Arts - Italian BA

Program Overview

UCC's BA in Italian provides immersive language learning, leading to high linguistic proficiency and critical analysis skills. Students explore Italian culture and society through literature, art, and media, with opportunities to study abroad and pursue careers in fields where Italian fluency is in high demand.

Program Outline

Arts - Italian BA | University College Cork | UCC | Ireland | Undergraduate Degree | Courses

Degree Overview:

A degree in Italian provides access to a rich and influential culture and to the language and society of a country that offers opportunities for exciting careers and further study. Most of the students have no Italian before joining the program. The program is designed to help students reach a high level of linguistic proficiency and develop important critical and analytical skills. Students can choose from a range of modules on literature and art, film and music, politics and the media. The BA program offers various pathways, including the opportunity to spend Year 3 studying at one of the partner universities in Italy. This experience is often described by students as the best of their lives.

Outline:

Year 1:

• Beginner Level:
• IT1101 Introduction to Written and Spoken Italian (10 credits)
• IT1201 Post-Unification Italian Culture and Society
• Non-Beginner Level:
• IT1102 Non-Beginners' Written and Spoken Italian (10 credits)
• IT1201 Post-Unification Italian Culture and Society

Year 2:

• Students continue their intensive study of the Italian language in preparation for Year 3.
• Modules help students develop important critical and analytical skills sought after by employers.

Final Year:

• Students take an advanced language course and may continue to specialize in modern Italian culture.
• Students develop independent thinking through the study of Dante's Divine Comedy and other landmarks of world literature.

Course Practicalities:

• Expected lecture hours:
• Year 1: Four hours of contact per week with language tutors, one-hour lecture on Italian culture, and independent study of up to three hours per week.
• Year 2 & 3: Four hours of lectures/seminars on culture and society, as well as required reading.
• Access to online language course: Reinforces classwork and can be taken whenever and wherever internet access is available.
• Assessment:
• Written exams before Christmas and in May.
• Not all modules have formal examinations.
• Many modules use other types of assessment.
• Language skills are assessed by assignments and/or written and listening tests.
• Modules on Italian culture are assessed by a combination of in-class tests, written assignments, and end-of-semester examinations.

Teaching:

• Staff in the Italian Department are all native speakers of Italian or have a near-native knowledge of the language.
• Courses are taught by academic staff, college language teachers, and international PhD students.

Careers:

• Demand by employers in Ireland for graduates of Italian is currently greater than supply.
• Many graduates choose to work in Italy or other countries.
• The department has a LinkedIn group exclusively for its graduates, where information on vacancies is exchanged.

Other:

• The Department of Italian is one of the smallest units in UCC, which means students receive individual attention.
• The program provides a doorway to a rich European cultural heritage.
• The language and culture complement subjects such as History of Art, Music, and English.
• Italian is the language of a G8 country.
• Students taking the BA International, Arts-Music (European Pathway), or Drama & Theatre Studies (International Pathway) have the opportunity to spend Year 3 studying at one of the partner universities in Italy or, where appropriate, in the country of their other language or subject.
• Students can opt into the study-abroad pathway at the end of Year 1.
• Partner universities in Italy include Venice, Florence, Rome 3, and Bologna, as well as other universities in smaller cities.
• Students studying Italian through the BA or the BA International have the opportunity to avail of a work placement in Year 2.

• Student Contribution + Capitation: €3,130.
• Non-EU applicants are expected to have educational qualifications of a standard equivalent to the Irish Leaving Certificate.
In addition, where such applicants are non-native speakers of the English language they must satisfy the university of their competency in the English language