Italian Language and Literature
Degree Options: Major, Minor
Locations: Lincoln Center, Rose Hill
Visit the Modern Languages and Literatures Department
It’s a living language borne of a world-changing culture 2,500 years old. Learn Italian.
Perhaps it’s the sound of the language or the culture’s 2,500-year-old history that draws you in. Maybe it’s art and architecture, films and food, Rome and Florence. As an Italian major at Fordham, you’ll become a fluent speaker, reader, and lover of Italian culture.
In the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, you’ll study Italian language, culture, and literature—the focus of our program—from medieval through modern times. You’ll study Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio—and Rossellini, Pasolini, and Fellini.
We draw on a long Jesuit tradition of scholarship on and respect for the world's diverse languages and cultures—and virtually all of them are in New York City. From cultural events to people on the streets, New York City is your classroom for learning Italian.
You’ll perfect your advanced proficiency in Italian, refine your analytical skills, and acquire a critical understanding of Italian literary and cultural tradition over the centuries.
You’ll learn more than Italian language and literature here. You’ll also study philosophy, theology, economics, mathematics, ethics, science, and the performing arts through Fordham’s common core curriculum, the centerpiece of our liberal arts education.
We want you to excel in your field—and as a human being.
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As an Italian language and literature major, you take 10 required courses.
All literature courses are taught in Italian, and you will be required to speak in Italian in class discussions and oral presentations.
We have two Language Learning Centers for solo studying or collaboration with classmates:
- Language Learning Center at Rose Hill: a state-of-the-art, multi-use, interactive digital language laboratory with 54 self-contained computer stations equipped with the most up-to-date audio, recording, and film viewing technology.
- Olga M. Ficarra/Francis J. Morison Language Laboratory at Lincoln Center: a multi-use, interactive, computer-based facility with 25 student work stations equipped with CD, audio, video, and DVD capabilities.
We offer free tutoring in Italian every week on both campuses.
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Introduction to Italian I & II
Italian Language and Literature
Reading Culture Through Literature
Italy and the Arts
Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio
Modern Culture and Society
Baroque and Enlightenment
Italian Women Writers
Italy Today -
You’ll graduate with advanced proficiency in speaking and writing in Italian—as well as an extensive literary and cultural preparation—that will open doors to many careers. Wherever Italian is spoken, there may be a role for you.
Our graduates earn advanced degrees in graduate programs in:
- foreign languages and literature
- comparative literature
- international affairs
They attend professional schools in:
- law
- journalism
- social work
They work in as many fields as there are people speaking Italian, including:
- finance
- publishing
- nonprofit
Our career services tap Fordham’s ties with more than 3,500 companies. We offer:
- postgraduation career search
- resume development, Interviewing practice
- networking skill development
- hands-on case-study sessions with industry executives
- field-specific advising/coaching
You also get access to our powerful (and Fordham-loyal) network of alumni, who want to see you succeed as they have.
Italian Language and Literature Degree