SAI offers students the opportunity to study Italian language and culture in a condensed time frame during a Maymester term. Students in the 3 week Maymester program choose one elective course, and a 1 credit Italian language course for a total of 4 US credits. Students live in family homestays and are able to have a truly authentic Italian experience while immersing themselves in a relevant course subject.
Application: Closed
Application Requirements
Complete online application
Personal statement (300-500 words)
Official transcript
Academic letter of recommendation
Passport scan (photo page)
Italian privacy consent form
Highlights
- Volunteer in the community each week
- Enjoy weekly cultural activities & events
- Live with a host family
Program Dates
May 12, 2024 – June 1, 2024
Eligibility Requirements
Age: 18+
Academic Year: Freshman (1st year) or above
Cumulative GPA:* 2.5 (on a 4.0 scale)
*contact SAI if you don’t meet requirements
Mathematics
Natural and Environmental Sciences
Science
The course runs on two parallel tracks: the past and the present. The departure point of the largest emigration from any country in recorded world history, seeing more than 13 million Italians leaving their homeland between 1880 and 1915, Italy represents an ideal laboratory to learn about the many facets of the migration issue. Against this historic backdrop of emigration, newer patterns have manifested, making Italy a destination for migrants from various regions, whether for permanent settlement or as a way station. Furthermore, by accident of geography, Italy has played an outsized role in the current European migration crisis, receiving vast numbers of migrant arrivals via the Mediterranean and the Balkan route over the last 10 years which present Italy and the European Union with new challenges in curbing asylum seeker and migrant journeys across the often treacherous sea.
This course is taught by experts in the field who will analyze these socio-anthropological, historical, political and economic aspects related to Italy as a theater of migration. Students will also have the opportunity to meet with representatives of local NGOs involved in the reception of migrants in the local context. While learning all this, students will also participate in service-learning in the âHome 4 the Worldâ project, organized and hosted by âNuova Associazione Culturale Ulisseâ â a SIS Institutional partner with the aim of helping migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. The project was born in Spring 2022 and soon developed from a service for refugees to a service for Pakistani refugees, given the large number of Pakistani people who arrived in the area of Siena between June and December 2022 (around 600 hundred people). SIS, Associazione Ulisse and several other organizations of the territory of Siena have joined forces to cope with the lack of structures that could host such big numbers. In this context âHome 4 the Worldâ has become a reference point for Italian and English Language classes, linguistic support for the driving license test, intercultural education, development of democratic competences and citizenship education.
While serving the Pakistani refugees, students will also have a chance to meet with all the different stakeholders involved in the resolution of this crisis and to participate in town assemblies, meetings and activities, contributing with solidarity and towards inclusive communities.
Being a fully integrated service-learning course, all students will keep a journal that will be shared with the peers and the instructors with the goal of critically evaluating the course, the service provided, the personal difficulties encountered and the development of intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding among the different parties involved.
The course includes an integral out-of-class element. Students are required to participate in excursions that involve visits and tastings at cheese, ham and olive oil producing farms as well as wineries in Tuscany, visits to museums such as the Chocolate Museum in Perugia and the Museo della Mezzadria agricultural museum. In addition, students will participate in two hands-on cooking lessons. Readings for this course include historic, contemporary and regional cookbooks, as well as historical and sociological texts and articles. Students are asked to complete written exams and oral presentations as well as a research paper that focuses on a topic of choice.
This course will introduce participants to discipline's theoretical evolution and current approach, focusing both multidisciplinary and interconnections between different research fields. This course will follow the main steps of theoretical and methodological evolution of archaeological thinking (e.g. New/Processual Archaeology vs Post-processualism). It will frame the main methods (e.g. survey and excavation) and lineages of discipline, focusing the interconnection between the different fields of research "in action" (e.g. anthropology, zooarchaeology, paleobotany, sedimentology and archaeological stratigraphy, lithic technology, pottery analysis, quantitative and spatial archaeology, excavation/survey approach,
dating methods, geophysics). Moreover, a special attention will be putted on specific themes of the Past, as the reconstruction of social and economic structures of societies, behaviors and production organization, mobility, exchanges, cognitive world. Practical activities will be also included in this course, allowing to better understand how the archaeology works (e.g. reading and documentation the stratigraphy by drawing, profiles, forms, reports and Harris's matrix, analysis of archaeological materials, experimental archaeology). Some of the practical activities will be carried out to the Department of Earth, Environmental and Physical Sciences of University of Siena, where participants will get in touch with researches and they will observe archaeological materials from the didactic collection of the Research Unit of Prehistory and Anthropology.
Students in all SIS programs perform service in the community through the IC partner Ulisse Cultural Association. This service can range from 1 – 5 hours per week, with opportunities in a variety of service sites. Students might set tables at the city soup kitchen, visit with the elderly at a nursing home, teach English to local elementary school children or volunteer on the city ambulance. Volunteering in the community is an important way to improve language skills, get involved in the local social fabric and make a genuine contribution to the host community. For more information on volunteering see SIS Service Learning & Volunteer.
Courses & Schedule
SIS courses run Monday – Friday. A typical schedule includes Italian Language in the mornings Monday through Friday and elective courses in the afternoons three days a week.
