"New York University’s Romance Languages program was ranked #4 out of 352 schools nationwide. This puts the school’s program in the Top 1% of all Romance Languages programs in the United States."
"NYU’s Romance Languages program has also been ranked #1 out of 32 colleges in the state of New York. This makes the Romance Languages program at the school the best in the state. NYU has achieved this ranking 2 years in a row."
This joint major requires a total of nine (9) 4-credit courses (36 credits). Students may choose to combine Italian with French, Portuguese, or Spanish. One language is designated as primary, in which students must take five (5) 4-credit courses; students complete the other 4 courses in the secondary language. Thus, majors in Romance Languages are able to take advantage of the rich course offerings and resources of our world-renowned language departments and learn from distinguished scholars in both fields.
If Italian is the primary language, the Italian part of this major is satisfied by taking five 4-credit courses (20 credits) as follows:
Please review the Romance Language Major Checklist.
For a list of courses, visit the General Course Offerings page or the CAS Bulletin – Italian Studies page.
If Italian is the secondary language, one of the advanced literature or culture and society courses is subtracted from the requirements; otherwise, the requirements stay the same.
Please review the Romance Language Major Checklist.
For a list of courses, visit the General Course Offerings page or the CAS Bulletin – Italian Studies page.
*Note: Students must coordinated with the Department of Italian Studies and either the Department of French or Department of Spanish and Portuguese, depending on their other language. Internships do not count towards the Italian portion of the Romance Languages major. Students are strongly encouraged to study abroad at the NYU Florence campus to complete their Italian requirements. For more information, review the CAS Romance Languages page.
Before beginning courses toward the Italian component of the Romance Languages major, students must gain satisfactory knowledge of Italian by:
Students who have taken introductory Italian courses in high school or at other Universities are required to take the NYU placement test before registering for Italian language courses at NYU.
Students with no prior background in Italian wishing to complete a major are strongly encouraged to register for the intensive sequence in order to be able to complete the major in a timely fashion. All prospective majors should consult with an adviser prior to registration.
This course is a prerequisite for other advanced courses, in language, literature, and culture & society that are taught in Italian. Systemizes and reinforces the language skills presented in earlier-level courses through an intensive review of grammar and composition, lexical enrichment, improvement of speaking ability, and selected readings from contemporary Italian literature. Prerequisite: ITAL-UA 12 or ITAL-UA 20.
ITAL-UA 30 is a prerequisite for all of the following courses:
Content courses are those classes that focus on Italian culture or society rather than language. They may be taught in either English or Italian. Content courses taught in Italian have a prerequisite of Advanced Review (ITAL-UA 30). Effective Fall 2018, students can take a mix of 2 credit and 4 credit courses. No more than two courses from CORE-UA and/or FRSEM-UA, taught by an Italian Studies faculty member, may be counted toward the major.
To qualify for honors in the Italian studies major, a student must maintain an overall GPA of 3.65 and a major GPA of 3.65 or higher. Students who wish to pursue honors should contact the Director of Undergraduate studies for an application during their junior year. The Director of Undergraduate Studies may, by petition to the director of college honors, consider strong candidates who do not meet the GPA threshold of 3.65.
Undergraduate students in the Honors Program write a thesis overseen by an Italian Studies faculty member in their senior year. In fall, the student prepares research for their thesis in the course ITAL-UA 999 Seniors Honors Seminar. In spring, the student writes the thesis under the guidance of a faculty member in the course ITAL-UA 990 Honors Independent Study. Both count as advanced courses for the major. Students work closely with a departmental faculty member who becomes the honors thesis adviser (chosen in consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies). The thesis should be a work of scholarship and/or criticism from 40 to 60 pages in length. In consultation with a second faculty reader, the student’s thesis adviser determines whether or not to recommend him or her for honors in Italian. A grade of at least A-minus is required for the award of honors. Students receiving a lower grade will simply be awarded 8 credits toward the major.Students should plan to submit a finalized thesis by the end of April. Contact italian.undergraduate@nyu.edu or the DUS with any questions. Visit the Honors Program page for more information.
All majors are strongly encouraged to study for at least one semester at the NYU Florence, with necessary exceptions made for curricular, medical, familial, or athletic conflicts. Study in Italy further enriches the work that majors undertake in New York, brings the language alive in real time, and allows majors to use their linguistic skills to unlock an entire culture. Courses are offered in the fall, spring, and summer. Visit NYU Florence page for more information.
Boasting 57-acre grounds marked by five villas, modern facilities, and extensive gardens, the Villa La Pietra/NYU Florence campus comprises one of the most stunning study-abroad centers anywhere. La Pietra’s intimate setting and small classes provide a stimulating counterpart to study in New York, as well as afford numerous opportunities of direct learning from museum collections and other local institutions. Located in the center of Italy, Florence also provides an ideal credit of departure for exploring the peninsula and its unparalleled archaeological, architectural, and art historical treasures, just an hour and half from Rome and less than three hours to Venice. Contact italian.undergraduate@nyu.edu if you have any questions.
If you are finished with your major requirements, please email italian.undergraduate@nyu.edu so we can submit a memo of completion on your behalf. Be sure to include your N# in the email.
