Current Undergraduate Students

Welcome to your homepage 

The information provided here for all current undergraduate students will guide you through individual elements of your degree programme.  Please use the relevant link to take you to information directly related to your year of study.

School Office: The School Office will handle enquiries and administrative matters.

Useful Links:

• Marking criteria
• Term dates
• Would you like to improve your essay writing and grammar skills in English?
• Skills Courses for Students

We welcome students who either already have an advanced knowledge of Italian or who are beginners or near beginners in the subject. The structure of the first year depends on your existing knowledge of the Italian language but in later years no difference is made between levels of entry. When you have completed your degree in Italian, you will have gained an excellent knowledge of spoken and written Italian, and an in-depth understanding of Italy and its cultural history.

If you are a beginner in Italian most of your first year is spent learning the language. In addition you will take units on Contemporary Italy and on Modern Literature. If you already have an advanced knowledge of Italian you will be able to choose from a wider range of culture units on topics such as Italian Cinema, Medieval and Renaissance Italy, or Italian Colonial Culture. Your language programme is designed to consolidate and enhance your existing knowledge of Italian. For the rest of the degree you will follow the same language programme and choose from the same list of culture options whatever programme you are studying. In year three you will usually either study at a partner university in Italy or work on an approved placement.

The Italian Department offers a unique programme in Italian Cultural Studies reflecting the internationally renowned expertise of its staff. In both years two and four you can select from a wider range of units according to your own interests.

We have particular strengths in the Modern as well as the Medieval periods. We offer a number of units on Italian Cinema that look at popular commercial films as well as those made by Italy's great directors. Film is studied alongside literature in many of our other units such as 'Terrorism', or 'Travel Writing'. 'The Culture of Fascism' and 'TransItalia' are units that combine the study of texts with a consideration of broader cultural and political questions. For those of you drawn to the earlier period, units on Dante and on Medieval culture offer insights into an era when Italy's cities were at the heart of Europe's commercial and artistic life. Some options may also be available from a range offered by the School of Modern Languages.