UVA IN SIENA

The study abroad program in Siena offers students an exquisite, small-group experience in a less-touristed Tuscan city. The program is administered by CET Academic Programs with UVa serving as its academic sponsor. UVa thus has a primary role in curriculum design, implementation, and standards. UVa in Siena is a direct credit program.

The benefits of UVa in Siena include:

SIENA – a breath-taking, manageable, smaller-sized city in beautiful Tuscany, only an hour from Florence but without the tourists and crowds that can sometimes overwhelm the highly-trafficked Italian city; Siena's modest size and well-preserved medieval layout also encourage more frequent Italian language use, to accelerate one's language competence;

HOUSING OPTIONS -- apartment living with fellow American students and Italian university students or with host family;

SIZE -- a smaller program, with 18-30 students on average, from UVa and other American universities and colleges;

COURSES -- UVa in Siena offers a variety of courses, with special focus on Italian Language, Literature, Cinema and Culture; courses are offered also in Computer Science, Women, Gender and Sexuality, Art History, Politics, Global Studies and Media Studies; most classes taught in English with the opportunity to take certain courses in Italian. Students can gain credits towards their majors/minors in the disciplines above. In particular core courses are offered for WGS, CS and GSGS.

DIRECT CREDIT -- UVa in Siena is the only program in Italy offering direct UVa credit. Students' coursework in Italy is automatically integrated with on-grounds UVa records; grades earned count toward the GPA; no need to get approvals from different departments for specific courses, no “transfer credit” paperwork necessary. For more information on the differences between direct credit and transfer credit, click here.

INTENSIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING (optional) – if they wish, students attending UVa in Siena can complete two language courses in a single term (spring, summer or fall); thus, students can efficiently fulfill courses toward the CLAS Foreign Language Requirement, or the Italian Studies major or minor; all students must enrol in one language class (any level).

For more details, go to Uva in Italy or contact Professor Francesca Calamita (fc4j@virginia.edu), Program Director of UVa in Siena.