Italy

Italy has long been a hotspot for international students with tens of thousands flocking to this picturesque peninsula every year to study at leading schools such as Fondazione Alma Mater, Rome Business School, Free University of Bozen, Bolzan, University of Parma, University of Trieste, University of Siena.

On a University Magazine ranking of the top study abroad destinations for U.S. students, Italy claimed the second spot behind the UK, beating Spain, France, Germany, Ireland, China, Australia, Costa Rica, and Japan. In fact, more than ten percent of US students who studied abroad in 2017 – 2018 did so in Italy.

This tradition of exchange between Italy and the US is nothing new: Americans have been studying in Italy for many years. One such American is Judith Branzburg, whose first study abroad trip to Italy was supposed to be just nine months long but, such was her love of the country, ended up lasting nearly three years.