MyFUA

SQUOLA Center for Cultural and Italian Studies

ABOUT

sQuola academic departments and courses are offered through its School of Italian Studies and Linguistics:

Italian Cultural Studies
Italian Language
Italian Literature

Vision

  • SQUOLA is an academic institution in Florence dedicated to transforming the meaning of learning the Italian language by teaching an understanding of what it means to be an Italian speaker today, immersing students in Italian culture, and encouraging students to go beyond the textbook and learn outside the classroom.

  • SQUOLA exposes its students to the changing realities of Italy today.

  • SQUOLA is an integration project that takes its students beyond memorized words and towards acquiring a real grasp of sounds and nuances.

  • SQUOLA seeks to offer a complete, contemporary, culturally and sociologically rich vision of the Italian language in the city that gave birth to linguistic pioneers such as Dante and Boccaccio.

  • Why the Q? SQUOLA is a deliberate misspelling of “scuola” (school), a play on words that challenges students to immerse themselves culturally and linguistically.

Mission

  • To offer intensive immersion programs - short and long term - for students in combination with internships, volunteer, and community service positions where skills are put into practice.

  • The contemporary approach of SQUOLA goes beyond traditional learning methods by teaching students how to speak and live in the Italian culture and society.

  • To create a bridge, through interdisciplinary linguistic studies, between the international student and the Italian/Florentine experience.

  • To promote an open forum that hosts academic gatherings, conferences, and conventions on contemporary Italian and Cultural studies.

  • To lead integration programs to unite the local, student, and international communities in Florence such as: thematic events, lectures, and cinema programs.

Values

  • An innovative intensive language program suited for individuals with a serious interest in maximizing progress during their studies in Florence.

  • A faculty of international academics and professionals to complement the educational and cultural mission of the institution.

  • Dynamic facilities that offer the learning methodologies and technologies.

  • The practice of Italian in contexts that engage and give back to the local community through sQuola's network of local organizations including public schools.