Why designers need studio Italian
A 6-month internship at an Italian design studio in English is rare. A portfolio crit in fluent Italian decides your second-year jury at Polimi. The brief, the pin-up, the conversation with the client — all in Italian. This programme teaches the studio dialect, not the textbook one.
Built for three audiences:
- Polimi / IAAD / Domus Academy candidates — preparing the language requirement for admission interviews and portfolio defence.
- International students already enrolled at Italian design schools — needing fast functional Italian to survive studio culture.
- Working designers and architects joining Italian studios or relocating to Italy — building professional Italian for the workplace.
Why Turin for this
The automotive design capital
Pininfarina, Italdesign-Giugiaro, Bertone — all born in Turin. The city where modern Italian automotive design was invented. Walking distance studios, real industry presence.
Politecnico di Torino
Italy's second largest engineering and architecture university — 35,000 students, half international. The Castello del Valentino architecture campus, 25 min from us. Design, engineering, urbanism programs.
IAAD & the design scene
IAAD (Istituto d'Arte Applicata e Design) trains the next generation of Italian designers. The Turin scene includes Domus, the Salone del Mobile satellite, multiple architecture studios.
Real working city — affordable
Lower cost of living than Milan or Florence. Mature city, working professionals, less tourism. Substance over scenery — the right environment for a serious studio commitment.
Curriculum — what's different
General Italian core (A1–C2) + design-specific modules below.
| Module | What you actually do |
|---|---|
| Italiano del progetto | The vocabulary of design briefs, project phases, concept presentation. Italian for sketch description, model description, prototype iteration. |
| Pin-up & jury Italian | How to present a portfolio in Italian. The vocabulary of crit sessions. Defending your design decisions to a jury — culturally correct register, no awkward translations. |
| Studio & client conversation | Real Italian for a design studio context — talking to the studio principal, talking to the client, talking to fabricators. The difference between Italian for university and Italian for the working world. |
| Architectural Italian | For architecture students specifically: building typologies in Italian, urbanism vocabulary, heritage and restoration terms (a huge field in Italy). Reading Italian architecture journals. |
| Polimi / IAAD admission prep (optional) | One-to-one sessions if you have a specific admission interview coming up. |
Pricing
Design Intensive Track — 3 months
20 group lessons/week (general Italian) + 4 dedicated design modules/week + 1 monthly studio visit (curated). Visa-eligible.
Long-form Design Track — 9 months
Full academic year. A1/A2 → certified B2/C1 with design specialisation. Built around the Italian academic calendar — perfect parallel to Polimi/IAAD year 1.
Non-EU students: all 3+ month tracks visa-eligible. See Student Visa Italy + Visa & Permit Support.
How to enrol
Small-cohort programme — we cap intake at 12 students per term. Pre-application is by 15-minute video interview to confirm fit.