CET Italy

CET Siena has all the basics you might be looking for: a supportive and incredibly kind teaching and administrative staff, immersive language learning, amazing homestay opportunities, etc. What really made my semester incredible was how everyone in the program went above and beyond what was required to make me feel comfortable and also to help me explore Siena and Europe! The environment was incredibly supportive, and I made amazing friends and learned so much about Italian culture and the language!

The CET Siena study abroad program is organized very well. The staff is extremely supportive and caters to your every need as well as offering helpful tips. The teachers were very attentive and due to the small class sizes they were able to personalize each course towards the level of their students. In fact, every student improved drastically in Italian. I also really enjoyed my Sienese Art and Architecture course since it offered historical background on the local Sienese culture.
Siena is a great town to study abroad in since its small size allowed us to actually explore the whole city on foot and by the end of the two months we all knew our way around. The location in Tuscany makes it a perfect place to do day trips from and explore the surrounding beautiful rolling hills. Also, the tuscan food is superb, we even learned how to make pasta from scratch in our cooking class. Another fun activity that CET planned was a wine tasting course. However, the most important thing in Siena is the Palio. We waited in the piazza for 5 hours to watch the horse race, and it was worth it.
I stayed in an apartment with 3 other college students and one local Italian student. I really enjoyed this set up since we had our own kitchen and a large living room to hang out in. Living with an Italian student allowed me to practice my Italian and it offered an authentic view on Sienese culture.
The program was organized perfectly since classes were only Monday through Thursday, allowing for many weekend trips. For instance, I traveled to the Amalfi coast, Cinque Terre, Elba, Capri, London, the Alps, Milan, Bologna, and Lake Como. From Siena it was easy to hop on a bus or train and explore the nearby tourist attractions. The traveling was tiresome but it was so enjoyable traveling in groups with new friends and exploring foreign cities.
Overall, I highly recommend this program. Not only are the teachers great but the CET staff is super supportive and Siena is the perfect study abroad town.

I studied in Siena through CET Academic Programs for the summer of 2018, and it was by far the best summer of my life. Siena is an incredibly unique city, unlike anywhere else I've ever been. Big enough to feel like a city but small enough to feel like home, the sense of community in Siena abounds. Although I wasn't a local, by the end of my two months there I came to feel like I belonged as I saw the same familiar faces in the park each morning and at my favorite cafe's and shops. The most amazing part was to see my Italian improve as I became more and more comfortable conversing with the friendly locals.
The academics in Siena were also amazing. My teachers there were honestly the best that I've ever had. Class sizes were small so I formed close relationships with my teachers. My Italian professor was incredibly passionate about teaching and making sure we were happy and successful. My elective was Sienese Art History, taught by another dedicated and passionate professor, and our field trips to see the artwork we studied allowed a connection between the classroom and my life in Siena that was absolutely priceless. The head staff at CET were always cheerful and attentive to each of us, always striving to make sure we were having a wonderful time.
Siena is honestly such a wonderful place. Between the Piazza del Campo, the beautiful city square where one can relax and study by day and come to socialize by night, the experience of the Palio horse race and the sense of community held by each contrada, my cherished morning runs at the fortress (a park with amazing views of the city and countryside), the stunning Duomo in the heart of the city, the endless gelato, and the overall safety and comfort that I felt in this city, coming back to Siena after a weekend exploring the rest of Italy felt like coming home.

I honestly can't imagine having a better experience anywhere in the world than I did this summer in Florence with CET! Living in an apartment in the heart of Florence was such a unique experience and, unlike with programs that house students in dorms, I actually got to immerse myself in the city life and have the independence to explore the city. I loved how invested the professors were in their subjects and, though the courses were challenging, I really found myself enjoying them and learning a lot! I didn't know how many field trips we'd take in Food and Culture, but being on-site for most classes was amazing - we even got to take a cooking class at Cordon Bleu! Italy itself is so beautiful and easy to navigate from Florence since it's so centrally-located. Already counting down until I can go back!

