Italian

From antiquity well beyond the Renaissance, the Italian peninsula was widely considered to be at the center of Western culture. Now, in the 21st century, Italy continues to influence our understanding of the human experience thanks to a tradition of prolific cultural production and intellectual thought.

The first class in Italian at UW-Madison was offered in the 1850s, and Italian language courses became a regular part of UW-Madison curriculum in academic year 1887-88. Italian at UW-Madison remains one of the oldest and most important Italian programs in the world.

UW-Madison students of Italian develop their proficiency in the language while discovering the region’s history, literature, art, architecture and film in one of the largest and most successful Italian programs in the US. Italian faculty are worldly-renowned experts in literature, culture, history, film, and art, from the Middle Ages to the present. A combination of dynamic course offerings, on-campus immersion opportunities, study abroad and a variety of outreach events in Madison make the study of Italian a constantly evolving and enriching experience.

Benvenuti !

The Department of French & Italian has an informal Italian placement test to find the best fit for students with previous experience in Italian. To get access to the test, please contact Mandi Schoville, Undergraduate Advisor and Program Coordinator.

Retro-Credits

Students enrolled in 102, 182, 203, 204, 311 or 312 are eligible for retro credits. Consult complete retroactive credit policy for more information.

Course taken	Retro Credits
102	4
203	8
204	12
311, 312	16

Note: Italian 201, Italian for Speakers of Other Romance Languages, is an intense, 2 semesters-in-one course designed for students who have had the equivalent of 4 college semesters of another romance language (French, Spanish, Portuguese).

Advanced Placement (AP) Credit Policy

College credit will be awarded to students who receive a 3, 4, or 5 on their AP Italian Exam. More information can be found here.

Score	Credit Policy	To also earn retro credits, take
3 or 4	4 cr. 204	311
5	4 cr. 452	311

Effective spring 2025, the Italian Major Requirements have been updated to allow students more flexibility, especially those pursuing multiple majors, certificates and/or those who have or will study abroad. The new requirements will not officially be in the Guide until Summer 2025, however we are already honoring the requirements effective spring 2025. Students who are already declared in the Italian Major will have the option of keeping and fulfilling the pre-existing Italian major requirements or switching to the new requirements. Switching to the new requirements is not possible until September 2025 and students will be notified when the option to switch is possible. If you are graduating this spring 2025 or summer 2025 and will NOW be able to complete the Italian major under these new requirements, contact the Undergraduate Program Manager and Advisor, Mandi Schoville.

New Italian Major Requirements¹

24 totals credits beyond Italian 204 or Italian 205²

Required Courses (9 credits), select three courses from:

Italian 230
Italian 311
Italian 312
Italian 321
Italian 322

Elective Courses (15 credits)¹

Students can choose electives¹ from the master list of Italian courses provided in the Guide.

¹ Only 1 Literature in Translation course can count towards the Italian Major.

² Students must complete the Italian Foundational Courses (101 – 102 – 203 – 204) prior to beginning Italian major courses. This is done by taking the foundational courses or placing into a level beyond 101 and working up to the major courses. Some students might place directly into an Italian major course via the placement test or from AP / transfer credit.

Students can apply 6 to 15 credits from a UW study abroad program towards the Italian Major.

Students should review all the Italian major requirements provided in the Guide prior to declaring, including the Residence and Quality of Work requirements.

Outcomes of the Italian Major

Having completed an undergraduate major in Italian, you will be able to:

Skills

Demonstrate understanding and ability to analyze literary and non-literary texts in Italian representing a broad spectrum of topics, time periods, and geographical regions
Express yourself effectively in spoken and written Italian to inform, persuade, and narrate for different audiences of listeners, viewers, or readers
Express yourself effectively in spoken and written Italian to share information, reactions, and opinions related to a broad spectrum of topics and texts

Knowledge

Recognize and explain cultural artifacts, practices, and perspectives of the Italian-speaking world including how these cultural elements relate to literary and non-literary texts in Italian
Demonstrate a good degree of understanding of lexical, grammatical, syntactic, and stylistic features of the Italian language

Dispositions

Demonstrate awareness of difference and diversity by comparing and contrasting culturally situated beliefs, behaviors, and norms of the Italian-speaking world with your own
Engage in a sustained fashion with the Italian language, its users, and cultural artifacts in and beyond the classroom, e.g., in your own community, virtual communities, and study abroad

NEW Italian Certificate Requirements¹

15 total credits beyond Italian 204 or Italian 205²

Required Courses (6 credits), select two courses from:

Italian 230
Italian 311
Italian 312
Italian 321
Italian 322

Elective Courses (9 credits)¹

Students can choose electives¹ from the master list of Italian courses provided in the Guide.

