The Italian Program offers an M.A. degree program spanning many aspects of Italian studies including literature, politics and the visual arts. Our graduate course offerings cover all literary periods from the Middle Age to the contemporary. We encourage our graduate students to develop and hone their research skills and we support them in building a solid foundation for their future academic endeavors. They receive cutting-edge pedagogical training that make them better teachers and communicators, and that prepare them for a variety of professional paths.
M.A. students in Italian are encourage to explore other traditions and disciplines. They can enroll in courses offered by other language programs within the modern languages and linguistics department, and they can profit from our interdisciplinary collaborations with departments such as art history, English, classics, history, music and women’s studies.
Students holding a degree from our program have gone on to pursue Ph.D. degrees in Italian (at Harvard, UCLA, Johns Hopkins, among others) or in other disciplines (e.g., communication, law school, medical school, veterinary school). Some work in the fields of translation, import-export, K-12 education, instructional technologies, language instruction coordination, and study abroad programs.
M.A. in Italian Studies
Requirements for the M.A. in Italian studies include course work and a final written comprehensive examination. A minimum of 32 semester hours in graduate courses (including minor, if any) must be earned and at least 21 of these must be taken for a letter grade.
Required courses include a distribution of coursework across the centuries. Courses are not offered as exam preparation; rather, course work provides the basis for the student to further synthesize and expand their knowledge during exam preparation.
M.A. Comprehensive Examination in Italian Studies
The Italian studies M.A. track concludes with a written M.A. comprehensive examination. The exam takes place in the last weeks of the spring semester (usually early April) and is based on the exam text list the candidate prepares with the members of their exam committee. The student will take three written exams which will cover three main disciplinary areas, established with the committee members. The detailed format for the M.A. comprehensive examination is outlined in the Graduate Studies Handbook.
ITA 5060. Graduate Reading Knowledge in Italian (3). (S/U grade only). This course is designed to prepare graduate students majoring in disciplines other than Italian to read learned journals, books, and monographs written in Italian. It is useful for students’ research in the humanities, and natural or social sciences.
ITA 5069r. Reading Knowledge Examination (0). This translation examination is to ascertain the student’s ability to read research materials written in Italian. Use of translation software is prohibited.
ITA 5455r. Advanced Italian Composition and Style (3). Prerequisite: Advanced standing. This course stresses the morphological and syntactical order of Italian by means of extensive drills in controlled and free composition. Theme writing at the advanced level. May be repeated to a maximum of nine semester hours.
ITA 5505r. Italian Culture and Civilization (3). Prerequisite: Advanced standing. This course surveys Italian culture and civilization and provides a historical perspective to aspects of Italian society. May be repeated to a maximum of nine semester hours.
ITA 5900r. Studies in Italian Language and Literature (3). Prerequisite: Fourth-year level language and/or literature courses. This course provides specialized study of topics, figures, and movements. May be repeated to a maximum of nine semester hours.
ITA 5940r. Teaching Practicum (0–5). (S/U grade only). A maximum of three hours may apply to the master’s degree. May be repeated to a maximum of five semester hours.
ITA 8966. Master’s Comprehensive Exam (0). (P/F grade only.)
ITALIAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE (WRITING)
ITW 5415r. Italian Renaissance Literature (3). Prerequisite: Advanced standing. This course offers selected readings and discussions of the literature of the Italian Renaissance including such figures as Lorenzo de Medici, Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Ariosto, and Tasso.
ITW 5445r. 18th- and 19th-Century Italian Literature (3). Prerequisite: Advanced standing. This course offers advanced readings and discussions of the figures and cultural movements of the Enlightenment and Romantic period. May be repeated to a maximum of six semester hours.
ITW 5485r. 20th-Century Italian Literature (3). Prerequisite: Advanced standing. This course offers advanced readings and discussions of figures and movements in 20th-century Italian literature. May be repeated to a maximum of nine semester hours.
ITW 5486r. Readings in Contemporary Italian Prose (3). Prerequisite: Advanced standing. This course offers advanced readings and discussions of the works of contemporary and emerging Italian writers and artists. May be repeated to a maximum of nine semester hours.
ITW 5505. Italiane, italiani! – Gender in Italian Culture (3). This class explores modern Italian culture by discussing texts, movies, and social events from the standpoint of their gender politics.
ITW 5705r. The Trecento Writers (3). Prerequisite: Advanced standing. This course offers an advanced study of the Trecento writers: Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio and others. Advanced readings and discussions are available in both English and Italian. May be repeated to a maximum of nine semester hours.
ITW 5905r. Directed Individual Study (3). (S/U grade only). May be repeated to a maximum of nine semester hours.
ITW 5910r. Supervised Research in Italian (1–5). (S/U grade only). A maximum of three hours may apply to the master’s degree. May be repeated to a maximum of five semester hours.