Bing Overseas Studies Program-Florence (Spring Quarter 2024-25)

The Bing Overseas Studies Program (BOSP) offers the opportunity to study abroad while remaining enrolled at Stanford and is considered an integral part of the Stanford curriculum. All BOSP programs offer direct Stanford credit for courses taught overseas that frequently count toward one or more majors. In addition, many BOSP courses fulfill Ways of Thinking/Ways of Doing Requirements (WAYS). Regular tuition applies, and financial aid continues. BOSP operates a variety of programs, including quarter length programs, internships and other opportunities.

Florence is the ideal location for students of all majors who are eager to learn from the great innovators, the philosophers, and the engineers of the Renaissance. Its strategic geopolitical position in the Mediterranean makes it also a remarkable place from which to engage in the dynamics of the contemporary world. The Program’s curriculum offers classes in economics, the social and political sciences, history, film studies, bioethics, art history, and studio art.  

Learning in Florence takes place both within and without the classroom through internships, site visits, excursions, and field trips. A program of extra-curricular activities, such as public service, lectures, film series, workshops, concerts, and weekend trips, further enriches the students’ academic lives in Florence while fostering cultural fluency.  Past favorite outings and activities include trips to Venice, Cinque Terre, the Amalfi Coast and Sicily, private visits of the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums, soccer games, and operas at La Scala in Milan.

The Florence Program places great emphasis on the quality of life of its students. They live with and become members of Italian families where they gain a privileged vantage point into local life and culture. The Friends a Firenze Program, cooking classes, and tastings, are but a few of the other activities aimed at bringing students into close contact with locals.

Having opened over fifty years ago, the Florence Program is the longest standing at Stanford University and boasts many generations of loyal, dedicated alumni. The Program is housed in Palazzo Capponi alle Rovinate, a Renaissance building with a panoramic terrace that opens up onto the Arno River and a courtyard by Filippo Brunelleschi. Its location in the Oltrarno places it in the hip left bank neighborhood of the city, filled with shops, restaurants, and galleries that are genuinely Florentine.  All classes are held in Palazzo Capponi’s monumental rooms where students are surrounded by artistic masterpieces while enjoying state of the art technology.

After their stay in Florence, students, like true Renaissance men and women, will have developed the skills that will accompany them in the pursuit of beauty, knowledge, and innovation. Florence students will bring back to Campus that most productive and prolific dialogue that only the synergy between the humanities and technology can ignite.

• Program Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
• Program Capacity: 40 students
• Language of Instruction: English and Italian
• Housing Type: Student Residence
• Engagement Opportunities