Italian, BA

Location(s): Main Campus

The Italian major provides students the opportunity to study the rich language, vast history and intriguing culture of the beautiful country of Italy. Mastery of spoken and written Italian is developed through the study of an evolving artistic tradition: Medieval literature and culture, Renaissance philosophy, modern Italian poetry and prose, contemporary cinema, and new media.

The Italian major provides a student with a solid foundation of language skills and develops the student’s written and oral communication skills, critical-thinking skills, and overall cultural awareness. The program prepares students for advanced study in Italian and related fields, such as teaching or business. Our majors also find employment in many fields, including art curation, global business and finance, law and diplomacy, teaching, translation and interpretation, writing and publishing, and more.

Program Requirements

University General Education Requirements

All Binghamton University undergraduate students are required to fulfill this set of university-wide requirements to ensure that every graduate acquires the essential core of a SUNY university undergraduate education. Please refer to the General Education page for more information.

Harpur College Requirements

All students in Harpur College must fulfill additional requirements designated by Harpur College to complement and extend the general education requirements. Please refer to the Harpur College of Arts and Sciences page for more information.

Major Requirements

Prerequisites

Depending on prior exposure to the language, ITAL 111 may be a required prerequisite for the major. Students should consult placement guidelines provided by the department.

Course Requirements

The 10 required courses for the major shall be distributed as follows:

One of the following: ITAL 113 , ITAL 115 or one ITAL course at the 200 level or above,
Three ITAL courses at the 200 level or above,
Two ITAL courses at the 300 level or above, and
Four ITAL courses at the 400 level.

Additional Information About the Program

Courses taken under the Pass/Fail grading option do not count toward the major. A minimum grade of C (satisfactory performance) is required for a course to be applied toward the major.
Residency Requirement: At least three 400-level courses for the major requirements must be taken on campus or in the study abroad programs sponsored by Binghamton University.
ITAL 491 (Teaching College Italian) is intended for undergraduate teaching assistants who are interested in enhancing their command of the language by assisting a professor in class. It can be taken for one to four credits toward graduation, but it does not count toward the major requirements. Students need to fill out an application form to be considered for this course.

For more information on the Italian BS program, please refer to the Romance Language and Literatures website. To apply to the Italian BA program, please visit the University Admissions website.