¹ Only 1 Literature in Translation course can count towards the Italian Certificate.

² Students must complete the Italian Foundational Courses (101 – 102 – 203 – 204) prior to beginning Italian certificate courses. This is done by taking the foundational courses or placing into a level beyond 101 and working up to the certificate courses. Some students might place directly into an Italian certificate course via the placement test or from AP / transfer credit.

Students can apply 6 to 15 credits from a UW study abroad program towards the Italian Certificate.

Students should review all the Italian certificate requirements provided in the Guide prior to declaring, including the Residence and Quality of Work requirements.

Click here for L&S Undergraduate information about Honors – General

TAKING A CLASS FOR HONORS

Student can choose to register for the course for honors credit. Students taking a course for honors should contact their instructor or professor as soon as possible at the very beginning of the semester to begin organizing the honors curriculum for the semester.

Students in the L&S Honors Program do not need permission to take a class for honors. Please note that students in the L&S Honors Program must take a minimum number of credits in designated honors sections. More information available here.

GRADUATING WITH HONORS IN THE MAJOR

To graduate with honors, a major in Italian must register with the department advisor as an honors candidate and must complete the junior-senior honors curriculum with a GPA of at least 3.5 in the major. Students must also have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.3 in all courses taken at UW–Madison at the time of graduation.

ITALIAN 101 – 102

A student who wants to do the Honors option will meet with the instructor to discuss projects and activities to do in addition to the normal 101-102 homework and activities. Students need to write down the terms of the agreement in a sort of contract that will be given to the instructor as well as to the Course Chair before the beginning of the project.

ITALIAN 101:

Attend three screenings at the UW Cineteca OR attend 3 Italian Club events OR attend 3 campus lectures sponsored/approved by the Italian department. Meet with your instructor to present a short summary of the three films / events (who were the characters, what happened, what is your opinion on the films/events) in Italian (a 5 minute one-on-one oral presentation) OR record a video to share with your classmates on Learn@UW in which you present a short summary of the three films / events. You must also write a 3-4-page paper in English in which you describe what new or surprising information regarding Italian life/culture you learned from the films/events. NB: These extra-curricular events when attended for the honors project will NOT count towards extra credit points.
Research a topic related to Italian literature, history, art, politics, music, or culture in general (preferably something that we discussed already in class). Meet with your instructor to present your findings in Italian (a 5 minute one-on-one oral presentation) OR record a video to share with your classmates on Learn@UW. Then write a 3-4-page paper in English in which you explain why you chose your topic (what drew you to it?) and what new or surprising information regarding Italian life/culture you learned in preparing this topic.

ITALIAN 102:

Attend three screenings at the UW Cineteca OR attend 3 Italian Club events OR attend 3 campus lectures sponsored/approved by the Italian department. Meet with your instructor to present a short summary of the three films / events (who were the characters, what happened, what is your opinion on the films/events) in Italian (a 5 minute one-on-one oral presentation) OR record a video to share with your classmates on Learn@UW in which you present a short summary of the three films / events. You must also write a 2-page paper in Italian in which you describe what new or surprising information regarding Italian life/culture you learned from the films/events. NB: These extra-curricular events when attended for the honors project will NOT count towards extra credit points.
Research a topic related to Italian literature, history, art, politics, music, or culture in general (preferably something that we discussed already in class). Meet with your instructor to present your findings in Italian (a 5 minute one-on-one oral presentation) OR record a video to share with your classmates on Learn@UW. Then write a 2-page paper in Italian in which you explain why you chose your topic (what drew you to it?) and what new or surprising information regarding Italian life/culture you learned in preparing this topic.

Each student will write up an individual contract with the TA stating the following:

– Specific descriptions of the activities the student will participate in and a deadline for the final product. OR A brief description of the topic of the project, sources to be examined, and deadline for the final product.

Copies of the agreed-upon proposal (which are signed and dated by the student) should be shared electronically with the TA, student, and course chair before work on the project begins.

ITALIAN 203 – 204

A student who wants to do the Honors option will meet with the instructor to discuss projects and activities to do in addition to the normal workload of Italian 203 or Italian 204. Students need to write down the terms of the agreement in a sort of contract that will be given to the instructor as well as to the Course Chair before the beginning of the project.

ITALIAN 203:

Attend 4 screenings at the UW Cineteca OR attend 4 total Italian Club events AND/OR campus lectures sponsored/approved by the Italian department. Meet with your instructor to present a short summary of the 4 films / events (who were the characters, what happened, what is your opinion on the films/events) in Italian (a 5-8 minute one-on-one oral presentation) OR record a video to share with your classmates on Learn@UW in which you present a short summary of the three films / events. You must also write a 4-page paper in Italian in which you describe both what you attended and what new or surprising information regarding Italian life/culture you learned from the films/events. NB: These extra-curricular events when attended for the honors project will NOT count towards extra credit points.

