Welcome
Welcome to SIS Intercultural Study Abroad, an organization based in Siena, Italy offering unique and high-impact study abroad programs designed for students that want to live their experience abroad to the fullest. Since 2004, SIS has been an innovator among full immersion and service-learning programs in Italy and today also offers a series of multi-destination, custom and short-term programming options. Come experience SIS and engage with the world!
Essential COVID-19 Information
Students are the life of our program so it’s an understatement to say that we take their well-being and safety very seriously. Please take a look at our policies and protocol for studying with us. We will update our policies and protocol in order to adhere to international and national rules and restrictions, but most importantly, to guarantee the safety of our students.
Please follow this link to see details.
News
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Digital Citizenship Education in Foreign Language Learning
By Lavinia Bracci, Fiora Biagi and Isabelle Sophie Thaler A new article, released last October
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New Publication from SIS Faculty Fiora Biagi and Lavinia Bracci!
"Language Teaching, Education for Democracy and Cross-curricular Connections" A special issue of the Iranian Journal of
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Ciao Riga (Latvia)! SIS faculty at the DiCE.Lang Transnational Project Meeting
The DiCE.Lang project has reached its third and final year! This final phase will be
Testimonials
We believe that we are the leading alternative to a trend in study abroad in which students live in bubbles in foreign cities but don’t have genuine opportunities to experience the cultural realities of those cities. See and read more testimonials!
EUFICCS Full Immersion
EUFICCS (European Use of Full-Immersion, Culture, Content, Service approach for Language Learning) is the methodology applied to our undergrad programs that was developed at SIS since 2008 and then proposed to other European institutions through a project financed by the European Union from 2011 to 2014.
Service Learning
Service is a fundamental component to the study abroad experience at SIS Intercultural Study Abroad. All students are required to participate in projects that benefit the local community while also providing key insight into the inner workings of local culture and society.
The service requirement for students in Siena is a minimum of 5 hours a week and there are many different opportunities in varying fields. Some examples are: setting tables and serving food at the city soup kitchen, visiting with the elderly at a nursing home, teaching English to local elementary school children or volunteering with Siena’s ambulance service.
Host Families
The ultimate goal of SIS Intercultural Study Abroad is to provide an experience where students can participate in contemporary Italian culture as well as develop an intercultural competence. We carefully select host families that have a desire to share their culture with young, curious students. For our students, the families are truly second homes and we count on the families to provide home cooked meals, clean homes and welcoming atmospheres.
In Class Activities
All classes facilitate several activities that directly involve students, stimulate their motivation and improve their knowledge. Students study in a friendly environment and in small classes, always supported by teachers; they cooperate in group work and help each other in order to integrate their different linguistic skills.
Engage with the world. Study with SIS!
Our mission is to promote intercultural awareness, exchange, and competence through high-quality, rigorous, and engaging academic and cultural experiences.