Academic Focus
The Modern Italian Perspectives Program at the CEA GlobalCampus in Florence is designed for students of all language levels who wish to take courses in English and Italian from a wide variety of liberal arts and social sciences subjects, focusing on the civilization and people of modern Italy. The diversity of this curriculum allows you the flexibility to choose courses that best meet your individual academic and personal needs.
The Modern Italian Perspectives Program gives you a unique opportunity to explore the culture and society of modern Italy in an active way: up close, hands-on, and fully immersed in a richly-equipped learning environment designed to deliver an unforgettable study abroad experience. CEA offers courses that allow you to engage face-to-face with the customs and people of present-day Italy in ways that would be otherwise not be possible. The program is driven by a sequence of onsite activities, projects and team tasks that help you learn by doing - whether that means exploring modern Florentine building sites with Italian architects, discussing the challenges of globalization with young Florentine entrepreneurs, or preparing a team-built multimedia presentation about the Tuscan wine industry.
Interaction with the best aspects of the local community is also a key component, so you’ll meet with locals such as politicians, film critics, NGO workers, local students, architects and artists. Academic visits will take you behind the scenes into political council chambers, private businesses and the offices of global welfare agencies. In short, you’ll find yourself in an exciting new environment of social interaction and collaborative learning where your dynamic sense of personal discovery will thrive. The Modern Italian Perspectives Program will not only help you gain true insight and feeling for your host culture, but also help you develop the international cultural fluency required to communicate and function effectively in an increasingly globalized world.
Whatever elective courses you choose, you’ll find that your studies are richly integrated. By offering varied ways of learning and understanding Italian society, all of the elective courses have been designed to complement each other. Plus, if you’re enrolled in Photography or Florence Sketchbook, you can even gain credit for creating portfolios of the visual expressions of the Italian culture around you.
The CEA GlobalCampus in Florence is also a technologically-equipped place of creativity and excellence. The program’s website will carry the growing portfolios of photos and drawings of the Photography and Sketchbook students, while the personal accounts and reflections of the Contemporary Italian Culture and Society students and professor will appear regularly on a special blog. At the end of the program your achievements will be celebrated by a staff/student-organized exhibition of drawn and photographic images, rounded off with the presentation of the 'GlobalCampus Awards for Artistic Insights into Florence!'
All language courses and electives meet for a total of 45 contact hours and are generally worth 3 credits in the US semester system. If students enroll in 5 classes, they can earn up to 15 credits in the US semester system. However, it is up to the discretion of your academic advisor how much credit will be awarded.
Schedule Summary
Semester classes at the GlobalCampus meet one to three times per week for a total of 3 contact hours. Classes are typically held Monday through Thursday although study trips and other required fieldwork may occur on Fridays. Classes are offered at various times throughout the day. Class timetables will be released approximately three months before the program closure date, and your final course schedule will be posted to your MyCEA Account around two weeks before the program start date.
Course Registration
Students must register for courses prior to departure for Florence. A course preference form will be posted to your MyCEA Account when course timetables are released. This form should be completed upon submission of your confirmation deposit but no later than the program closure date. Classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis so it is in your best interest to submit your course preference form as soon as possible.
Course preferences for electives are considered final when submitted to CEA. For language courses, you will indicate an estimated level on your course preference form, but you will take a language placement exam onsite. Registration for your language course will then be adjusted as necessary to coincide with the results of your exam. To aid in the registration process, it is in your best interest to have courses, including alternates, approved by your academic advisor prior to submitting your course preference form.
