Questions
The things people actually ask us.
Mostly by email, usually before they've told anyone they're considering it. If yours isn't here, send it — we answer these ourselves and we'd rather have the question than have you guess.
Before you decide
Do I need to speak Italian?
No. Your clinical instructor speaks English. Many of your patients won't speak English, and at several sites the working language of the clinic is Italian — which sounds like a problem and turns out to be the most valuable part of the placement. You learn to read a body, demonstrate rather than explain, and build rapport without leaning on fluent talk. Students pick up enough Italian to be polite and to manage a session; nobody arrives fluent and nobody needs to.
How long is a placement?
Between 6 and 12 weeks. 19 of our 25 sites will take a 6-week rotation, so if your program runs a shorter terminal placement it is usually workable — tell us the length you need and we'll say which sites fit.
Will my program approve this?
More than sixty-five US programs already work with us, so for many students the answer is already yes. Your DCE has to approve the site, and that conversation goes better with months in hand than weeks. We'll give them everything they need and speak to them directly if it helps.
How much does it cost, and what's included?
Each cycle's cost estimates are published as a slideshow covering placement, housing and the support we provide on the ground. There is an administration fee — currently €2,150 at most sites, higher at a few — and accommodation is quoted per site. Flights and day-to-day living are yours. Costs are estimates, not quotes: they move with housing, flights and exchange rates, so please check them against your own numbers before you commit.
I'm not a PT student. Is there anything for me?
Sometimes. We have occupational therapy availability at Ospedale San Giuseppe in Milan — a hand and wrist centre, surgical and non-surgical, where students also learn splinting — which is a strong fit for an OT hand rotation. We are separately exploring placements for athletic trainers: nothing is running yet, and we would rather design it with people who know the field. Either way, register your interest and say what you're training in, and we'll tell you honestly where things stand.
Can I go in the summer?
Sometimes. 16 of our 25 sites close to students in July and August for ferragosto, when much of Italy genuinely shuts. The rest run through. If summer is the only window your program allows, say so early and we'll steer you to sites that take students then.
Getting there and living there
Do I need a visa?
Usually not. 20 of our 25 sites need no visa for US citizens on a stay of 90 days or less. A small number do require one, and where that's the case it is handled as part of the administration fee. We'll tell you exactly what applies to the site you choose — don't book anything on the assumption. Separately, the EU is introducing ETIAS, a pre-travel authorisation that will apply to US citizens; we track it on our Understanding Italy page.
Where will I live?
We arrange somewhere within easy reach of the clinic, and the cost we quote is for that place. You'll usually share with the other student at your site. You're welcome to find your own instead — talk to us first, because in a small town the saving is normally modest and the choice limited, and we'd rather tell you that before you spend a weekend looking.
Will I need a car?
At 16 of our 25 sites, no — you'll walk, or take a bus or train. At the other 9 a car is worth having, and the cost is usually split between the students in your cohort. Each site page says which applies and how long the commute takes. Car guidance is advice rather than a requirement: check current local transport before you decide.
What about a phone, and money?
A local SIM is cheap and easy, and the team on the ground will help you sort one in your first days. Cards work nearly everywhere, though small businesses in small towns still like cash. Your bank will want to know you're travelling before you go.
The clinic
What are the hours?
Typically 35–40 hours a week, Monday to Friday, with the shape of the day varying by site. Italian clinics tend to open early, run late, and take a real break in the middle. Where your program requires additional hours, some sites can accommodate weekend time — ask us about the specific site.
Is there training I have to do first?
19 of our 25 sites require Italian workplace safety training. It ranges from a short asynchronous module to a four-hour course plus twelve hours live. We'll tell you which applies and make sure it's scheduled before you travel — it isn't something to discover on your first morning.
How will I be assessed?
On whichever instrument your program uses. The electronic CPI, including CPI 3.0, is the most common, and we work with the other assessment tools in general use — so your assessment reaches your program in the form it expects rather than as something that has to be translated back into it. Tell us what your school uses and we will confirm it for the site you choose. If your program has moved to competency and entrustment-based education — assessing against entrustable professional activities rather than a rating scale — we are set up for that too, and are piloting it with a partner program from spring 2027.
What if I'm struggling?
Tell someone early. Our Vice President of European Operations and Senior Director of Student Services are both in Italy and both practising physiotherapists, so the person you call understands both the clinical side and the fact that you're a long way from home. Most difficulties in the first fortnight are ordinary culture shock and settle; the ones that don't are much easier to fix while they're small.
Safety and wellbeing
Is it safe?
Italy is a safe country, and our sites are in ordinary towns and cities where you'll take the same precautions you would at home. Pickpocketing in tourist areas is the realistic risk rather than anything more serious. You'll have local contacts from the day you arrive, and we'd rather you called about something small than sat on it.
What if I get sick or injured?
You'll be in a country with universal healthcare and, more to the point, you'll be working in a clinic surrounded by clinicians. Tell the team on the ground and they will get you seen. Insurance is a separate question and an important one — your program will usually require specific coverage for an international placement, and the requirements differ by school. Ask us and we'll tell you what your site and your program between them need.
I'm vegetarian, or I have dietary restrictions. Is that a problem?
Not really, though it takes a little more explaining in a small town than in a city. Italian cooking has a great deal that is naturally vegetarian, and the phrase you need is learnable in an afternoon. Coeliac disease is unusually well understood in Italy — senza glutine is on most menus and in every supermarket.
Will I be safe and welcome as an LGBTQ+ student, or a student of colour?
We'd rather answer this honestly than reassuringly. Italy is broadly welcoming and our sites are professional environments, but it is a more socially conservative country than many US cities, and that varies a great deal between a university city and a mountain village. We know our sites and the towns around them well. Tell us what matters to you and we'll give you a straight answer about specific places rather than a general one about the country — including telling you if we think a particular site is the wrong fit.
Will I be on my own?
At most sites you'll be one of one or two students, which is the point — you're not competing for a clinical instructor's attention. That's different from being isolated: you'll have colleagues at the clinic, the team on the ground, and usually other EduGlobal students within reach for a weekend. Several students have said the people they met on trains were the part they didn't expect.