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Location
  • Italy
    • Florence
Term
Academic Year, Fall, J-Term, Maymester, Short Term, Spring, Spring Break, Summer, Winter
Subject Areas
Accounting Agriculture Architecture Art History Arts Business Communications Culinary Arts Cultural Studies Design Digital Media Entrepreneurship Food Science and Nutrition Global Studies Graduate Studies Graphic Design Hospitality Interior Design Journalism Marketing Music Performing Arts Photography Physics Political Science Religious Studies Service Learning Social Sciences Sociology Sports Sports Science Sustainable Development Tourism Web Design Women's Studies +25

Program Details

Program Type
Direct Enrollment
Degree Level
High School Diploma Associates Bachelors
Housing
Apartment Dormitory Host Family
Language
English

Pricing

Starting Price
7500
What's Included
Accommodation Some Activities Some Meals Travel Insurance Wifi
Jun 23, 2020
Jul 06, 2022
Wish List
50 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Studying abroad at FUA is characterized by the institution’s efforts in cultural integration. The institution’s position places FUA in direct contact with the city’s culture, movements, and events. The mission is to offer university level academics and services that not only bring about learning, but most importantly an active understanding, participation and contribution to the city by students from all academic fields, personal backgrounds, and nationalities.

Florence University of the Arts comprises many different schools within Florence including the following:

* Apicius International School of Hospitality
* DIVA - Digital Imaging and Visual Arts
* FAST - Fashion and Accessories Studies and Technology
* IDEAS - Interior Design, Environmental Architecture and Sustainability
* SAS - School of Arts and Sciences
* ISB - International School of Business
* J School - School of Journalism, Communication and Publishing

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Video and Photos

Study Abroad in Italy
Study Abroad in Italy
Study Abroad in Italy
Study Abroad in Italy
Study Abroad in Italy

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Program Highlights

  • Cultural integration, experiential learning
  • gap year: Bridge Year for high school graduates
  • Gap Year: for college students
  • Career Break Year for adult learners
  • Service Year through the Palazzi Foundation

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Program Reviews

4.56 Rating
based on 9 reviews
Leave a Review
  • 5 rating 77.78%
  • 4 rating 11.11%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 11.11%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Academics 4.45
  • Support 4.1
  • Fun 4
  • Housing 4.45
  • Safety 4.7
Showing 9 - 9 of 9 reviews
Default avatar
Michael
65
Male
4/5
No, I don't recommend this program

Mixed results

Jun 27, 2014

The instructors work hard and do well.
Ganzo is well received with good food and service.
The administrative staff in general seem overwhelmed with too may students to handle. It seems like a bother to ask for support, because there are so many students who need support.
The hours for the library, gymnasium, etc. are limited.

106 people found this review helpful.
Helpful

Questions & Answers

Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

Grace Joh

Program
Study abroad at FUA-AUF
Job Title
Academic Coordinator and Communications/Publishing Staff Member
Grace Joh is the J School academic coordinator and Communications/Publishing staff member at FUA. She is a native Californian and has studied literature at UC Berkeley and multimedia communication at Università degli Studi di Firenze. Grace is based in Florence, Italy at FUA’s main campus in the Santa Croce area.
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What does the future hold for FUA - any exciting new programs to share?

One of my absolute favorite programs is Tutto Toscana, held in the fall. Students learn all aspects of event production, from food prep to art direction, during a 3-week session in Florence and continue on to NYC where we hold events at the James Beard Foundation. We are also offering 4-year degree programs in three distinct disciplinary areas.

Why is language learning and cultural immersion important to you?

There is a big difference between language learning and cultural competence. One can easily memorize words but a true grasp of culture means applying those words to both cultural contexts and everyday life.

I’ve seen students in beginning language classes who were completely integrated in the space of the semester thanks to volunteer extracurriculars or service learning components of their classes. I don’t mean “language fluent” when I say “completely integrated,” but connected to life in Italy, to living like a Florentine, to caring about your new albeit temporary community.

I was a traditional language learner myself back in college and I would’ve loved to take a break from conjugating verbs to experience what we offer today at FUA, whether it’s learning Italian through community garden activities or interacting with elementary-level kids at local public schools in Florence.

And finally, cultural immersion has another positive side effect - it enriches your own national and personal identity thanks to widened perspectives.

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

I’ve realized that simply living in a different country or learning words in a foreign language does not make you a world citizen. It’s about how the experiences you accumulate make you stop and reflect upon how they impact your attitude and mentality towards the concepts of place and identity.

Working at FUA and in both the English and Italian languages have expanded my personal confines and allowed me to acquire new ways of thinking, expressing myself, problem solving, and much more.

Also, thanks to the stimulating projects that I am assigned to, I continuously discover that my work ethic has something to learn every single day. That goes to say that boredom is definitely not an issue in my daily life!

What unique qualities does your company possess?

The quality of our academics, first and foremost, and consequently our efforts towards programming courses and tuning our faculty and staff members into the learning needs of an international student body. Another important quality is our implementation of experiential learning.

We started to see a long time ago that internships are not the only answer to professionalizing a student’s experience. Experiential learning requires a clear vision, specific criteria, well-measured parameters, and a deeper understanding of how not all students fit into a single model.

Describe a time when you felt especially proud to be part of the FUA team.

Without a doubt the first time I gave a speech in front of a dinner audience at the James Beard Foundation. While there are so many moments that I can count in Florence, as a food lover whose stomping grounds during college days were in the SF Bay Area, I never once thought that I would end up organizing an event and publicly speaking at a revered food institution, not to mention doing so through a job abroad.

Funnily enough, thanks to a life-changing decision that led me to Italy and my entrance into the world of education, I unexpectedly fulfilled a dream-like situation that my college self 10 years ago would’ve laughed off as an impossibility.

About Florence University of the Arts - The American University of Florence

Studying abroad at Florence University of the Arts (FUA) is characterized by the institution’s efforts in cultural integration. The institution’s position places FUA in direct contact with the city’s culture, movements, and events. The mission is to offer university level academics and services that not only bring about learning, but most...

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