Why Study at Umbra?
First of all, congratulations! By deciding to study abroad, you’ve taken the first step towards living and learning in another country, an experience that will revolutionize your future. Now the ever-present question looms on the horizon: Where to go? You’ve no doubt begun the process of flipping through dozens of flashy catalogs and dizzying brochures in the hopes of finding the perfect program. And if you’ve made your way to this web page, it’s safe to assume that the sirens of Italy have beckoned. So why choose the Umbra Institute for your Italian adventure? Here are the top three reasons students choose to study at Umbra:
1. Perugia – The UniverCITY of Italy!
Sure, you can choose a more traditional destination like Florence, along with tens of thousands of other Americans, but you won’t find a more authentically Italian town than Perugia. Perugia is a medieval hilltop city off the busy tourist path, and home to over 40,000 Italian and international university students. If you’re looking to meet, study and interact with Italian students, engage the local Italian community and become proficient in the language, it’s difficult to find a more suitable study abroad backdrop than Perugia.
2. Intercultural Exploration and Community Engagement
Community engagement is essential to the Umbra student experience. Our academic program, housing, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, internships, tandem language exchange, volunteer and service learning initiatives all serve to bring our students and the local community together. But the exploration doesn’t stop there. Umbra students enjoy the best of both worlds: the authentic Italian student lifestyle of Perugia and a chance to visit off-the-beaten-path destinations, as well as field trips and excursions to the most popular destinations like Tuscany, Rome, Venice and the Amalfi Coast!
3. Quality & Diversity of Academic Programs
The Umbra Institute offers the breadth of curricular options that would be expected of larger institutions. That’s because our academic staff and faculty work with students to customize the course of study to fit individual interests – allowing students to maximize the learning opportunities available in Perugia. At Umbra, you can build your schedule with elective courses taught in English, or create an entire curriculum taught exclusively in Italian or a little of both. We also offer specialized programs in food studies, full-immersion Italian language and culture, honors and independent research, credit-bearing internships, service learning and more!
Runners Up: Many students also chose Umbra for its intimate size, the Umbra staff and professors will get to know you personally; you won’t be just a number among hundreds. Still others are attracted to our excellent faculty and the caliber of our student body, which draws from among the top-ranked colleges and universities in the country. At Umbra, students boast that they learn as much from their peers as from their professors, creating a truly rewarding environment for your study abroad experience. Whatever the reason you will be glad you chose to study at Umbra, just ask those who know, former Umbra students.
The City of Perugia
Tucked away in the luscious green heart of Italy, Umbra’s location is more than ideal. Perched atop the ancient hilltop city of Perugia, Umbra boasts delicious panoramic views worthy of any Zefferelli film. In the historic city center where all the school buildings are located, you’ll find cobbled streets winding through medieval architecture, and magnificent arches that date back to the Etruscan era. A pervasive sense of history is everywhere. But Perugia is no backwoods hill town: as the capital of the Umbria region, it boasts a population of over 150,000 and a thriving international student scene, thanks to the two Italian universities in the city.
In fact, Perugia is home for tens of thousands of students and often referred to as Italy’s “university city.” If breathtaking views are up your alley, the region surrounding Perugia is abundant in mountains, lakes, and dramatic river valleys spotted by the charming hill towns of Umbria and Tuscany, offering you many a pleasant daytrip to places like Assisi, Orvieto, Siena and Cortona. And both Florence and Rome are less than three hours by train, making Perugia the perfect springboard from which to explore the rest of Italy.
In addition to the pure scenic beauty of studying in Perugia and the chance to participate in its vibrant student community, the Umbra Institute offers another advantage: when you study with us, you decide what kind of academic experience you want. Umbra offers several distinctive programs to choose from, allowing you to take control of your time abroad and follow the course of study best suited to your individual needs.
The General Studies Program allows you to take courses taught by Umbra faculty; each day you will be in class with other American students and the twenty or so Italian students that join us every semester. Our newest Food Studies Program uses applies an interdisciplinary approach to the study of food – history, sociology, cultural studies, business practices, literature, politics, science, agriculture, and sustainability – to discover how the individual, the community, and society relate to food in Italy, America, and elsewhere.
If you select the Independent Research Program, you will have the opportunity to undertake an intensive research project in an area that interests you, and you will be paired with an academic advisor who is an expert in the subject you choose.
For those who are interested in a truly immersive study abroad experience, we offer the Italian Language & Culture Program, an intensive course of study where students enroll exclusively at the Università per Stranieri and are housed with either native Italians or other internationals. And students who already possess advanced language skills can use the Umbra support system and facilities as a home base while taking one or more courses through direct enrollment at the Università degli Studi di Perugia.
The Umbra Institute also offer courses for students who are highly-motivated and eager to challenge themselves academically during their time abroad by pursuing academic internships & community engagement or enrolling in honors courses; we even offer a specialized course guiding the journey into understanding Italian culture and reflecting on the experience as a whole, called Intercultural Exploration: Living and Learning in Italy.
As you narrow down your options and begin to think seriously about where to apply, it’s important to determine what you really want from a study abroad experience. While anything looks good on glossy paper, you should choose a program that will be a good match for you. At Umbra, we trust that you know best; we’ll give you the chance to shape your time here, to immerse yourself at a level that feels comfortable to you, and to take advantage of every available opportunity to see, feel, and taste la dolce vita. Umbra will work alongside you to make your time abroad the best it can possibly be. If you still have questions, we encourage you to fire away and contact a previous student to get a peer perspective on life at Umbra.
Studying in Italy will undeniably be a life-changing experience, one which will continue to enhance and shape the person you are, even long after you’ve returned home. A great adventure awaits you…good luck on your voyage!