Academics

Fields of Study: Humanities, Social Sciences

Discover what makes Florence unique by examining Florence's history of marketing, entrepreneurship, business, culture, food, and more. All elective courses include site visits in Florence and beyond that bring each subject to life.

Unique study opportunities

  • Take classes with students from across the UC campuses that incorporate site visits and excursions throughout the city.
  • Learn about entrepreneurship the Italian way.
  • Make tangible memories you can take home through a leather-making workshop, Neapolitan pizza lessons, and a variety of other fun learning activities.
  • Use the city of Florence as your muse in a drawing, painting, or photography studio art course.

Language

Language of Instruction: English

Italian Language Study:  Optional

There are three optional language courses for you to choose from if you wish to study Italian language in Florence:

Exploring Florence: Language and Culture -- Explore Florence’s rich culture and learn the basics of Italian language; the culture section of the course examines the city of Florence through a series of on-site lectures, and the language section gives you the tools and skills to navigate the city and complete tasks in real-life situations and specific contexts.

Elementary Italian -- This is a traditional language course, focusing on the first term of Italian language study.

Intensive Elementary Italian Language Series -- Enroll in two consecutive language courses in the summer or three consecutive language courses in the fall. During the summer term, you'll get the equivalent of two quarters of Italian language study at a UC. During the fall semester term, you'll get the equivalent of a year of Italian language study at a UC. The Intensive Italian Language Series is not available in the winter quarter or spring semester terms.

Courses and credit

Requirements While Abroad

To successfully complete this intensive 6-week program:

  • Take two courses for a total of 10 quarter/6.6 semester UC units.
  • You may take one course pass/no pass.

To successfully complete this program:

  • Take a full-time course of study: Four courses for a total of 20 quarter/13.2 semester UC units.
  • You may take one course pass/no pass.

To successfully complete this program:

  • Take a full-time course of study: Three courses for a total of 14-15 quarter UC units.
  • You may take one course pass/no pass.

To successfully complete this program:

  • Take a full-time course of study: Four courses for a total of 20 quarter/13.2 semester UC units.
  • During the first 10 weeks, take three elective courses; during the last five weeks of the program, take one intensive elective course.
  • You may take one course pass/no pass. If you take one of your courses for pass/no pass in the first 10 weeks of the program, you cannot use the pass/no pass option for the last five-week course.

Current Program Courses

Electives (select two):

Exact offerings may vary depending on enrollment and instructor availability. Final course offerings are announced before the start of the program. Course enrollment is held on a first-come, first-served basis; enrollment in your top course preference is not guaranteed, so be sure to have back-up courses in mind. Recent courses include:

You may enroll in only one of the food courses, either The Making of Italian Identity or Bread, Wine & Olive Oil, not both, and only as long as placements are available. Enrollment is on a first-come first-served basis.

You may not elect to take both the Exploring Florence: Language and Culture course, and the Elementary Italian course on your program. You may only select one of these courses if you are interested in taking an Italian language course, or the two-course Intensive Italian Series.

Research and independent study are typically not available on this program.

Electives (select four):

Exact offerings may vary depending on enrollment and instructor availability. Final course offerings are announced before the start of the program. Course enrollment is held on a first-come, first-served basis; enrollment in your top course preferences is not guaranteed, so be sure to have back-up courses in mind. Recent courses include:

The Photography, Painting, and Foundations of Drawing studio art courses require students to purchase or own art supplies as listed in the syllabi. The cost of these supplies is out of pocket.

You may enroll in only one of the food courses, either The Making of Italian Identity or Bread, Wine & Olive Oil, not both, and only as long as placements are available. Enrollment is on a first-come first-served basis.

You may not elect to take both the Exploring Florence: Language and Culture course, and the Elementary Italian course on your program. You may only select one of these courses, or the Intensive Italian Series, if you are interested in taking an Italian language course.

Research and independent study are typically not available on this program.

Electives (select three):

Exact offerings may vary depending on enrollment and instructor availability. Final course offerings are announced before the start of the program. Course enrollment is held on a first-come, first-served basis; enrollment in your top course preferences is not guaranteed, so be sure to have back-up courses in mind. Recent courses include:

The Photography, Painting, and Drawing studio art courses require students to purchase or own art supplies as listed in the syllabi. The cost of these supplies is out of pocket.

You may enroll in only one of the food courses, either The Making of Italian Identity or Bread, Wine & Olive Oil, not both, and only as long as placements are available. Enrollment is on a first-come first-served basis.

You may not elect to take both the Exploring Florence: Language and Culture course, and the Elementary Italian course on your program. You may only select one of these courses if you are interested in taking an Italian language course.

Research and independent study are typically not available on this program.

Electives (select four):

Exact offerings may vary depending on enrollment and instructor availability. Final course offerings are announced before the start of the program. Course enrollment is held on a first-come, first-served basis; enrollment in your top course preferences is not guaranteed, so be sure to have back-up courses in mind. Recent courses include:

The Photography, Painting, and Drawing studio art courses require students to purchase or own art supplies as listed in the syllabi. The cost of these supplies is out of pocket.

You may enroll in only one of the food courses, either The Making of Italian Identity or Bread, Wine & Olive Oil, not both, and only as long as placements are available. Enrollment is on a first-come first-served basis.

You may not elect to take both the Exploring Florence: Language and Culture course, and the Elementary Italian course on your program. You may only select one of these courses if you are interested in taking an Italian language course.

Research and independent study are typically not available on this program.

Catalogs and resources

  • UCEAP Course Catalog: See a list of courses students have taken on this program. 
  • Campus Credit Abroad: Learn the types of credit (major, minor, general education, elective) students from your campus received at this location.

Academic culture

You’ll be on this program with other UC students in relatively small classes. Since courses are designed for UC students, regular papers, reports, exams, and projects are all part of the curriculum. Professors are local resident faculty with experience teaching UC students.

The academic workload for this program is demanding. Expect to be in the classroom or on required site visits and excursions from three to six hours per day. You will typically be in class Monday through Thursday, with occasional courses and excursions on Fridays and in the afternoons and evenings. All courses have required readings and assignments that you will complete outside of your classroom hours. You are expected to attend all field exercises and excursions, which are integral components of the courses. This program includes many field trips that require extensive walking on cobblestone streets. You are required to attend class, arrive punctually, and participate actively in your courses. Attendance is taken at every course meeting.

The studio art courses offered in the fall, winter, and spring have a strict attendance policy. If you miss more than one class meeting for courses meeting once a week or two class meetings for courses meeting more than once a week without evidence of medical need, your final grade for the class will be dropped by a third of a letter grade for each extra absence.

Grades

You will earn direct UC credit and grades for all coursework. Grades are typically available mid-September for the summer, late January for the fall semester, late April for the winter quarter, and late May for the spring semester.