You lead the academic side. We handle the rest.

FACULTY-LED PROGRAMS · TURIN - DESIGN, SLOW FOOD AND CONTEMPORARY ART

Faculty-led in Turin - the elegant Northern alternative.

Turin is our reference city for design, Slow Food, architecture, automotive heritage and contemporary art. Our campus is a modern three-floor building on Via Saluzzo, 60, a few minutes from Parco del Valentino: 10 classrooms, a language laboratory, a library, an Aula Magna and indoor lounge areas. Turin sits between the Alps and the Langhe, with the architecture of Vienna, the gastronomic traditions of Piedmont and two major universities (Politecnico di Torino, IED Torino), and almost none of the mass-tourism distortions of Florence or Milan.

Turin runs on a city model like Milan, different from the campus model of Florence and Mantua. Faculty members teach in our campus on Via Saluzzo; the group is accommodated in selected external housing (homestays, shared student apartments, studios, partner B&Bs) within 20 minutes' travel of the campus. There is no meal plan on campus, but the city is the spiritual capital of Slow Food and offers some of the most accessible high-quality dining in Italy. The visiting faculty member retains full academic authority (syllabus, instruction, assessment, grades), while our Partner Desk handles housing logistics, ground transport, the cultural program, visits to design studios and food businesses, and approval-ready documentation.

Considering other cities? See Faculty-led in Florence (campus model · primary hub) · Faculty-led in Mantua ("Deep Italy" campus model) · Faculty-led in Milan (business / fashion city model) · Faculty-led overview (all four campuses).

How a faculty-led program works with us

Your faculty members lead the academic vision. The visiting faculty member designs the academic content, teaches the discipline-specific course, defines the assessment criteria and assigns grades. We are not co-instructors and we do not interfere with the academic plan: the credits belong to your institution. We provide everything else. Classrooms and study spaces, on-campus or affiliated accommodation, ground transport, field-activity logistics, Italian teaching at the appropriate level (where the project provides for it), on-site student services, cultural program and integration with our resident operations team. Approval-ready documentation. See the Academic Approval Pack, the structured documentation set we issue to support your institution's curriculum approval, risk-management review, insurance verification and study-abroad office sign-off. One Partner Desk, one point of contact. You work with a dedicated Partner Desk contact across the entire program lifecycle: pre-departure planning, on-site management and post-program reporting. No stack of vendors to coordinate, no fragmented communication.

Three phases of program support

Our Partner Desk operates across the entire lifecycle of a faculty-led program, from initial scoping to post-program reporting. The structure mirrors the standard expectations of U.S. study-abroad offices and accreditation reviewers.

Pre-departure. Academic Approval Pack tailored to your institution, program integration with our facilities, faculty briefing, draft program calendar, risk-management documentation, health and safety brief, accommodation inventory and assignment plan, pre-departure orientation materials for students, visa documentation guidance, advance cultural-immersion planning. On-site management. Arrival welcome, airport-transport coordination, check-in to on-campus or affiliated accommodation, on-site welcome and orientation, access to classrooms and laboratories, day-to-day operations support, weekly cultural program, office space for faculty members, 24-hour emergency contact, ongoing health and safety supervision, mid-program review. Re-entry and reporting. Final student debrief, attendance and participation records issued in the format required by your registrar, feedback session with faculty members, post-program report to the home institution, transcript-compatible documentation where required, partnership-renewal dialogue for future groups. Continuing accountability. Each program is assessed against the original academic and operational plan agreed during scoping. Variations are documented and shared with the home institution, together with proposed mitigations. We treat post-program reporting as the seal of the partnership, not as paperwork.

Program types we have run or can run

Summer programs of 2-4 weeks. Intensive faculty-taught programs on a single discipline: Italian civilisation, art history, architecture, design, food studies, contemporary politics, fashion, music. Group accommodation on campus or nearby; full cultural program included. Study abroad semester with an Italian-language component. A full 12-16 week semester in which your faculty members teach the core disciplinary course and we provide Italian teaching in parallel at the appropriate CEFR level. Optional integration with our long-stay study-visa documentation framework. Pre-semester language intensive + main program. Students arrive 2-4 weeks before the main faculty-led semester for an Italian intensive, then the discipline-specific program begins. It is the most common pattern for "Italian + discipline" groups aiming for a B1/B2 level by mid-semester. Custom short courses (1-2 weeks). Executive-education groups, MBA short courses, professional-development groups, alumni programs. Compact, high-density academic content, scheduled around the home institution's calendars. Full academic year. For institutions wanting a continuous study-abroad presence in Italy: a year-long program with group rotation between the autumn and spring semesters, with optional summer continuity. Hybrid and rotation models. Groups moving between two or more of our four cities in a single program, for example Florence (heritage) + Milan (contemporary Italy), or combining on-site weeks with online pre-departure preparation.

