MA in Italian in Urbana United States | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The Italian program at Illinois, among the nation's oldest, stands out as one of only a handful offering comprehensive Italian Studies from bachelor's to PhD levels. Our interdisciplinary approach caters to learners passionate about Italian language and culture at all stages. We equip students with versatile skills, cross-cultural understanding, and critical thinking tools to examine Italy's rich heritage across Mediterranean, European, and worldwide perspectives. MA candidates pursue coursework comparable to Italy's laurea magistrale, gaining essential linguistic, cultural, and theoretical grounding for specialized Italian Studies. This degree serves both as a crowning achievement for Italian learners and a career springboard, particularly for aspiring Italian language educators or professionals requiring deep cultural fluency. Our graduate program emphasizes interdisciplinary exploration of Italian literature and culture, with faculty expertise spanning from medieval studies to contemporary cinema, historical research to critical theory. Recent graduate projects have investigated diverse topics including immigrant literature in Italy, Dante's physicality in pilgrimage narratives, verb morphology acquisition, and postmodern detective fiction. Prospective students can expect preparation for increasingly interdisciplinary careers, supported by the vast resources of a premier research institution - from the European Union Center to our world-class library housing renowned collections of Dante, Tasso, and Renaissance drama.