Global Education

Program Dates

Term	Start Date	End Date
Fall 2024	August 28th, 2024	December 14th, 2024
Spring 2025	January 15th, 2025	May 2nd, 2025

These dates are tentative. Confirm program dates before booking travel.

Eligibility

This program is open to students who are at least first-semester sophomores. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required to participate.

Where: Florence, Italy

Florence, the hub of the region of Tuscany, is three hours northwest of Rome and has around 350,000 inhabitants. It is famous for its stunning Duomo cathedral, Ponte Vecchio, and world-class art museums, as well as being the birthplace of the Renaissance, having an interesting political history with the rule of the powerful Medici family, and being a very international city nowadays. Florence has a major international airport and Italy’s bus and train systems make it well connected within Italy and with the rest of Europe.

CET Florence typically hosts 150-200 students from US colleges and universities.  The main CET Florence building is located in Oltrarno (literally meaning “across the Arno” i.e. the Arno river) just over one of the many bridges in Florence. It’s on a charming, quiet street, in a safe neighborhood, but still just a 15-minute walk to the Uffizi Gallery, the Duomo, and the heart of the city. The office has two floors (ground floor and second floor) with a front desk reception area for informational and security purposes, offices for program staff, a lounge for professors, many classrooms of different sizes, and spaces for students to gather.

Academics

In Florence, all students take an Italian language class whether they’re complete beginners or advanced speakers. After that, it’s up to each individual student to select what works for them—check required classes off your list or try something new and uniquely Italian. 

In addition to language, students choose three or four other classes taught in English in the fields of Art & Art History, Business, Finance, & Marketing, Economics, Italian Studies, History, Political Science, International Relations, and Psychology. There are typically about 20-25 courses available each term. 

Academic Structure

Students enroll in classes from a select list of classes taught at the CET Center in Florence.  Class sizes are small and they are taken alongside other study abroad students in the programs from Allegheny and other US colleges and universities. Classes are taught in a US-style with interactive sessions and continuous assessment throughout the semester, including quizzes, midterms, and finals. All classes include at least one site visit per semester to a location within the city.

Course Credit

CET uses the same credit system as Allegheny. So, four credits at CET equals four credits at Allegheny.  The normal course load at the University is 12-18 credits per semester.  

Courses

In addition to Art & Art History, Italian Studies, History, Political Science, International Relations, and Psychology coursework, this program is unique in its offering of six courses in Business, Finance, Marketing, & Economics.  These have been reviewed by Allegheny’s Business and Economics Department and can be transferred to fulfill various electives or equivalents in the business and economics majors. These courses typically include:

• FL/BUSN 387 Leadership Development
• FL/FINA 320 Corporate Finance
• FL/MKTG 325 International Marketing
• FL/MGMT 321 International Management
• FL/ECON 323 The European Banking System
• FL/ECON 324 The European Political Economy

Check out these and many other CET Florence offerings by scrolling to the curriculum & syllabi section of their website.

Housing & Student Life

In Florence, students have the option of a homestay or apartments with other CET students.  Students who live in the apartment option in Florence live in double rooms with 2-8 other CET students. Singles, when requested in advance for medical or personal reasons, can be arranged. The local CET staff manages all housing facilities and issues from roommate placements to apartment maintenance, etc.  In apartments, students cook and grocery shop or eat out on their own and/or with their roommates. Students have access to washing machines but since dryers are not common in Italy, students typically hang clothes to dry on large drying racks. 

In a homestay, students live in single or double rooms with another CET student. Students living in a homestay eat breakfasts and dinners with their host family and lunch on their own as they’re out and about during the day. The homestay program carries an extra fee to cover the cost of an extra member of the household.

The program also includes a three-day overnight excursion to an exciting region of Italy.  In addition, at least one optional extracurricular activity per week is arranged for students by the onsite activities coordinators that could include, for example: dinner with Italian friends, cooking classes (pizza, stracciatella), tours to places of interest in Florence, etc.  

Application Process

Allegheny students must apply for approval to study off-campus from the Global Education office AND apply directly to their chosen program. For this program, students should work on the Allegheny approval application at the same time as the host program application. The Allegheny approval application deadline is February 20 for fall programs and September 20 for spring programs. Study away approval applications will be reviewed immediately following the appropriate semester deadline. The separate application deadline to apply directly to this program will vary and could be before or after Allegheny’s approval application due date. Check directly on their website (linked at the top of this page) for deadline information. For more information about the study away application process, please visit the application steps page.

Visa Information

U.S. citizens need to apply for a student visa in advance of their study abroad period in Italy. Non-U.S. citizens should consult their home country’s Italian embassy or consulate. CET will assist with the visa process, but it is ultimately the student’s responsibility to apply for the student visa.

Fees & Costs

Below find information on estimated costs for a semester abroad. You will receive a bill from Allegheny College, as you normally would, for the amount shown under “Costs Paid to Allegheny College.” All other study away program costs will be paid directly to a non-Allegheny entity and are listed in part two below. These amounts are estimates and will vary depending on individual choices. A total estimated cost of attendance for this program is shown at the bottom.

All financial aid awards can be applied to study abroad costs with the exception of federal work-study awards and certain tuition exchange scholarships. For more information, visit our page about Financing Study Away.

Part One: Costs Paid to Allegheny College

Part Two: Costs Paid to non-Allegheny Entity

TOTAL COST OF ATTENDANCE

NOTES:

Study Away Fee includes: administrative support, transcript translation and processing, pre-departure orientation, and emergency travel insurance.