For students currently in grades 9–12
Special programs & collaborations
Custom Programs

Looking to create a custom program or collaboration?

Travel programs with the Smithsonian Institution for grades 8–12

Challenge yourself academically at the world's most prestigious universities

Non-profit organization offering student travel scholarships

High school youth summit focused on public health, climate change, and equity

columbia-climate-school-icon

Campus-based climate change program for grades 9–12

Tuscany

July 19 — August 6
$8,790 + airfare

Tuscany

July 19 — August 6
$8,790 + airfare

Join us in Tuscany for an insider’s experience of Italy on this Pre-College summer program for high school students. Based in Siena—a stunning, walled medieval city in the heart of the Tuscan countryside and home to the University of Siena—broaden your horizons with in-depth, field-based seminars ranging from Italian Language to Farm-to-Table. Choose a seminar and—with the nooks of Piazza del Campo or golden hills as your backdrop—dive deep into your subject matter through engaging discussions, site visits, excursions to Florence and Rome, and hands-on projects that immerse you in Italian life.

Practice your Italian language skills with vendors at the local market
Visit an olive farm and learn from local agrotourism experts as you sample delicious oils
Take a cooking class and learn how to make pici, a pasta that originated in Siena
Learn crafts from local artisans like paper marbling, leather making, and ceramics
“Her exposure to the food and culture of Siena, past and present, are significant and we continue to hear about what she learned.”
—Gouri & Alexander E., New York, NY

Seminars

Choose a seminar and explore Siena and the surrounding Tuscan countryside through the lens of your chosen subject. Putney seminars combine experiential learning and global perspective, and are intentionally designed to deviate from classroom-centered and text-heavy learning, which many students are used to. Instead, Putney students learn by doing. Begin with discussions that frame your seminar concepts and identify key issues. Take the learning beyond the classroom with site visits, meetings with local experts, guest lectures, and field trips. Siena’s rich historical, architectural, academic, and cultural background makes it the perfect setting for our field-based seminars. Cap off your studies with a final project to share your work with your instructors and peers.