What we coordinate on-site

Beyond classroom teaching, the Partner Desk coordinates the program's entire operational footprint. The list below is what is included as standard; further services are available on request and defined during program design.

Arrival and logistics. Airport-transfer coordination · arrival welcome · check-in to on-campus or affiliated accommodation · local SIM and connectivity guidance · public-transport orientation · welcome kit. Accommodation. Group housing in our on-campus residences (Florence, Mantua) or in selected partner accommodation (Milan, Turin) · faculty accommodation options · meal-plan integration · cleaning and maintenance coordination. Visa and immigration administration. Enrolment certificates eligible for the consulate · program and hours documentation for visa applications · post-arrival residence-permit support · liaison with consulates and the Questura when required. Risk management and safety. Full risk-management documentation · health and safety brief · emergency-response protocol · 24-hour emergency contact · alignment with U.S. State Department travel advisories where required. Health insurance and medical assistance. Coordination of medical-insurance documentation compliant with Italian consulate and university requirements · local healthcare orientation · general-practitioner guidance for longer programs. Academic operations. Classroom and laboratory scheduling · IT and audio-visual setup · library and study-room access · printing and reproduction support · attendance recording · grade delivery to the home institution.

Optional academic enrichments

Beyond the core faculty-taught course, programs can be enriched with additional learning experiences consistent with the discipline, designed by your faculty members together with our Partner Desk.

Guest lectures and conferences. Local academics, industry professionals and curators of cultural institutions delivering focused lectures in line with the faculty members' syllabus. Joint sessions with Italian partner universities where relevant. Excursions and field visits. Visits consistent with the discipline: museums, archaeological sites, company headquarters, design studios, regional excursions (Siena, Pisa, Bologna, Rome, the Langhe wine region, Verona, Cremona). Logistics, transport and entry-ticket coordination at our expense. Internships and service learning. Credit-bearing or non-credit placements at local Italian organisations (cultural institutions, NGOs, design studios, small businesses, schools), defined according to the program's academic objectives. Conversation partners and teaching placements. One-to-one or small-group pairings with Italian university students for groups with a language component · teaching-assistant placements in local schools where relevant to the academic plan. Experiential and community engagement. Practical workshops, studio activity, laboratory work, volunteering with local cultural and social organisations · structured community-engagement activities defined by discipline. Cultural-immersion calendar. Weekly evening and weekend program: cinema, opera (La Scala, Teatro Comunale), regional cuisine, guided walking tours, food and wine excursions, sport, designed for the group's interests and Italian level.

Disciplines we have hosted - or can host

Our four campuses, together with our network of academic and cultural partners, support a wide range of disciplinary areas. Below: the disciplines we have worked with most often, matched to the campus whose city offers the strongest field context. Other disciplines are welcome on request: we have run programs from environmental policy to opera studies.

Humanities and cultural studies. Italian civilisation · art history · architecture · Renaissance studies · museum studies · classical and medieval studies · religious studies · history of science · heritage conservation. Primary hub: Florence · also Mantua. Languages and linguistics. Italian language (A1 → C2) · sociolinguistics · translation and interpreting · L2 teaching · comparative literature · Italian cinema studies. All four campuses; primary hubs: Florence and Milan. Business, management and finance. International business · management · entrepreneurship · finance · marketing · luxury and fashion management · sustainability strategy · Italian economic history. Primary hub: Milan. Design, fashion and communication. Fashion design · industrial and product design · graphic design · advertising · media studies · digital communication · visual culture. Primary hubs: Milan and Turin. Food, agriculture and territory. Italian food studies · Slow Food · wine and sommellerie studies · food anthropology · sustainable agriculture · regional terroirs · culinary history. Primary hub: Turin · also Mantua. Social sciences and contemporary Italy. Political science · contemporary Italian politics · sociology · migration studies · European studies · public policy · gender studies · urban studies. Primary hubs: Milan and Turin. Arts, music and performance. Music history and opera studies · performance studies · theatre · creative writing · contemporary art (gallery scene, Castello di Rivoli, Fondazione Sandretto). All four campuses, defined by disciplinary focus. Other / interdisciplinary. Engineering site visits · automotive history · environmental policy · healthcare-systems comparison · gerontology · historic-conservation architecture · service learning and community engagement. Defined for each program.

Sample weekly schedule - a day in Turin

Indicative calendar for a 14-week faculty-led semester in Turin with an Italian-language component, delivered in our campus on Via Saluzzo. The visiting faculty member teaches the discipline-specific course on campus; our team delivers the Italian-language module and the Turin-specific cultural, design and gastronomic program all around it.

