University for Foreigners Perugia

Infobox_University
name =University for Foreigners Perugia
native_name =Università per Stranieri di Perugia
latin_name =Antiquam exquirite matrem


motto =Ambassador of Italy in the World
established =1925
type =State-supported
endowment =
staff =150
rector =Prof. Stefania Giannini
students =8,066 [ [http://www.unistrapg.it/italiano/ateneo/cifre.php University for Foreigners: official statistics] ]
undergrad = (2006)
postgrad =
doctoral =
city =Perugia
country =Italy
campus =Urban
free_label =Sports teams
free =CUS Perugia [http://www.unipg.it/cusperugia/]
affiliations =AlmaLaurea
website =http://www.unistrapg.it/
logo =
address =Piazza Fortebraccio, 4 – 06122 Perugia
telephone =[phone]The University for Foreigners Perugia ( _it. Università per Stranieri di Perugia) is a university located in Perugia, Italy. It is one of two Italian universities oriented towards foreign students (the other one is located in Siena).

History

The university was founded in 1921, when the Perugian lawyer Astorre Lupattelli, who dedicated many years working on the project, instituted in his own city the first courses of high culture with the intention of spreading awareness of the Umbria region and its history, institutions, and artistic and natural beauties in Italy and abroad.

Up to 1926, the courses were held in the halls of the University of Perugia (in Italian, L'Università degli Studi di Perugia), and also in the Sala dei Notari of the Palazzo dei Priori in Perugia.

From 1927 onward, the university had its own premises in the Palazzo Gallenga, in the heart of the city.

The university was founded under Benito Mussolini, and can be seen as a historical part of the statewide effort to create institutions whose purpose was to "spread the superior Italian culture around the world." The university has, of course, been privatized since then, and has a much simpler mission: to teach high quality Italian language and Italian culture courses to foreign students.

The Modern University

On February 17, 1992, the school became a university in its own right, and takes part in the Italian Faculty of Language and Culture and the Departments of Linguistics and Comparative Culture. In addition to Italian language and culture courses, the university now also offers courses for an undergraduate degree, language certifications, and a master's degree.

Since then, it has been a popular destination for foreign students from around the world to immerse themselves in an Italian city in order to learn the language and culture quickly. Students test into various levels of courses based on the degree of Italian comprehension. Because of the diverse crowd--each class tends to have students from countries all over Europe as well as some Americans--the lingua franca is Italian and students tend to practise the language much more than in traditional Italian courses taught in their home countries.

Notable Alumni

* Michaëlle Jean
* Iain Duncan Smith
* Helmut Berger
* Prince Leka of Albania

See also

* List of Italian universities
* Perugia

Notes

External links

* [http://www.unistrapg.it/ University for Foreigners Perugia Official Site]