The year abroad begins with a six-week orientation course in Italian language and culture followed by registration in regular courses at the university. Housing is provided through apartment living. The program is sponsored by Indiana University, UW-Madison, Cornell, Northwestern, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Pennsylvania. A faculty member from one of these institutions is in residence in Bologna to direct all phases of the overseas operation. Students may study for either a semester a year, or a summer term in Florence in a program administered in cooperation with the University of Michigan.
Participants live and take classes and meals in a historic renaissance villa.
There is no language requirement for the program. Courses taught in English by faculty from Michigan and Wisconsin are supplemented by local teachers, visiting lecturers, and through field trips. Most courses take advantage of the cultural resources that the city of Florence has to offer and classes often meet at historical sites around the city. This semester or academic year program allows students to study in the medieval city of Coimbra at the University of Coimbra, one of Europe's oldest universities. In addition to a core curriculum in Portuguese language and culture, students may take courses in many disciplines in the regular university.