The dynamism, vitality and exuberance of life is what Italy is all about. Rich in culture, from Dante to Dolce & Gabbana, from Renaissance art and architecture to Alessi designs, from Machiavelli and Galileo to Berlusconi and Ferrari cars, from the operas of Verdi to the films of Fellini, Italy’s preeminence is uncontested. The resonances of Italy’s rich past in literature, design, the visual arts, architecture, business, engineering and cinema are all around us today, across Europe and the world. Studying Italian at Royal Holloway takes you into this dynamic world, and our success with both complete beginners and advanced students in Italian, coupled with a fascinating range of cultural courses, make our Department one of the most attractive in the country.

The Department is one of the oldest and largest departments of Italian in the UK, going back to the very foundation of Bedford College in 1849. Students in the department have access to one of the best collections of materials for the study of Italian, from books and periodicals to the latest DVDs.

Our friendly and approachable Department has recently been praised for its ‘rich and innovative’ new curriculum, introduced over the last two years. Whilst respecting the traditional canon of Italian Studies (Dante and Renaissance art and literature), the curriculum contains an exciting range of courses covering areas such as opera and operatic culture, cinema and art, as well as contemporary prose, modern media, history and politics. Staff research interests cover all the main periods of Italian culture and the diverse interests and approaches form the basis of the courses offered. It is very important for us that our teaching be in tune with the latest research and creative thinking.

Italian is available within a range of degree programmes, including Single Honours, Major, Joint and Minor programmes, and as part of the New Degrees in Modern Languages. We continue to teach language at all levels, from complete beginners’ level to post-advanced students and the courses aim to develop your competence and fluency in a range of communicative and written skills. Indeed, we pride ourselves on our small group teaching and the input of our native language tutors as well as our intensive language course for beginners. Single, Major and Joint students take either the advanced full unit language course or the intensive full unit for beginners. From second year, you take the same full-unit core language course. In the final year, you take the compulsory half-unit course in oral skills and choose between the half-unit translation course or the half-unit essay and commentary course. We also have a Minor pathway which consists of a full-unit language course, beginners or advanced.

We teach in a range of ways including through lectures, seminars and tutorials, and we are attentive to your needs and interests. The new curriculum has brought with it new means of assessment to include much more coursework and a presentation element (100% in many cases) as opposed to end of year examinations.

A degree in Italian can lead to many different types of career and many of our students return to work in Italy after graduation in teaching, media and the arts. Knowledge of Italian is hugely attractive to UK employers in banking, business, management and accountancy. Teaching, translating and interpreting and the Civil Service are also popular career choices.

Why study Italian (download an A4 poster)

• Italian at RHUL
• Staff in Italian
• Research in Italian
• Degree Programmes with Italian
• Italian in Combinations
• Course Units in Italian
• Undergraduate Applications
• Postgraduate Study
• AHRC Research Project: The Italian Academies