About The Program
In beautiful Florence, a global capital of culture and innovation, you can learn about the entrepreneurial spirit that fuels family businesses in Italy, explore how Italian style in food, fashion and art has evolved and is marketed, or study the environment and sustainability in Tuscany. Complement your classroom work with field trips, internships and volunteering opportunities. Courses are taught in English.
Where you'll study
Your home base in Florence for everything from classes to meet-ups for program tours and excursions is the Accent study center in Florence. You will attend classes in two palazzi; the main center is contained within the first two floors of the Palazzo Guadagni, an early 16th-century building in the tree-shaded Piazza Santo Sprito of the Oltrarno neighborhood. The heart of historic Florence, this bohemian neighborhood just south of the River Arno features winding cobblestone streets, outdoor eateries and cafés, traditional local businesses, and artisan’s workshops. Staff are on hand to answer academic questions, share information on cultural and social activities, and offer general advice. The main center has five classrooms for courses and lectures, a student services area, a computer lab with the latest iMacs, faculty offices, a lending library for UCEAP courses, and a comfortable student lounge. A second facility where you will attend classes is the Palazzo Jules Maidoff, a four-story Renaissance building with a beautiful walled garden a short walk from the Duomo.
media gallery
TRIPS AND ACTIVITIES
The study center arranges field trips and activities to introduce the local culture and special features of your host country. There may be other optional excursions, which you can explore after arrival.
Tuscany tour to Siena and San Gimignano
Pizza cooking lesson
Student movie nights
Leather workshop
Excursions to Pisa and Lucca during the academic year
From The Californian Abroad
My career goal is to become a pediatric oncologist, and I had the privilege of teaching 9- and 10-year-olds English while studying abroad in Italy. Learning to communicate with children will be essential to my future career, and the opportunity to teach, interact, and learn from Italian children was the most enriching and influential experience of my time abroad.
Before interning abroad, I never seriously considered international journalism as something I was cut out for. The four months I spent in Italy, buzzing myself in through the courtyard and waiting behind the wobbly desk for my next story, contained the most valuable experiences I’ve ever had. I doubt the growth and independence I found would have been possible without leaving America and diving headfirst into Italian journalism.
During my time abroad, I learned quite a few valuable skills. I learned adaptability, but more importantly, cultural understanding and awareness. It was a pleasure to have conversations with people from all over the world, and working with Italians was very new to me. There were some differences but they helped me learn, grow, and expand my skills.
I had never been exposed to so many people from different national identities, and for the first time in my life, I was the only American in the room. My first week was rocky, I'll be the first to admit it. I became conscious of the American habits I didn't even know I had. I spoke too loud or too much, and almost always in English. I was reluctant to leave for lunch until I was ushered out for afternoon break! The space and people I worked with made my study abroad experience truly meaningful. I feel LIke I lived in Florence instead of just traveling there.
Memories such as the ones I experienced are once-in-a-lifetime, and would not have been possible without the internship. I aspire to become a school counselor for students in lower-income communities. I hope to use the skills I learned on this program to continue hosting professional photoshoots available to all students to create a more equitable future for lower-income students of color, such as the one I would have wanted growing up.