Course Registration
Students complete their course registration during the SAI application process by selecting their requested courses: 1 elective (3 credits) and 1 Italian language course (1 credit). Course schedules are confirmed in Siena after students have been given an introduction to the courses.
| Pre-Departure Calendar | |
|---|---|
| February 21 2024 |
Application Closes Applications accepted after closing as space permits. |
| Within 1 week of acceptance |
SAI Deposits Due $500 Enrollment Deposit (applied toward program fee) $300 Security Deposit (refundable) |
| February 12 2024 |
50% of Total Program Fee Due Students who are accepted and submit SAI deposits after this date will have an amended pay schedule. Either 50% or 100% of Program Fee will be due within 5 business days, based on the deposit payment date. |
| February 27 2024 |
SAI Financial Aid Verification Deadline Students wishing to defer payment until financial aid disbursement must submit the financial aid verification forms to SAI by this date. |
| March 6 2024 |
Enrollment Closes Students must complete their enrollment, including paying deposits, by this date. |
| March 13 2024 |
Balance of Total Program Fee Due |
| On-site Calendar | |
|---|---|
| May 12 2024 |
Arrival & Housing Check-in Students arrive at Florence Peretola airport (FLR). Students must arrive by 2:30pm for the group shuttle to Siena where students are transferred to family housing. |
| Coming soon |
SIS Academic Orientation |
| Coming soon |
Classes Begin |
| May 31 2024 |
Classes End |
| June 1 2024 |
Program End & Housing Check-out Students must move out of housing by 10:00am to return home or pursue independent travel. |
| SAI Program Fees* | USD |
|---|---|
| Application Fee | $120 |
| Security Deposit Refundable at the end of the term. |
$300 |
| Program Fee Includes tuition, standard housing and SAI 360° Services (see What's Included). |
$5,000 |
| Optional / Additional Fees: | |
| International Mailing Supplement When applicable, students are charged an international mailing supplement to ensure visa paperwork arrives in a timely manner. |
$90 |
*prices are subject to change
Note: certain SAI-affiliated US universities require specific payment arrangements. These may require that some fees are paid by the student directly to SAI, and other fees are paid to SAI by the affiliated university on behalf of the student. If you attend an SAI-affiliated university please contact your study abroad office or speak with your SAI Admissions Counselor for details.
| Budget | Low Est. | High Est. |
|---|---|---|
| Airfare to/from Florence |
$900 | $1,800 |
| Books, Supplies & Course Fees Course fees are sometimes imposed to cover field trips. |
$25 / course | $50 / course |
| Meals Host family supplies all meals except eating out. |
Included | $100 / month |
| Personal Expenses | $250 / month | $350 / month |
| Transportation within Siena Public transportation with some taxi rides. |
$100 / month | $150 / month |
| Weekend Travel Cost varies greatly by student. |
$300 / month | $1,000 / month |
This is a SAI 360° Services Program; it includes our full services!
- Program tuition and U.S. academic credit
- Accommodation in carefully selected student housing
- Airport pickup and transportation on arrival day
- Welcome reception and events
- Orientation to the host city and school
- Staff on-site dedicated to fostering a welcoming community for all students by providing assistance to diverse needs
- SAI Viva Experience: frequent cultural activities & trips outside host city
- Student health insurance providing full coverage and medical emergency evacuation
- 24-hour on-site emergency support
- Farewell event with all students
Pre-departure and Re-entry services
- US-based admissions counselor assigned to you, providing friendly assistance
- Helpful pre-departure tools and resources
- Online student groups to acquaint you with other SAI students
- SAI Student Visa consulting
- Assistance with financial aid processing
- Need-based SAI scholarships
- Paid registration fees for national re-entry conferences
- SAI Ambassador Program for SAI alumni, with paid internship opportunities
- SAI alumni network
SAI offers all students the Viva Experience: frequent cultural activities, at no extra cost, for participants to get to know their community, city and country. Following is a sample of the activities included in this program. Please note that actual activities may differ.
Welcome Reception
Upon arrival, new students, host families and SIS faculty and staff unite at a welcome reception to kick off the program.
Tuscan Cooking Lessons
Students learn the art of Italian cooking in two complete, hands-on, Italian cooking lessons, including appetizers, main courses and dessert. Lessons conclude with a tasting of all that is prepared!
Visits to Tuscan Hilltowns
Students explore the Italian countryside, visiting one or more of the quaint towns tucked in the Tuscan hills, such as San Gimignano, Pienza, Montepulciano or Cortona.
Wine Tasting
Students visit a winery, learn about the wine-making process, and enjoy various tastings.
Day Trip to Florence
SIS Art History professor accompanies students on a day trip to Florence to visit the Uffizi Gallery and explore the city.
Museum Visits in Siena
Students visit various museums in Siena as part of Italian class and other content courses. These include the Duomo, OPA Museum, the Museo Civico, the Santa Maria della Scala, as well as others.
Farewell Dinner
Students, faculty and staff share in a celebratory final meal to reflect upon the program experience and to say final goodbyes before departure.
Standard Housing: Family homestay
All participants are accommodated with local host families. Homestay accommodations include 3 meals a day 7 days a week. Depending on the particular family placement students could be in a shared or private room. Homestays are an integral and indispensable part of all SIS programs, offering students the opportunity to make life-long friends, reinforce the language skills acquired during daily lessons and to experience modern Italian culture from “the inside.” SIS’s carefully selected families, whether a single mother or a married couple with children, are all experienced in hosting American students. The host families view this experience as a form of cultural exchange and are eager to share their version of Italian culture with program participants.
Passports
Passports should be valid for 3 months after planned departure from Italy.
Student Visas
In accordance with Italian law, U.S. students studying in Italy for 90 days or less are not required to obtain a student visa. Therefore all U.S. students do not require a student visa for this program. Non-US nationals should consult their local Consulate for information on student visa requirements.