Italian

Why Study Italian at the UO?

An estimated 180 million people worldwide speak Italian as their primary or secondary language. Almost 17 million North Americans identify as having Italian ancestry. Italian culture is traditionally recognized for its rich contributions to art, architecture, music, literature, and philosophy. Today Italy attracts interest in a wide variety of areas, including tourism, its emigrant heritage, filmmaking, fashion industry, and gastronomy.

Undergraduate Programs

The Department of Romance Languages offers an undergraduate major and minor in Italian as well as a major in Romance languages. And you can also double-major in hundreds of other UO degree programs. Recent undergraduate courses include offerings focused on food studies, Italian East Africa and Italian-American studies.

Graduate Programs

We offer MA programs in Italian and in Romance languages, which combines Italian with French or Spanish. In our Romance languages PhD program, students work in Italian as their primary language and take some coursework in either French or Spanish.

Global studies major Audrey Bunce

Building Skills through Mentorship

"My experience within the Italian mentorship program has been nothing but positive. The Italian department is a supportive community with many opportunities to get involved and deepen one's connection to Italian language and culture. In my role as a classroom assistant, I can encourage new Italian students in their exploration of the language while simultaneously strengthening my own Italian skills."

—Audrey Bunce, global studies major

Buildings with clothes drying outside

Travel and Study Around the World

The Department of Romance Languages prepares students for the future of global citizenship and the workforce. We encourage students of Italian to enroll in one or more of our language and culture programs in the historic towns of Ferrara, Macerata, Pavia, Lecce, and Siena.  Programs are as short as four weeks and as long as a full academic year. The department offers several scholarships to help students pursue their studies. In addition, through the IE3 program, undergraduates can earn academic credit for doing a professional internship in Italy.

Group of tourists in Pisa, Italy

What You Can Do with a Degree in Italian

What kind of career will you pursue? French language study opens up a wide range of career opportunities — from non-profit work to high-tech, foreign service, healthcare, social justice, and beyond. As our alumni profiles demonstrate, language study can take you just about anywhere!

Learn from Experts in Italian

Our department faculty is composed of three Italian specialists who work on all aspects of the Italian-speaking world, including Ethiopia! They are passionate scholars who inform and inspire and are dedicated mentors who help students build real-world skills and strong professional networks.

Scholarships and Funding

The Department of Romance Languages awards multiple scholarships to current undergraduate and graduate students who are declared majors or minors within the department. Learn more about available scholarships and eligibility requirements.

Undergraduate Scholarships
Graduate Funding

Academic Support

Our academic advisors can help students talk through their major or minor requirements, plan their course of study, explore study abroad opportunities, and more.

Undergraduate Advising
Support for Graduate Students

Romance Languages News and Events

February 6, 2024
GEOGRAPHY, PHILOSOPHY, ROMANCE LANGUAGES - Three CAS faculty members—Mark Carey, Diana Garvin, and Colin Koopman—were awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
April 3, 2023
LINGUISTICS, ROMANCE LANGUAGES - UO senior Azusena Rosales Suares always did well in math. Her secret: find the patterns. Plus, from an early age math offered an escape into a world with its own universal language.
September 13, 2022
University of Oregon alumnae are changing the face of public service. We look to the women highlighted in this article to govern nations, lead at the highest level of the military, interpret the law, determine the constitutionality of the law, and apply it to individual cases, and serve the public in state and local government.

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Wine Chat: "The Coffee Bean in the War Machine: Northern Italian Coffee Business between the World Wars”
Jun5
Wine Chat: "The Coffee Bean in the War Machine: Northern Italian Coffee Business between the World Wars” Jun 5 Capitello Wines

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