Monday - Friday morning. 09:30 - 11:00 · Faculty-taught course (visiting faculty member, classroom 1 - Via Saluzzo campus)
11:00 - 11:15 · Coffee break at a partner café in the San Salvario district
11:15 - 12:45 · Italian-language lesson (CEFR level group, classroom 2) Afternoons (vary by day). Mon and Wed: individual study in the campus library and Aula Magna · faculty office hours · study sessions in the indoor lounge areas
Tue: guest lecture or curatorial visit - Castello di Rivoli, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, GAM, Museo Egizio, Mole Antonelliana / Museo Nazionale del Cinema, Pinacoteca Agnelli (every 2 weeks)
Thu: language-laboratory session · conversation-partner pairings with Politecnico / University of Turin students
Fri: design or food excursion - historic Slow Food cafés, automotive heritage (Fiat Lingotto, Museo dell'Automobile), Eataly headquarters, design studios in San Salvario and Vanchiglia (scheduled according to the syllabus) Evenings (optional). Weekly: aperitivo in San Salvario or Vanchiglia (Turin's signature evening ritual) with the group, in Italian
Fortnightly: cultural-program event - Teatro Regio (opera), Cinema Massimo (Italian language), contemporary-art opening, Salone del Libro fringe events in season
Monthly: Piedmontese regional dinner with the group and faculty members (agnolotti, vitello tonnato, bagna cauda, Barolo) Weekend. Saturday: optional day excursion - the Langhe wine region (Alba, Barolo, Barbaresco), the Italian Alps (Sestriere, Bardonecchia), Cuneo, Asti, Sacra di San Michele, the Ligurian coast (Genoa and Cinque Terre with a longer day)
Sunday: free for individual travel and rest. Mid-program break trip (3 nights in Milan, the French Alps or the Italian Riviera) once per semester.

This is an indicative calendar for Turin. The final calendar is co-designed with the visiting faculty member during scoping, to align with the home institution's credit-hour requirements and the discipline's specific learning outcomes.

Pricing model

Faculty-led programs are quoted on a per-group basis, defined according to the institutional requirements agreed during partnership development. We do not publish fixed per-student price lists because group size, duration, discipline, language component, accommodation model, breadth of excursions and faculty housing needs all affect the package. The structure below describes what is included and how the model works; the concrete price is shared in a detailed worksheet during scoping.

Standard inclusions (all programs). Group housing in our on-campus residences or selected partner accommodation · meal plan where applicable · classrooms and laboratory spaces · Italian teaching (where the project provides for it) · workspace and office support for faculty members · airport-transfer coordination · welcome kit · 24-hour emergency contact · ongoing student-services support · Academic Approval Pack and risk-management documentation · post-program report. Optional add-on components (defined for each program). Guest lectures by local academics or curators · excursions beyond the standard base of 2 per semester · multi-day break trips (Rome, Amalfi, the Alps) · internship placements · service-learning partnerships · conversation-partner pairings, Italian university students · faculty fam-trip visit in advance · custom recruitment-support materials. Models we operate. All-inclusive per group: a single invoice covers everything in the standard inclusions plus the agreed add-on components. Per-student rate: fixed fee per enrolled student, useful when group size is uncertain. Academic + à la carte hybrid: discounted academic-only core with optional services invoiced separately. The choice is negotiated at MOU signing. Payment terms. Payment terms align with U.S. institutions' fiscal calendars · typical structure: 25% deposit at MOU signing, 50% at 60 days before arrival, 25% at program close · invoices issued in EUR with a USD reference rate · bank transfer or institutional payment methods accepted · final settlement 30 days after the program.

Past programs in Turin and representative groups

The faculty-led programs we have run in Turin with U.S. partner institutions cover the design, food and contemporary-Italy disciplines listed below. Specific institution names and references are shared during partnership development on a confidential basis: contact the Partner Desk for a list of Turin references aligned with your discipline.

Slow Food and sustainability summer. 4-week summer program for a West Coast university, 24 students. Faculty-taught food studies + Slow Food field visits in the Langhe + winery studies (Barolo, Barbaresco) + service learning with a local food cooperative + visits to the Eataly headquarters and the Salone del Gusto pavilions. Industrial design and automotive heritage. 3-week summer program for a U.S. industrial design school, 16 students. Faculty-taught Italian industrial design (Olivetti, Pininfarina, Bertone, Italdesign) + visits to Fiat Lingotto, Museo dell'Automobile, Pinacoteca Agnelli + design studios in San Salvario and Vanchiglia. Contemporary art and curatorial studies. 5-week summer program for a U.S. graduate program in curatorial studies, 14 students. Faculty-taught contemporary Italian art + visits to Castello di Rivoli, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, GAM, OGR + visits to the studios of contemporary Turinese artists. Architecture and urban regeneration semester. 14-week semester for a U.S. architecture school, 18 students. Faculty-taught urban regeneration through Turin's post-industrial transformation + visits to Lingotto, OGR, Combo, Murazzi + joint sessions with Politecnico di Torino faculty (where the partnership allows). Intensive Slow Food summer certificate. 6-week intensive summer certification program for a U.S. culinary-school group, 20 students. Faculty-taught and locally guided food anthropology + hands-on workshops at the University of Gastronomic Sciences (Pollenzo) + supplier visits between the Langhe and Roero. Full-immersion Italian-language summer. 3-week Italian-language intensive in Turin for a group of 18 students ahead of their main semester in Florence or Milan. Turin chosen for its smaller English-speaking expat community compared with Milan: students arrive at the main program with a noticeably stronger spoken level.