CET Florence was amazing this summer! From the first day we arrived in Florence, we were taken by CET to an amazing lunch with multiple courses and delicious, authentic food. I loved that we were taken on field trips every Tuesday—we even had a cooking class where we made our pizza and gelato! The classes were great. CET brought one Vanderbilt professor, who was great. I also took a class with an Italian professor who was probably the best professor I’ve ever had. CET clearly put a lot of effort into choosing their professors. The housing was also great. Our apartment was centrally located and very spacious. All of the staff made sure we were comfortable in it. They also helped us find amazing restaurants and helped us with all our travel plans. Thank you CET for the best summer ever!

Deciding between the CET- Florence or the CET- Siena program was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made. I was very tempted by the comfortable atmosphere that Florence would provide me with because of the immense American presence in the city. Siena is a small city where waiters, waitresses, and shop owners actually speak to you in Italian, even though they may be able to tell you are not Italian. The streets are not crowded with another 700 study abroad students, but rather with many Italian university students and Sienese families. Siena still has an extremely lively and fun young population, but you don't hear English at every corner you turn as one does in Florence.
Saying I made the right decision is an understatement. I truly cannot express how grateful I am for the CET-Siena program. I made lifelong relationships with my host mom, teachers, and friends, and I look forward to my return to Siena. There was something incredibly special about the small program size, which allowed all of us students to get to know each other extremely well. We joked that we were a family, but after four months of seeing each other all day, every day, that is truly what we became. I woke up every morning excited to get to school and see everyone, and I hated saying goodbye in the evenings or nights, even though I knew I would wake up the next morning and see them all again.
It was very clear that the teachers and the program director, Vicky, loved their jobs and were passionate about what they were teaching us. Although I found Siena to be a much less stressful environment than the University life in the States, I still learned just as much, if not more. I found a unique excitement to learn here in Siena and in the CET program in particular. Although we were allowed a certain number of hours to miss class (that were appealing mostly because of having extra days to travel) students didn't use them. In fact, I know many students that did not miss a single class because they didn't want to. Just like everything else in the program, classes were FUN.
If you want a completely immersive experience in terms of communicating with locals, practicing and learning/improving your Italian, and experiencing more authentic taste of Italian food culture, Siena is the place for you.

Absolutely loved my time studying with CET Florence. The classes were all interesting, yet challenging, and the staff was extremely helpful. All of the excursions that were organized by the program - from a trip to Rome to a basketball game with a local team to a hike in Chianti - were all some of the highlights of my time abroad. So many people have told me that their biggest regret in college was not studying abroad, and I'm so thankful to have gotten the opportunity to have studied abroad with CET Florence.

First, if you're deciding between CET's Florence and Siena programs, I highly recommend Siena for a more "Italian" and less chaotic experience. I had done study abroad three times prior to CET Siena program and can honestly say that this was the most immersive, authentic semester for me. I stayed with a host family (Luigina & Giorgio) and my Italian improved remarkably thanks to them. We had our routine - every evening we had dinner around 7:30 and watched our usual TV programs, and when the weather was nice we would eat on the terrasse. There is less temptation to spend money and fly to another country every weekend on the Siena program than on the Florence program because there is no airport in Siena. On the weekends instead I did a lot of train travel to other towns in Italy and I could not recommend that enough. I am terribly sad the semester is over and already planning when to return. I don't feel that I did an American study abroad program in Siena for a semester, I feel that I actually lived in Siena for four months. I have friends and family and a life there, and that to me is the whole point. Go to Siena and learn about their charming and unique and profound culture. It is the opportunity of a lifetime, I promise.

About CET specifically -

The school is right in the center of the city, a short and beautiful walk from no matter where you live. The professors and director, Vicky, as well as the Italian student staff, are all wonderful. They become your friends. The classes are serious and interesting (with a lot of trips to see things in person), and you actually learn more information in a more wholesome way than you would on campus for a semester. It doesn't feel like school though, it feels like "how did I get so lucky!" everyday. The Italian language, art history, and inter-cultural communications classes are splendid. Teachers teach with passion and students are engaged. There is also a trip to Palermo and Catania, Sicily. We did walking tours of the cities and their markets, a mafia tour, a food tour, went to the beach, had dinner with Sicilian students, and stayed in lovely hotels. I truly cannot think of one thing I would change about the CET Siena program... I already wish I could go back.