Program of Study (CAS Bulletin)

MAJOR


Satisfactory knowledge of Italian is a prerequisite for majoring in Italian. This is normally interpreted as the completion of ITAL-UA 30 with the grade of C or better. Transfer students must complete at least five of the nine courses required for the Italian major while in residence at New York University. In addition, the director of undergraduate studies may approve courses taken at a program of study in Italy to count toward the major. All prospective majors should contact a department adviser prior to registration.   

Note: Internships do not count toward the Italian major. The prerequisite for introductory literature, advanced literature, and culture and society courses conducted in Italian is ITAL-UA 30 or permission of the instructor. ITAL-UA 115 or ITAL-UA 116 should be taken before any advanced literature courses taught in Italian.

Programs of Study
Qualified students may choose one of four programs of study. They may concentrate on Italian language and literature; Italian language, culture, and society; Romance languages; or Italian and linguistics.

Italian language and literature: This plan of study normally consists of the following:
  • ITAL-UA 30
  • One conversation course (ITAL-UA 101 or ITAL-UA 107)
  • One composition course (ITAL-UA 103 or ITAL-UA 105)
  • Two readings in literature courses (ITAL-UA 115 and ITAL-UA 116)
  • Three advanced literature courses
  • One culture and society course
Italian language, culture, and society: This plan of study normally consists of the following:
  • ITAL-UA 30
  • One conversation course (ITAL-UA 101 or ITAL-UA 107)
  • One composition course (ITAL-UA 103 or ITAL-UA 105)
  • One readings in literature course (ITAL-UA 115 or ITAL-UA 116)
  • Three culture and society courses
  • One additional Italian culture and society course, chosen from the relevant course offerings of other departments, such as history, medieval and Renaissance studies, music, politics, or Italian graduate courses open to seniors (for general requirements, please see under “Graduate Courses Open to Undergraduates”)
  • One advanced literature course
Romance languages: This plan of study normally consists of nine courses distributed between two languages—a combination of either Italian-French, Italian-Spanish, or Spanish-French. When taken with Italian, the major consists of the following:
  • ITAL-UA 30
  • One conversation course in each of the two languages (ITAL-UA 101 or ITAL-UA 107, and one of the following: FREN-UA 101, FREN-UA 102, or SPAN-UA 101)
  • One composition course in each of the two languages (ITAL-UA 103 or ITAL-UA 105, and one of the following: FREN-UA 105, FREN-UA 106, or SPAN-UA 106)
  • One readings in literature course in each of the two languages (ITAL-UA 115 or ITAL-UA 116, and one of the following: FREN-UA 115, SPAN-UA 811, or SPAN-UA 815); or one culture and society course in each of the two languages (ITAL-UA 160 through ITAL-UA 173, and one of the following: FREN-UA 163, FREN-UA 164, SPAN-UA 762, or SPAN-UA 261)
  • Two upper-level language or literature courses, to be divided between the two languages
Italian and linguistics: This plan of study normally consists of nine courses distributed between Italian and linguistics as follows:
  • ITAL-UA 30
  • One advanced Italian language course: ITAL-UA 101, ITAL-UA 107, ITAL-UA 103, or ITAL-UA 105
  • Two advanced courses in either Italian literature or culture and society, to be determined in consultation with the director of undergraduate studies
Also required are the following linguistics courses: an introductory course (LING-UA 1, LING-UA 2, or LING-UA 28), LING-UA 11, LING-UA 13, and two courses from two different areas, including phonology, psycholinguistics, semantics, sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, or computational linguistics.

MINOR


Students wishing to minor in Italian must complete four courses beyond Intermediate Italian II or Intensive Intermediate Italian. These include two required language courses and two electives in literature and/or culture & society.  The four courses shall consist of:
  1. Advanced Review of Modern Italian  (ITAL-UA 30)
    (This course is required for all majors and minors)
  2. One additional advanced language course to be chosen from the following:
    Conversations in Italian (ITAL-UA 101)
    Italian through Cinema (ITAL-UA 107)
    Advanced Composition (ITAL-UA 105)
    Creative Writing in Italian (ITAL-UA 103)
  3. Two courses in literature and/or culture & society to be chosen in consultation with an advisor. 
Note: Internships do not count towards the minor.  The Director of Undergraduate Studies may approve a maximum of two courses taken at another university to count towards the minor.  

HONORS PROGRAM IN ITALIAN STUDIES


Honors in Italian studies will be awarded to majors who maintain an overall GPA of 3.65 and an average of 3.65 in the major and successfully complete the honors program. Students will complete an 8-point sequence consisting of the Senior Honors Seminar (ITAL-UA 999) and the Honors Independent Study (ITAL-UA 990). Both of these courses may be counted as advanced courses for the major. The subject of the Senior Honors Seminar changes each year and is decided on by the faculty member teaching the seminar. Students select and work on an individual basis with a departmental faculty member who becomes the honors thesis adviser. The adviser is chosen in consultation with the director of the honors program. The Senior Honors Seminar, a small class in which students develop their honors thesis, is normally taken during the fall semester of the senior year. The primary focus of the seminar is on research and the application of critical methodologies. Students define a thesis topic of their choice, develop a bibliography, read broadly in their area, and begin their research. A substantial part of the research, usually including a rough draft of the thesis, should be completed by semester’s end.

During the spring semester of the senior year, students should enroll in Honors Independent Study (ITAL-UA 990). In close consultation with the thesis adviser, students work on the revisions and final draft of the thesis. The finished thesis should be a work of scholarship and/or criticism in the field of Italian studies and should be from 40 to 60 double-spaced, typed pages in length. In consultation with an additional faculty member who also evaluates the thesis, the student’s adviser determines whether or not to recommend him or her for honors in Italian. A grade of at least A- is required for the award of honors in Italian. Students receiving a lower grade will simply be awarded 8 credits toward the major.

Application procedure: Applications for admission to the program are made to the director of the honors program at the beginning of the fall semester of the junior year. The application form is available in the Department of Italian Studies. Interested students should attach to the application an unmarked copy of a paper that they have submitted in a CAS Italian course. The paper should demonstrate the student’s analytic abilities and application of critical methodology. A decision will be made once final grades have been submitted for the term in which the student applies. Accepted students should discuss registration with the director of the honors program. For general requirements, please see Honors and Awards.