Italian (BA)

Leonardo da Vinci said, “The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.” There’s something especially wonderful about understanding another language. It enables you to think and express yourself in a new way. Using that newfound skill to communicate with people whose culture and life experiences are very different from yours can bring you much joy.

An estimated 180 million people worldwide speak Italian as their primary or secondary language. Almost 20 million North Americans identify as having Italian ancestry. Italy is internationally recognized for its rich contributions to art, architecture, music, literature, and philosophy. Today Italy attracts interest in a wide variety of areas, including tourism, emigrant heritage, filmmaking, fashion and design, and gastronomy.

You might want to study Italian to get in touch with your family’s history, or with Italy’s incomparable artistic heritage. Or maybe you’re looking forward to traveling in a famously beautiful country, and you want to take some language skills with you. Perhaps you’re interested in a global business career that involves multinational companies. Whatever the basis of your interest, the University of Oregon’s Department of Romance Languages will help you to expand your knowledge and horizons.

Romance Languages is a diverse, multicultural and multilingual unit that offers a first-rate faculty from around the world. As a major or minor, you will gain an extensive knowledge of languages and cultures and will have invaluable opportunities for intellectual growth. You’ll also be able to engage in a wide variety of extracurricular activities, including lectures and film festivals, language conversation groups, study abroad programs, and internships.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Language proficiency: Italian majors should reach at least a level of Intermediate-High (speaking) and Advanced (writing) in the primary target language according to ACTFL proficiency standards.
• Analytical skills related to the field/target language (research and writing): Italian majors should be able to a) use basic tools/methods of analysis in either literary studies or linguistics; b) use technical vocabulary for literary analysis and criticism or linguistic analysis; c) demonstrate mastery of technical aspects of professional writing (manage bibliographic resources, document ideas using MLA or APA style, include in-line citations in writing, etc.)
• Content objectives (literature/culture): Demonstrate familiarity with examples of the cultural/artistic production in the target language from different historical periods. Identify authors, texts, themes, and literary/artistic/intellectual movements in the periods studied. Relate cultural artifacts (literature, film, fine arts) to the historical, cultural, and social contexts in which they were produced.
• Discipline (humanities or social science): identify basic disciplinary questions that define literary analysis/cultural studies or sociolinguistics; apply or relate disciplinary questions to current debates in the arts, politics, social conflicts, etc.

Courses for the major are principally taught in the language of study and immerse students in a diversity of cultures and variations spoken. Cultural, linguistic and literary production – writing, film and other media – studied in RL courses reflect variations of race, gender, social class, climate, religion, and historical and artistic movements and counter-movements. 

• Language and Culture Concentration
• Italian Studies Concentration

Italian Major - Language and Culture Concentration

Courses used to fulfill the major requirements must be taken for a letter grade and passed with a grade of C- or better. Coursework transferred in from Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams are acceptable with a mark of P*.

40 of the 48 credits must be courses taught in Italian. Students may apply a maximum of 2 courses (8 credits) taught in English to this major concentration.

Italian Major - Italian Studies Concentration

Courses used to fulfill the major requirements must be taken for a letter grade and passed with a grade of C- or better. Coursework transferred in from Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams are acceptable with a mark of P*.

Additional Requirement

Students must take at least 24 of the 48 credits in upper-division Italian for this major concentration

Departmental Honors

Approval for graduation with honors is granted to any student who meets one of the following requirements:

1. Maintains at least a 4.00 grade point average (GPA) in all upper-division department course work and at least a 3.50 GPA overall, or
2. Maintains at least a 3.75 GPA in all upper-division department course work and at least a 3.50 GPA overall, and submits an honors thesis written under the guidance of a Romance languages faculty thesis advisor. The thesis adviser determines whether the thesis is acceptable and may require the student to register for up to 6 pass/no pass (P/N) credits in Thesis (FR, ITAL, SPAN 403)

If a student wishes to apply for honors by submitting an honors thesis, the application for graduation with honors must be submitted by the end of the term that immediately precedes the term of graduation. If a student is planning on graduating in the spring term, they must apply for graduation through their departmental advisor during the winter term.

Transfer credits and overseas-study work used to fulfill major graduation requirements are typically included in determining the major GPA.

Four-Year Degree Plan

The degree plan shown is only a sample of how students may complete their degrees in four years. There are alternative ways. Students should consult their advisor to determine the best path for them.

Bachelor of Arts in Italian (Focus in Italian Studies)