Fields of Study in Italian

• For questions regarding the major and the minors, students should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies: Konstantina Zanou, 212-853-8205 [email protected] 
• For questions regarding Italian language courses, students should contact the Directors of the Language Program (DLP):
  • Elementary: Felice Beneduce, [email protected]
  • Intermediate: Alessandra Saggin, [email protected]
• Students pursuing an Italian Major should download this worksheet.
• Students pursuing an Italian Minor should download this worksheet.
• Students pursuing a Minor in Mediterranean Studies should download this worksheet.

1. For students pursuing an Italian Major or Minor, who have no prior knowledge of Italian, the required sequence is Elementary Italian I & II (UN1101-UN1102) or Intensive Elementary Italian (UN112) and Intermediate Italian I & II (UN2101-UN2102) or Intensive Intermediate Italian (UN2121).
2. Students with prior knowledge of Italian must take the Italian placement exam before declaring the Italian Major or Minor.  Students may be exempted from the language requirement in Italian in one of three ways:
   1. by presenting a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Italian Exam
   2. by presenting a score of 780 or above on the SAT Subject Test in Italian
   3. by obtaining a satisfactory score on the department’s placement examination

Coursework in fulfillment of  the Italian Major, the Italian Minor, and the Minor in Mediterranean Studies must be taken at Columbia University unless expressly permitted by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.  Exceptions or substitutions permitted by the Director of Undergraduate Studies should be confirmed in writing by email to the student.

The department grants 3 credits for a score of 5 on the AP Italian Language exam, which satisfies the foreign language requirement.  Credit is awarded upon successful completion of a 3000-level (or higher) course with a grade of B or higher.  This course must be for at least 3 points of credit and be taught in Italian. Courses taught in English may not be used for language AP credit.  The department grants 0 credits for a score of 4 on the AP Italian Language exam, but the foreign language requirement is satisfied.

All relevant Barnard courses are treated as part of the available curriculum and accepted in the Major and Minors.  Students should consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies on which Barnard courses are considered relevant.

• When students transfer to Columbia from other institutions, their coursework at their previous institution must first be considered by their school in order to be evaluated for degree credit (e.g., to confirm that the courses will count toward the 124 points of credit that every student is required to complete for the B.A. degree). Only after that degree credit is confirmed, departments may consider whether those courses can also be used to fulfill specific degree requirements toward a major or minor.
• No more than three (3) courses toward the Italian Major may be fulfilled with transfer credit; no more than one (1) course toward the Minors. 
• Students should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies to request review of transfer credit and submit the syllabi of courses taken outside Columbia for consideration.

• Classes taken abroad through Columbia‐led programs (i.e., those administered by Columbia’s Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement and taught by Columbia instructors) are treated as Columbia courses, equivalent to those taken on the Morningside Heights campus. If they are not explicitly listed by the department as fulfilling requirements in the major or minor, the Director of Undergraduate Studies will need to confirm that they can be used toward requirements in the Major/Minors.
• Classes taken abroad through other institutions and programs are treated as transfer credit to Columbia, and are subject to the same policies as other transfer courses. There will be a limit on the number of courses taken abroad that can be applied to the Major/Minor, and they must be approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

• Summer courses at Columbia are offered through the School of Professional Studies. Courses taken in a Summer Term may be used toward requirements for the Major/Minors only as articulated in Department guidelines or by permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies. More general policies about Summer coursework can be found in the Academic Regulations section of this Bulletin.

• Beyond the Columbia Summer in Venice Program, for students who stay in New York the Italian Department offers courses in Elementary and Intermediate Italian during the Summer. 

• Students may be interested in course offerings in this department that can be taken in fulfillment of the Global Core requirement and the Language requirement of the Core Curriculum. See the list of approved courses for the requirement on this page of the Bulletin that lists all approved courses to see the list of courses in this department that have been approved for the requirement.
• For students who would like to build on their experience in Literature Humanities, the Italian Department offers courses on Dante, who has been on the Literature Humanities curriculum since its inception, and on Boccaccio. In addition, the Department offers Mediterranean Humanities I & II, a sequence of courses designed as the Global Core equivalent of Literature Humanities. 

The courses offered by the Italian Department introduce students to an array of methodologies in literary criticism, comparative literature, cultural studies, film studies, food studies, history of philology, intellectual and transnational history.

Highly motivated Italian majors have the opportunity to pursue a senior thesis under the guidance of a faculty adviser in an area of Italian literature or culture of their choosing. The senior thesis tutorial (ITAL UN3993 Senior Thesis/Tutorial) will count for 3 points.

Majors in Italian who wish to be considered for departmental honors in Italian must (1) have at least a 3.6 GPA in their courses for the major and (2) complete a senior thesis or tutorial and receive a grade of at least A- within the context of the course ITAL UN3993. Normally, departmental honors are awarded to no more than one graduating senior. 

• The Italian Department awards through an internal selection process the following prizes: 

For Columbia College students:

—Dino Bigongiari Prize: This prize was established by the former students and friends of Professor Bigongiari. It may be awarded annually to the Columbia College senior who has written an outstanding essay on Italian Civilization, or whose work in the regular Italian courses is judged most worthy of distinction.

—Helen and Howard R. Marraro Prize: This prize may be awarded annually to up to 2 Columbia College undergraduates of high academic distinction and promise in an area of study concerned with Italian culture, including art, music, comparative literature, history, economics, government, or in any other academic discipline. The prize was established in honor of Professor Marraro.

For General Studies students: 

—The Medaglia D’Oro prize for excellence in Italian Studies. (The amount of this prize is $300.)

—The Benedetto Marraro Prize for distinction in Italian Studies. (The amount of this prize is $300.)

• The National Italian Honor Society (GKA)

Juniors and seniors (CC, GS, BC) who show superior scholastic performance in the field of Italian language, literature, and culture can be nominated as members of the National Italian Honor Society (GKA). The Honor Society “encourages college students to acquire a greater interest in, and a deeper understanding of, Italian culture, art and history.”  Juniors and seniors with at least a B+ average in Italian who have taken courses in culture and/or literature are eligible for membership.  

In addition, the Society offers a $500 award to an essay (2000-2500 words) written in Italian. Students must be seniors completing an Italian Major or Minor in order to compete for the essay award. 

• A wide range of cultural programs are sponsored by the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America, including the activities of the Columbia Seminar on Modern Italian Studies. These programs enrich the learning experience of the students and offer opportunities to meet distinguished Italian and Italian-American visitors to the University.
• The Columbia Summer in Venice Program, housed in the Casa Muraro, offers students the opportunity to immerse themselves in the culture, history, and language of Venice on a six-week summer program in the city. Students learn about the art, literature, music, culture and society of Venice and the Veneto region while also having the option to study and practice Italian. The program is not geared toward any particular major (although its courses count toward the Major and Minor in Italian, as well as the Minor in Mediterranean Studies), and students with no Italian language or art history background are eligible to apply.