University of Calgary
UofC Navigation

Italian

Submitted by darmstro on Fri, 12/02/2016 - 5:46pm

Programs

Students may pursue a Major, a Minor and a combined BA/BEd degree; the BA in Italian may also be taken with Co-operative Education. Students will also have the option to carry out faculty-monitored joint research projects.

Why study Italian?

Italian Studies is concerned with the multidisciplinary examination of Italian language, literature, culture, art and history. This program will allow you to improve your Italian language skills while also examining Italian art, history, music and religion. During the course of your studies, you'll gain creative thinking skills, research and analytical capabilities, intercultural awareness, and the ability to fluently communicate in Italian.

A unique place to study

Submitted by darmstro on Thu, 12/01/2016 - 10:11am

Our focus on multicultural diversity provides many possibilities of cultural and economic exchanges between different communities, including the Italian community. Calgary has a large and prosperous Italian community of at least 10,000 members, and growing.

In collaboration with the Italian Consulate General in Vancouver and the Italian Cultural Institute in Toronto, we have been providing some excellent programs during the annual “Settimana della Lingua Italiana” (Week of Italian Language), inviting internationally renowned guests, writers and scholars, such as Claudio Magris, Simonetta Agnello Hornby, Paolo Giordano, Millicent Marcus (Yale University), Davide Rondoni, Rebecca West (University of Chicago), Domenico Pietropaolo (University of Toronto), Hermann Haller (CUNY, The Graduate Center), GianMario Villalta, Maria Luisa Bigai, among others.

12 Reasons to Study Italian

  1. Italian language and culture — and Italy itself as the destination for an exchange program — are among the most beloved by North American students.
  2. Since Roman times, Italy has been an exporter of civilization. Knowing Italian allows you to appreciate a treasury of human expression.
  3. According to UNESCO, over 60% of the world's art treasures are found in Italy. Artists such as Giotto, Michelangelo and Artemisia Gentileschi, among many others, were Italian.
  4. Italian literature boasts some of the world's most famous writers — Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarch, Gaspara Stampa, Vittoria Colonna, Machiavelli, Italo Calvino, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Elsa Morante and Umberto Eco, to name a few.
  5. Italy has been a pioneer in many scientific fields — think of Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Guglielmo Marconi, Maria Montessori and Rita Levi-Montalcini.
  6. The performing arts have received significant contributions from Italian musicians, playwrights and directors, e.g. Antonio Vivaldi, Giuseppe Verdi, Dario Fo, Luigi Pirandello, Eleonora Duse and Tina Modotti.
  7. Italy has produced adventurous explorers like Marco Polo, Columbus, John Cabot and Amerigo Vespucci, after whom America was named.
  8. Italy was one of the founding members of the European Common Market (Treaty of Rome, 1957), which has developed into the European Union.
  9. Italy is one of the top five economies in the world and a member of the G7 group
  10. Knowing Italian is very advantageous in several career fields — the culinary arts, music, design, fashion, manufacturing, electromechanical machinery, shipbuilding, space engineering, transportation equipment.
  11. Owing to the prominence of Italy in many fields, Italian words — such as crescendo, pizza, fresco and studio — are present in numerous languages.
  12. Emigration has made Italian one of the languages most widely spoken outside Europe.

    

  

Enhance your degree

  • Students in the Italian program have the opportunity to write an Honours thesis on a research topic of their own design, supervised by a faculty member. This intensive, year-long project is undertaken in the final year of the degree and involves coursework and independent research.

  • Learn more about enhancing your degree with a cooperative education program.

  • Peer mentoring program - Becoming a peer mentor or signing up to receive peer mentorship is a great way to connect student-to-student and learn in an innovative environment.

  • Be a part of the Arts and Science Honours Academy and join the best and brightest students at the University of Calgary.

  • At the University of Calgary, there are many ways to get involved and enjoy student life during your degree.
     

Co-curricular Record

The Co-Curricular Record acts as an official record of student involvement in not-for academic credit and volunteer roles during their time at the University of Calgary. Students who engage in 20 hours or more of involvement are eligible to add the information to their Co-Curricular Record, which can be printed out and used in job and volunteer applications, medical school applications, and for keeping track of involvement.

  • Language Achievements

    When a student writes an exam for a Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR), he/she receives a mention of the language and assessment on the co-curricular record component of their transcript.
     

Study abroad

  • Our students will have the opportunity to study in Perugia at the Università per Stranieri and receive credit for their work. The courses offered are ITAL 301, ITAL 309, ITAL 401 and ITAL 499. Registration in two courses at the appropriate level is required. Information: Francesca Cadel

  • Our students can also participate in an exchange program of 6 months/1 year at Universita' degli Studi di Bologna. This exchange program is open to full time undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts, who have completed at least 1 full year (10 courses) at the postsecondary level, with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.7 (B-).

 
Funding                 

To help offset the cost of your education at the University of Calgary and in Italy, the University of Calgary offers numerous scholarships, bursaries and prizes to students of Italian, many of which are generously supported by our Italian community, the Italian and Swiss governments.

Put your education to work

Our graduates have strong oral, written and intercultural skills. They can successfully build careers in numerous fields, such as the foreign service, international relations, business and government services, health care, social services, human resources, teaching, translation and interpreting, journalism, academic administration, film-making and performing arts, communication and media, tourism and hospitality, and the not-for-profit sector.

For more information on potential career options, please visit: Career Services Degree Profiles Italian Studies.