Since 2005, the Siena Art Institute’s Deaf Studies Department, managed by the Siena School of Liberal Arts, has built strong, lasting relationships with the Italian and American Deaf and signing communities. For over 20 years, the program has offered a unique opportunity: to study Italian Sign Language (LIS) and Italian Deaf Culture in Italy, within the community itself, offering a high-quality academic program with an international reputation.

Why Siena?

Since the beginning of the program the Siena Art Institute has chosen to integrate the program with the environment that hosts it. 

In Siena you have the opportunity to: 

• Learn LIS directly within the Italian Deaf community
• Explore Italian Deaf history and Deaf Culture
• Experience Italy’s art, food, history, and life
• Build international professional connections

In the summer, a unique community comes together. Students, Deaf professionals, interpreters, artists, and researchers come to Siena specifically for this program. For three weeks, you become part of an intense, multilingual, multicultural Deaf space that exists only here and only for this program.

Academic Excellence

The Deaf Studies program at Siena Art Institute prides itself on having been among the first in Europe, to approach Deaf Culture from a specifically academic, anthropological, and cultural perspective, not an assistive or medical one.

From the beginning, the program collaborated with leading experts and many other respected scholars, interpreters, and Deaf community members. 

The program maintains strong connections with various institutions such as:

• University of New Mexico
• Gallaudet University
• Rochester Institute of Technology
• University of North Carolina Greensboro
• University of Western Oregon 
• Purdue University

and has collaborated with internationally recognized professionals in linguistics, sociolinguistics, interpreting, Deaf culture, and Black Deaf Studies. Many former students have gone on to become researchers, interpreters, teachers, and some even returning to Siena as faculty or as interpreters. This speaks to the program’s quality and impact. Today, it remains one of the very few programs in Europe offering this level of Deaf Studies education in an international context.

What You Will Study

45 hours — Italian Sign Language (LIS)
30 hours — Italian Deaf Culture & History
15 hours — Italian Language

You will work in a multilingual environment:

• ASL
• LIS
• Italian
• English 

The program is intensive and immersive. This challenge is intentional. Learning another sign language pushes you to rethink your own language, refine your signing skills, and deepen your cultural awareness. Many interpreters describe this experience as transformative. Why study LIS? Studying LIS helps you understand how sign languages evolve differently across countries.

Meet our Professional-Level Faculty

You will study with top-level Deaf and hearing professionals, including:

• Deaf artists and performers
• Sociologists and researchers
• Certified LIS interpreters
• University professors
• Cultural leaders from the Italian Deaf community

Our faculty members are active in research, national Deaf associations, interpreting organizations, and international conferences. You are not only learning theory but engaging directly with experts in the field, gaining knowledge and deepening your professional connections.

Learn more about our Deaf Studies faculty here.

Work Hard, play hard.

The program’s schedule is packed with activities to keep you engaged and help immerse in the context even more.  Activities include:

• Museum visits
• City tours
• Conferences and guest lectures
• Community events
• Cultural experiences
• Italian food and local traditions

Siena in June is full of life. As preparations for the Palio (historical horse race) begin, the city lights up in colours and celebrates its own beauty and life. We invite you to live the city to the fullest.

Program Details

Dates: June 4 – June 25, 2026
Suggested Credits: 6
Cost: €4,250
(Includes tuition, double-room accommodation, and program fees)
Application Fee: €50
Deadline: March 15, 2026
Requirements: ASL IV or equivalent; good academic standing

Sign up here

More information: https://linktr.ee/sienadeafstudies

Contact: studyabroad@sienaart.org

See you in Siena in Summer 2026! 

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