American University of Florence: programs and admissions
The American University of Florence (AUF) is a private institution in the heart of Florence, built on an Experiential Learning Model that blends theory and practice through a student-run restaurant and fashion shop. Part of the FUA-AUF system, Italy's largest study abroad provider.
About The American University of Florence
The American University of Florence (AUF) is a private institution of higher education based in Florence's historic center, focused on an American educational model built on experiential learning. AUF shares its organizational structure and several campuses with Florence University of the Arts (FUA), together forming the FUA-AUF system.
The university offers Associate, Bachelor's and Master's programs in fields such as Fashion, Design, Hospitality, Digital Arts, Communications and Business, spread across nine specialized schools located in seven historic buildings in central Florence, including Palazzo Bombicci Pontelli Guicciardini Strozzi on Corso dei Tintori.
The university's teaching model, called the Experiential Learning Model, blends theory and professional practice through real projects with companies, a restaurant and a fashion shop run by the students themselves. About 90% of the student body comes from abroad, with over 40 nationalities represented.
Main academic areas
Associate, Bachelor's and Master's Degrees across 9 specialized schools · Certificate Career Programs
AUF statistics and indicators
Graduate employability not published separately for AUF.
AUF's history
The American University of Florence emerged as an evolution of the broader Florence University of the Arts (FUA) network, developed in Florence to meet growing international demand for higher education paths based on the American model but immersed in the Tuscan artistic and cultural context.
Over time the university built a network of seven campuses located in historic buildings in central Florence, each dedicated to specific disciplinary areas, from fashion to design, from communications to hospitality. The distinctive feature of its history is the choice of an experiential learning model, under which students concretely apply the skills acquired through real projects run in collaboration with local businesses and internal teaching facilities, such as a school restaurant and fashion shop.
This approach has allowed the university to carve out a significant role among the international institutions active in Italy, capable of attracting thousands of students each year through the broader FUA-AUF circuit, which today represents one of the country's leading study abroad providers.
What people say online about The American University of Florence
Reviews of the FUA-AUF consortium are generally positive, with some practical issues around daily life and cost communication.
An extremely positive and transformative cultural immersion experience in Florence.
Housing lacking common US appliances; "meal units" system seen as inflexible by some.
- Extremely positive and transformative cultural immersion
- Quality of classes and the beauty of the city
- Effective language immersion for Italian language students
- Experimental model with a student-run restaurant and shop
- Housing lacking some common US appliances
- "Meal units" system for restaurants seen as inflexible
- Communication about additional costs not always timely
- Room for improvement in day-to-day practical management
FAQ — The American University of Florence
AUF stands out among American universities in Italy for its unique experiential learning model, where students actually run a restaurant and a fashion shop as part of their coursework.
