High School Abroad Italy

Be a high school exchange student in Italy!

Learn more about your foreign exchange program in Italy with Nacel: within this student exchange in Italy, international students are welcomed by volunteer Italian families interested in sharing their everyday life, language, and culture with a student coming from abroad.

The family members expect a real cultural exchange during the school year abroad in Italy: they wish the exchange student to participate in the daily activities with the family and to communicate with them.

We place high school exchange students all over the country: you will not be able to choose a specific location. The most important is for us to match a host family with you. As soon as your host family is found, we enroll you in the local High School, where you attend classes like any local student.

For those interested in arts, Italy is no doubt an unavoidable destination. No need to be in Rome or Florence: arts can be found at every corner of Italy! Interested in Ancient History, this country is definitively made for you: make a walk among the ruins of former palaces!

International high school exchange students will also make the best of their student exchange it Italy while enjoying the famous Italian food: pizza and gelato are nowhere better than in Italy.

Apply for your school year abroad in Italy and embark on a rich cultural experience. Benvenuti in Italia!

Which is the best high school exchange program in Italy for me?

Your foreign exchange program in Italy starts here! Our exchange students in Italy attend :

• a public Lice (High School).
• or a bilingual Italian Boarding school. 
  

Option 1: Exchange program in a public high school in Italy
You will be welcomed by an Italian host family and attend academic classes at the local Liceo with your host siblings. You will study in Italian and make Italian friends among your classmates. In the afternoons you will join extracurricular activities, go out with your friends, and do your homework. You spend your evenings and weekends with your host family. The ultimate goal of this student exchange program in Italy is to immerse into the daily life of an Italian family. 

Option 2: Exchange program in a full-time Boarding school in Italy
Study abroad in an Italian boarding school! We offer you the unique opportunity to be enrolled in an Italian boarding school where you attend a bilingual English/Italian curriculum. You live full-time at the boarding house of this permanent boarding school in Italy. For the school breaks you either live with an Italian host family or fly back home. 

Consult us so that we can help you make the best choice for your school year abroad in Italy. Live your Italian cultural immersion in Italy with Nacel.

How does it look like to go to school as an exchange student in Italy?

The local Italian Liceo will determine the grade placement of the exchange student. While no grade equivalence is guaranteed by Nacel, we do our very best to arrange your placement in the school grade you need thanks to our constant relationships with Italian school principals. 

The subjects that will be offered depend on the grade level and the study path of your Liceo.

There are 3 main types of Liceos in Italy where exchange students are placed: 

• Liceo Classico:  Latin, Ancient Greek, Italian, History and Philosophy
• Liceo Scientifico: Italian, Latin, History, Philosophy, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Earth Science, Computer Science.
• Liceo Linguistico: Foreign languages (English, French, Spanish, and German), Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Earth science, History, Philosophy
  

Note that Italian students go to school for 13 years before they enter University. They graduate at 19 years old. 

Italian High School Study Abroad: Student Support and Safety

Nacel has more than 20 years of experience in offering study abroad programs in Italy!

Learn more about the Nacel program support and safety measures:

• Our Italian coordinators welcome international students from over 15 different countries every year and thus earn strong intercultural experience.
• Our warm and welcoming volunteer Italian host families are carefully selected through an interview and a home visit. They are screened and vetted by our Italian coordinators. 
  Nacel places exchange students in fully accredited Italian high schools offering a safe and engaging study environment.
• Nacel supports you at each step of the Italian student visa application process.
• All exchange students attend a 5-day comprehensive orientation before they move to their Italian host families. We also include Italian language lessons at the beginning of the school year to help students integrate smoothly in their new environment. 
• Exchange students and their parents have access to a 24/7 hotline and our support team.
• In-country Support team: our Italian coordinators keep in regular touch with exchange students, host families, and schools. This includes monthly reports and visits.
  

What are the benefits of a High School Abroad in Italy?

From our experience, the benefits are not only educational and cultural: Italian language immersion, exposure to a different way of life, and cultural enrichment. An Italian exchange program in a transformative experience of cultural immersion.

The benefits for a student are also personal; our exchange students:

• become more independent and autonomous,
• boost their intercultural and adaptability skills,
• build lifelong friendships with an Italian host family and Italian friends,
• gain a global and broadened perspective on current world affairs,
• and grow as a person!