The programs above are representative and anonymised. References, partnership-scope transcripts and direct contacts at past partner institutions are available under the usual confidentiality terms: request them through the Partner Desk.

What our partners say

How to start a partnership - timelines

The typical path from a first conversation to the arrival of a group. The concrete dates are negotiated to align with your institution's curriculum-approval and admissions cycles; the steps below are the standard sequence.

1 · Initial enquiry. You contact the Partner Desk with a brief outline: institution, faculty member leading the program, target dates, group size, discipline, language component required, main constraints. We respond within two working days with an invitation to a first call. 2 · Intake call. A 45-60 minute call with the Partner Desk and (where relevant) the academic coordinator on our side. Goal: understand the academic vision, the institutional context and the operational requirements. We document the call in a structured intake brief that we send back to you within five working days. 3 · Site visit / faculty fam trip. The visiting faculty member and (optionally) a study-abroad office representative come to Italy for a 2-4 day campus visit. We host guided tours of the classrooms, sample lessons, meetings with our academic team and a tour of accommodation options and excursion destinations. 4 · Scoping document. A detailed scoping document is co-developed: program structure, calendar, syllabus integration, language-component design, housing plan, excursion calendar, risk-management plan, Academic Approval Pack structure and a draft pricing worksheet. Iterated until both sides are aligned. 5 · MOU signing. Memorandum of Understanding (or equivalent partnership agreement) drafted and signed. Covers academic scope, operational responsibilities, pricing and payment terms, risk allocation, intellectual property, data protection and withdrawal clauses. Reviewed by both institutions' legal offices. 6 · Operational setup and recruitment. Joint launch of student recruitment at the home campus (information sessions, marketing materials, application platform). On our side: delivery of the Academic Approval Pack, confirmation of accommodation bookings, scheduling of the Italian placement test, delivery of the pre-departure pack to faculty members, definition of the risk-management protocols. 7 · Arrival and program delivery. The group arrives. The three phases of support come into operation as described above (pre-departure, on-site, re-entry). A single dedicated Partner Desk contact throughout. 8 · Post-program review and renewal. End-of-program debrief, post-program report to the home institution, satisfaction-survey results, accounting settlement. The partnership-renewal dialogue usually happens within 30-60 days of program close, in time for the next academic cycle.

Turin's regional context - excursion and trip network

Turin sits between the Italian Alps and the Langhe wine region, with the Ligurian coast a couple of hours away by train. The city is the spiritual capital of Slow Food, the historic centre of Italian industrial design (Olivetti, Fiat, Pininfarina) and home to two of Italy's most important contemporary-art institutions. Programs can integrate excursions to any of the destinations below as standard inclusions or defined add-on components.

In Turin (day visits). Mole Antonelliana / Museo Nazionale del Cinema · Museo Egizio · Castello di Rivoli · Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo · GAM · Pinacoteca Agnelli · Lingotto · OGR (Officine Grandi Riparazioni) · Combo · Museo dell'Automobile · historic Slow Food cafés (Caffè Al Bicerin, Caffè Mulassano, Baratti & Milano) · Parco del Valentino · Borgo Medievale. Piedmont, Liguria and the Alps (day-trip radius). The Langhe wine region (Alba, Barolo, Barbaresco) · Cuneo · Asti · Saluzzo · Sacra di San Michele · the Italian Alps (Sestriere, Bardonecchia, Cervinia) · the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo · the Ligurian coast (Genoa, Cinque Terre with a longer day) · the French Alps (Chamonix, 2 hours). Italy beyond Piedmont (weekend / break-trip radius). Milan, Florence, Bologna, Venice, reachable within 1.5-3 hours by high-speed rail from Torino Porta Nuova. Standard mid-program break trip: Milan or the Italian Riviera (Portofino, Genoa). Want a focus on another Italian city? For the Florence campus model (primary hub), see Faculty-led in Florence. For Deep Italy semesters, see Faculty-led in Mantua. For business and fashion in Milan, see Faculty-led in Milan. Overview: all four campuses.