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High School in Italy

Rewrite your high school experience while walking among ancient ruins and sampling the world’s best gelato.

Rewrite your high school experience while walking among ancient ruins and sampling the world’s best gelato. By going to a local high school in Italy, you’ll be totally immersed in Italian language and culture. At night you’ll go home to your host family and community, where you’ll discover the delights of Italian hospitality and home-cooked meals. Mealtimes are a social event, lasting for hours on weekends or holidays. Be prepared for generous portions, strong coffee, and tasty treats. Italians know their bread and cheese, so you’re bound to taste some incomparable pizza and pasta.

Each local chapter organizes activities for exchange students and host families throughout the year, like parties and trips to other cities in Italy. So, while you’ll be so much more than a tourist, you’ll still get to see the sights and savor la dolce vita (the sweet life)!

This is your chance to learn the ins and outs of Italian daily life and experience what it’s like to be an Italian teenager.  As a country known to excel in art, architecture, food, and culture, Italy is an ideal place to step outside of your comfort zone and engage in an exciting new adventure.

Intercultural hosts approximately 500 students from about 54 countries on this 10 month scholastic program. The students are placed in one of the 155 local chapters throughout Italy (from the extreme north to the extreme south and the major islands of Sicily and Sardegna), where they will be closely assisted during the entire year by trained volunteers.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
– Exchange week : students may spend a week in another town!
– National contests involving photography – writing samples

What's included in your experience

  • Airfare
  • Airport Pick-up
  • Host Family Placement
  • Housing
  • Meals
  • School Placement
  • Medical Insurance
  • 24/7 Emergency Support
  • Domestic Transport
  • Pre-Departure Orientation
  • Orientations during your time abroad
  • Re-entry Orientation

What you are responsible for

  • Vaccinations
  • School Transport
  • Visa and Passport Fees
  • School Materials
  • Project Materials
  • Stipend
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Your Accommodations

Families are the focal point for life in Italy. But like anywhere in the world, all families are different. It’s common, especially in the south, for many generations to live together under one roof. Young adults tend to stay at home until they get married, so you might have older host siblings living with you as well.

Italians take their time when eating, so get ready for long, filling meals. Conversations can be a full-body experience, complete with hand gestures and animated facial expressions. Expect to have plenty of lively conversations with loyal friends and family.

Local chapters also offer an Exchange Week opportunity: year program students can choose to visit another part of Italy for a week to expand their understanding of Italian culture!

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Your High School in Italy

You are encouraged to begin learning the Italian language on your own, prior to your participation. Additionally, once you arrive in Italy Italian language lessons will be organized by local volunteers for the first two or three months of your stay to really help you perfect your language skills.

Italians are usually easy-going and friendly, but they still work hard at school. Students enrolled in high school in Italy attend classes Monday through Saturday, from about 8:30am to 1:30pm. Your academic experience will offer you an excellent opportunity to learn the language and integrate yourself into everyday Italian life. Plus, distinct types of Italian high schools allow students to focus more on subjects and disciplines that interest you. They are academic, technological, and professional*:

  • Liceo, the more academic type, which is further divided into schools that focus on different disciplines, like humanities, sciences, arts, and social sciences.
  • Istituto Tecnico, which is more oriented toward technological subjects, like aeronautics, business administration, computer science and chemistry.
  • Istituto Professionale, or vocational schools, where immediately finding a job after graduating is more the expectation than college (although anyone can take the entry tests for college).

We do everything we can to enroll you in your top choice of school type, but we can’t guarantee specific courses or specializations.