The Italian programme provides students with the opportunity to acquire a high level of proficiency in the Italian language as well as comprehensive knowledge of Italian culture. The Italian programme is offered both as a major and a minor.

In order to declare a major in Italian, applicants must initially complete two introductory core language courses, i.e. ITAL1001 and ITAL1002 (12 credits in all).

In their second, third, and fourth years of study, students pursuing a major in Italian must take a total of 54 credits of courses which should normally be distributed as follows: 

- 24 credits from courses at Level 2XXX, of which 12 credits must be from the core language courses, i.e. ITAL2001 and ITAL2002, and up to 6 credits may be selected from a list of non-ITAL courses;

- 30 credits from courses at Level 3XXX, of which 12 credits must be from the core language courses, i.e. ITAL3001 and ITAL3002, plus 6 credits from ITAL3020, a ‘capstone’ course designed to allow the application of disciplinary knowledge and principles learned in the first, second and third years.

Finally, students will be strongly encouraged to participate in a 3 to 4-week linguistic stay in Italy during the summer either between their second and third year or third and fourth year of studies.

BA Syllabus (2017-2018)

Learning Outcomes:

Students who have completed a BA programme in Italian should be able to:

• Pursue a life-long appreciation of the Italian language and of cultures where Italian is spoken.
• Provide innovative solutions to diverse problems or situations related to Italian culture and society
• Demonstrate knowledge of Italian-speaking societies, cultures, politics, and economy
• Identify the major contributions and influences of Italian-speaking cultures to Western civilization
• Recognize how different cultural backgrounds influence interactions with others
• Demonstrate competence, sensitivity, and open-mindedness when communicating and working
• Use their insight into the cultures of the Italian-speaking world in order to critically evaluate the differences and commonalities between Italian-speaking societies and cultures and their own
• Understand the Italian language in daily life as well as academic and professional contexts
• Use the four skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing in Italian
• Develop an appreciation of all facets of human heritage and respect for humanistic values