About the Program
Welcome to the Italian Program of the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics at Florida State University. These pages provide prospective and current undergraduate and graduate students with information and contacts to program and department resources.
The Italian program offers a minor and major in Italian language and literature, as well as the possibility of a major with a concentration in business. Through the Winthrop-King Bequest, the program is also able to offer outstanding undergraduates the opportunity to study in Italy in the summer.
Students can also pursue an M.A. in Italian Studies, which consists of an interdisciplinary program with a vast range of core courses in Italian correlated with graduate courses from related areas of interest.
UNDERGRADUATE
The program offers a 30-hour major, a major with concentration in business, a co-major option with another language (Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Linguistics, Russian, or Spanish), as well as a 12-hour minor option. Introductory language courses can be taken to satisfy the foreign language requirement for all Arts and Sciences degrees.
GRADUATE
The MA in Italian Studies is a 32 semester hour, interdisciplinary program with core courses on Italian topics correlated with graduate courses from related areas of interest.
Why Study Italian
Italian is spoken by almost 60 million people in Italy and over 62 million around the world.
Italy has the 7th largest economy in the world and is the 5th largest industrial producer of goods; indeed, 6 of the world's biggest global companies have headquarters in Italy. In addition, Italy has been ranked number one in the world for cultural influence several times (U.S. News Best Countries Rankings). This means that jobs in Italian business can be lucrative! there are many job opportunities related to Italian business!
Italy is also a major political force in Europe and in the world. For this reason, knowledge of Italian can lead to jobs in diplomacy and trade.
Italy is at the heart of Western culture and civilization (think Rome, Renaissance, Galileo, Michelangelo, Verdi, Fermi…) and the Made in Italy brand is synonym with craftmanship, design, beauty, and tradition. Italian language and cultural knowledge is often useful, if not necessary, for research and study in many fields, including art, business, design, music, and sciences.