Research a topic related to Italian literature, history, art, politics, music, or culture in general (preferably something that we discussed already in class). Meet with your instructor to present your findings in Italian (a 5-8 minute one-on-one oral presentation) OR record a video to share with your classmates on Learn@UW. Then write a 4-page paper in Italian in which you explain why you chose your topic (what drew you to it?) and what new or surprising information regarding Italian life/culture you learned in preparing this topic. NB: This research project cannot be the same topic as the final oral exam project for Italian 203.

ITALIAN 204:

Attend four screenings at the UW Cineteca or watch 4 Italian films (chosen in consultation with the instructor) and write 4 analytical essays (2 pages each) in Italian based on the movies, with emphasis on cultural content. NB: Screenings at the Cineteca when attended for the honors project will NOT count towards extra credit points.
Research a topic related to Italian literature, history, art, politics, music, or culture in general (preferably something that we discussed already in class). Meet with your instructor to present your findings in Italian (a 5-8 minute one-on-one oral presentation) OR record a video to share with your classmates on Learn@UW. Then write a 6-page paper in Italian in which you explain why you chose your topic (what drew you to it?), your overall findings, and what new or surprising information regarding Italian life/culture you learned in preparing this topic. NB: This research project cannot be the same topic as the final oral exam project for Italian 204.

Each student will write up an individual contract with the TA stating the following:

Copies of the agreed-upon proposal (which are signed and dated by the student) should be shared electronically with the TA, student, and course chair before work on the project begins.

ITALIAN 311 AND ABOVE

Curriculum for honors level work in courses at the 311 level and above will vary depending on the instructor.

TO GRADUATE WITH HONORS, STUDENTS MUST:

– Register as an honors candidate with a department honors advisor

– Take 16 honors credits beyond 204. Honors credit is generally available in all courses

– Complete the junior-senior honors curriculum in the department with a Major GPA of at least 3.5

– Have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.3 in all courses taken at UW-Madison at the time of graduation

– Complete a Senior Honors Thesis of 6 credits (Italian 681 and 682) or substitute two semesters of literature (6 credits) at the 600 level

UW in Bologna

Fully immerse yourself in the Italian culture, improve your language skills, and spend your academic year or semester engaged in courses with Italian students at the University, and other BCSP participants in consortium classes.

UW in Florence

This program is ideal if you’re looking for an academically rich study abroad experience with an introduction to Italian language. In Florence, the renowned history of Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael, the Medici, and Botticelli will become part of your daily experience.

Umbra Institute Italian Language and Culture

On this program, you will be intentionally immersed in an Italian language and culture experience.

UW Classics in Italy

This program will help you navigate new educational systems, observe Italian perspectives on academic disciplines and daily life, and deepen cross cultural understanding through site visits and educational tours.

CIEE Rome

This experience will help you strengthen your language skills, and allow you to discover a distinctly American learning experience while being enriched by Rome and the international faculty and student population.

INTERNSHIPS

Explore Internships Abroad.

Italian Club

An avenue to expand interest, knowledge, and enjoyment of Italy and Italian culture. See FRIT calendar for meeting dates.Contact Loren Eadie for more information.

Cineteca Italiana

Weekly Italian film screenings with English subtitles. See FRIT calendar for dates. Contact Riccardo Marcangeli for more information.

Italian Workmen’s Club Scholarship

The Italian Workmen’s Club (IWC) is a men’s club of Italian heritage. The IWC has been in existence since 1912 and was started by Italian immigrants living in the Regent Street area of Madison. The IWC’s mission is to preserve and promote the history, culture, language and traditions of Italians and Italian Americans and to express appreciation for and support the understanding of their impact in Madison.

The IWC will award a NEW Scholarship ($2,000) to a student of Italian spending at least a semester studying abroad in Italy. Preference will be given to:

Students pursuing a Major in Italian or a Certificate in Italian at the UW-Madison (any student who has declared the Italian Major or the Italian Certificate by November 2025).
All students are encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to students of Italian heritage.
Students planning their first study-abroad experience in Italy.
Students with at least a 3.0 GPA.

Deadline: November 2025 (exact date TBD)

The successful recipient will be notified in December 2025 and will receive $2,000 from the IWC to help offset study abroad expenses. At the end of the semester abroad, the successful recipient agrees to an in-person update for the IWC members and to send a one-two page final report about their study experience in Italy to IWC by email (jptripalin@gmail.com).

Declare or Cancel a French Major or Certificate