"When we travel it is the country we are visiting that speaks to us, guides us, inhabits us." 
Tahar Ben Jalloun

Through a unique combination of classroom study, fieldwork, service-learning, workshops and weekend activities, we foster a hands-on engagement with aspects of the Italian way of life usually inaccessible to the visitor. Here is a detailed description of our semester program.

Students are expected to arrive the first Thursday of the Semester at Fiumicino Airport in Rome or at Galileo Galilei Airport in Pisa. They are met by Miriam Grottanelli, school director, with whom they stay for a three-day orientation in selected locations before proceeding to Siena. On Saturday evening the group arrives in Siena, where students are met by their host families. On Sunday there is a small orientation to life in Siena and on Monday lectures begin. The first three weeks of the semester are dedicated to learning Italian, getting to know the host families and understanding the School's approach to learning, through a series of course presentations and workshops. All the teachers give an introductory lecture to their course during these three weeks, allowing students to meet them informally and discuss any questions they may have regarding the courses.

All students are required to enrol in an Italian class at the level chosen for them by the Siena School.

All students are required to take three other courses, at least two of which must be from one Area of Study, and they may audit a fourth. Courses that have a Service-Learning or Fieldwork component count as two. If a class has an enrolment of 3 or less it is automatically taught as an independent study, i.e. through tutorials.
The student's choice of Area of Study made on the application is binding for the semester.

Classes run from Monday to Friday morning. Most courses meet twice a week.

The School organizes one weekend trip for the whole group during the semester. The other weekends are free for individual travel or study. During the Semester students also have the possibility of volunteering in a variety of community projects. There is a nine-day break at midterm.

SPRING 2009

Italian Language/Humanities:
Italian Language: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
History of Siena (Taught in Italian and mandatory for intermediate and advanced)
Literature and Cinema (Taught in Italian and mandatory for all beginners)

Social Sciences:
Education and Linguistics

Fine Arts:
Book Art
Creative Writing
Drawing
Painting
Photography

Art History:
Art History I: Medieval Art (101)
Art History II: Iconography (202)
Art History III: Renaissance (202)
Art History IV: Artistic Techniques (101)

Humanities:
Italian Literature

DATES

Spring 2009: January 22nd – May 15th

Thursday, January 22: Arrive at the Airport, Orientation Begins
January 22-24: Orientation
January 25: Orientation in Siena
Monday, January 26- Friday, February 13: Italian language immersion
February 16-May 15: all other semester courses begin
Saturday, March 21 - Sunday March 29: SPRING BREAK *(students are expected to leave home-stays during spring break)
Friday April 10 – Monday April 13: Easter and Long Weekend
Friday, May 1: National Labour Day
Sunday, May17: Departure, students must vacate housing