Foundation year: how to build an outstanding career in art & design in Italy

Looking for art foundation courses in Italy? Go for a Foundation Year!

 

Often referred to as a pathway program, a foundation year is a specific curriculum designed for international students who wish to enroll in an Italian university. During the foundation year, students gain the necessary knowledge, skills and educational background they will need to build their university career. Moreover, students with only 11 years of education can complete the 12th year and meet the Italian university entry requirements.

Are you fond of art & design? Let’s have a look at why a foundation year in arts & design will be the right choice for you.

What would art be without Italy?

Did you know that Italy and China are the two countries with the highest number of UNESCO World Heritage sites? Fifty-five sites in each country. Then, look at the size of these two countries. It goes without saying that Italy has an incredibly high concentration of artistic and historical sites of interest. 

Italy is the land of history, of course. And the land of contemporary design, the beating heart of fashion, a country where art is not an option, but a standard.

Which is why studying art & design in Italy carries an even more special charm.

 

Foundation Year in Art & Design in Syracuse, Sicily

Are you wondering why you should choose Sicily?

 

This island has always been the crossroads of the Mediterranean, a central hub for many civilizations. Today, this variety is still visible across the different corners of the island, from the coast to the inland areas. Everywhere around here the richness in cultural heritage knows no limits.

What about Syracuse?

The city of Syracuse, located on the south-east coast of Sicily, is a vibrant, sunny and multicultural city. Its old town center, Ortigia, is a 1-square-kilometer island where one can shop for groceries, admire great architecture, go for a walk and even for a swim.  

The city has an ideal size which makes it safe and walkable, hence even more enjoyable

Syracuse Academy and MADE Program

Syracuse Academy and MADE Program, the promoters of the Foundation Year in Art & Design in Syracuse are two well-established, officially recognized institutions with state-of-the-art premises in breath-taking locations.

Student-oriented and quality-centered, they welcome and accompany prospective students by hand from the first contact to their final degree.

With an excellent student-professor ratio, classes are engaging and they constantly stimulate students interaction. Be them fully on-site or partially online, the courses offered include a wide range of the most-needed skills that an art & design student must develop.

The Italian language course ends with the CILS examination, an officially recognized certificate of Italian proficiency.

Success occurs when opportunity meets preparation

Think about it. Being a native (or proficient) English speaker, you are looking at a highly-selective, yet quite short list of English-taught degree programs in Italy. Maybe you don’t know it, but the competition out there is huge.

With the Foundation Program in Art & Design, you will be granted direct access to all bachelor degree programs run by MADE, without sitting any further admission exams.

And it’s not only that. Once you have completed your Foundation Year and obtained your CILS certification, your Italian will be good enough for you to apply to any Italian-taught design program in Italy. 

Every year, the Italian Ministry of Education (MIUR) puts out a list of reserved places intended for candidates from non-EU countries residing abroad. This allows non-EU students to have higher possibilities to enroll even in the most selective courses.   

Graduating from an Italian-taught degree in Italy will expand your opportunities to get an internship and a job in Italy, and to pursue a successful career in art & design.

More for yourself 

Pursuing an academic career abroad implicates a financial investment, which in some cases might be lower than the one you would make in your home country. However, it is wise to always take the economic factor into account when choosing a program abroad. 

We’re not simply talking about the foundation year tuition fee or your bachelor degree fees. We’re talking about room and board, the overall cost of living, money value in the foreign country and so on. 

While Italy is not a very big country, there are substantial differences in the cost of living, depending on the city you will choose.

If you live in a big city, then your rent will be more expensive, you will have to use public or private transportation to commute and the overall cost of life (groceries, restaurants, sports and so on) will be higher.

Being Syracuse a relatively smaller town, it also makes it more accessible and affordable. This means that you might manage to save up some money for yourself, to travel around Italy and Europe.

Still, the benefits of choosing to attend a foundation year in Syracuse are not just financial.

The local community here is extremely warm-welcoming, and will immediately make you feel at home. Not long after, you might see yourself tutoring your neighbours’ children with their English homework, or volunteering with a local association.

These experiences, on top of your academic and professional ones, will help you build a set of invaluable human and personal skills that will stay with you for the rest of your life.

To receive further information about the foundation year in Syracuse, contact us at info@syracuseacademy.org or visit our website https://foundationyear.syracuseacademy.org/