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Italian Education Abroad Guide

City view of Florence at sunset
CU Boulder Education Abroad offers over 400 programs in over 70 countries! You can go abroad for a semester, year, 2-12 weeks in the summer, or even winter break. Going abroad is strongly encouraged by the Italian department. Use the following information as a general guideline to plan your time abroad, and connect with your academic advisor as well. Work with Education Abroad advisors to get more details on how to get started, discuss your program options, and next steps. 

Quick Facts

  • Only one upper-division ITAL elective can be taught in English. All other ITAL electives must be taught in Italain to count towards major or minor electives. 
  • Most Italian majors will choose to study abroad during their junior year.
  • The most common degree requirements taken abroad are upper-division ITAL electives, certain Gen Ed courses, and general elective hours
  • Use the Course Approvals List to find programs that offer courses approved for the credit you need

Planning and When to Go

  • First-year: Start planning for study abroad and take A&S Gen Ed courses that are not possible to take abroad. Start progression with the language sequence courses as soon as you can.
  • Sophomore: Continue with your language progression and reach the 3000-level as soon as possible. Study abroad during sophomore year is less common, but possible. If you plan to take any required language, writing or literature courses abroad, make sure that the courses are pre-approved.  Also, be aware of the language placement test that is usually required upon arrival abroad (if you place lower than anticipated, you course plans might be impacted).
  • Junior: Go abroad! This is a good year for study abroad as you will likely be finished with the 3000-level sequence and better able to communicate in the language abroad.
  • Senior: Study abroad as a senior is only recommended if you have already complete all required language courses and senior seminar (or have a realistic plan to finish them upon return in your final semester). Work closely with your advisor to ensure that you can get all of your requirements completed.
    Be sure that you know when the credits may be transcripted, as this can delay your official graduation date.

What Kind of Credit Can You Earn Abroad?

Usually Doable Tricky Probably Not
General Electives  A&S Gen Ed ITAL A&S Gen Ed ITAL A&S Gen Ed ITAL
Overall credit hours  Arts and Humanities, Natural Science (Non-Lab), Social Sciences Upper-division ITAL electives
 		 Global Diversity N/A Natural Science (Lab), Written Communication ITAL 4990

Suggested Programs

Use these links to find programs that may be a good match for you and your course needs.
   

Additional Resources

Last Updated March 2023