broad range of subjects focusing on Italian life and culture including Italian language, art history, drawing, entrepreneurship, fashion, history, marketing, painting, photography and sociology. All courses carry a recommended 3 credits and students generally take 2 courses for a total of 6 credits. All courses are taught in English apart from Italian language.

Students who take both Sessions 1 and 2 can earn up to 9 credits over 7 weeks. Students taking both the optional Rome and Venice excursions can take an Italian Art: Selected Topics course for an additional one credit.

This is an interactive, in the field program held in the two most important wine areas in Italy. AIFS, in collaboration with the University of Gastronomic Science in Pollenzo, offers a course which combines classes, tastings, visits to wineries and vineyards and study trips with seminars led by international faculty from enology, wine culture and wine management. In the second week, with the collaboration and hospitality of the Wine Bank and Slow Food’s Slow Wine, classes are taught in Pollenzo in the UNESCO Heritage Castle in the Langhe (Barolo area), while the other two weeks are held in Florence at the AIFS Global Education Center with trips to the Chianti Region. Students take The Marketing of Wine in Italy, a 3-credit course which focuses on the importance of wine as a tool to understand and approach cultural diversity in a more globalized world.

The Summer Soccer Program is organized in two parts:  

During Week 1 classes will be held at the MUSEO DEL CALCIO (Italian Football Museum) in Coverciano – Firenze, where sport and soccer specialists and professionals belonging to the Technical Federation Center of FIGC (Italian football federation) will lecture on the following subjects: sport education; football and communication; sport nutrition; match analysis; introduction to history of soccer in Italy.  

Activities will include: a guided tour of the MUSEO DEL CALCIO; a guided tour of the Coverciano Technical Center; two training sessions on the field led by FIGC federal coaches (please, note that students have two options: a. to practice or b. to assist coaches during sessions). 

Included in the course package is a lunch at the restaurant of the Federal Technical Center of Coverciano, the same location where the national teams eat and the full team clothing kit (T-shirt, shorts and socks). 

During Weeks 2 and 3 students will attend classes at the AIFS GEC – Florence. Along with in-class activities, students will have the possibility to attend two more afternoon training sessions on the field led by federal technical coaches belonging to the SAF – SOCCER ACADEMY FLORENCE. Please, note that students have two options: a. to practice or b. to assist coaches during sessions.  

A field trip to an ACF Fiorentina men’s SERIE A game at the Artemio Franchi stadium in Florence, and a meeting with ACF Fiorentina Women team will be organized.  

Through such hands-on experiences students can interpret the social dynamics of soccer in Italy, adopting a comparative, cross-cultural perspective. The program carries a total of 3 credits. 

The Study + Internship Program consists of a 3-credit course on the Traditional Academic Program chosen from those listed for Session 2 plus a 3-credit internship course and accompanying 7-week internship placement for a total of 6 semester credits. Students taking both the Rome and Venice excursions can earn an additional credit when they register for Italian Art: Selected Topics. 

The Program offers a guaranteed internship in your desired career field, award-winning professional development program, résumé, cover letter, and interview prep, on-site orientations, full-time local staff and 24/7 support, LinkedIn profile coaching, and post-program career development toolkit. Students will engage in work experience with organizations in business, hospitality, tourism management, fashion, art, marketing and event planning. The experience is designed to be relevant to the student’s academic pursuits, personal development, and professional preparation. 

The internship provides students with the opportunity to gain experience in workplace settings and to translate classroom learning into practice. It is a substantive career development experience with the intent being for the student to be exposed to business ideas and concepts while being mentored. Doing analysis, contributing to decisions, and communicating meaningful ideas should form the bulk of the work, although some low skill work (for example, data entry and making phone calls) can be a part of the assignment. At the end of the internship experience, students will be able to reflect on their personal and professional growth and begin seeing themselves on their career path. 

While every internship is different, AIFS has adopted the internship definition recommended by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE.) The criteria are as follows: 

• The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained in the classroom. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform. 
• The skills or knowledge learned must be transferable to other employment settings. 
• The experience has a defined beginning and end, and a job description with desired qualifications. 
• There are clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student’s academic coursework. 
• There is supervision by a professional with expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field of the experience. The experienced supervisor will provide routine feedback. 
• There are resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals. Students are expected to dress and behave professionally throughout their internship assignment and adhere to the agreed-upon internship standards and requirements as described by GE and the host organizations. 

Internship locations: internships can be arranged in a wide range of relevant areas including fashion companies, artisans’ workshops, design brands, galleries, museums, hotel chains and tour operators.