The Italian Studies MA is a pathway in the faculty-wide MA in Language, Culture and History, offering an extensive range of modules in Italian literature, history and literary theory. Students can take this flexible, interdisciplinary programme as self-contained study or as preparation for a research degree.
The programme introduces students to texts from a variety of periods in Italian history and places them within a historical and philosophical framework. Students develop subject-specific, professional skills necessary for the pursuit of their chosen options, including sourcing material, fieldwork techniques, bibliographic skills and linguistic skills.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. The programme offers two pathways: taught and research.
Taught: one core cross-language module (30 credits), three optional modules (90 credits), dissertation (60 credits). Research: one core cross-language module (30 credits), two optional modules (60 credits), dissertation (90 credits).
A Postgraduate Diploma, one core module (30 credits), three optional modules (90 credits) full-time nine months or part-time two years, is offered.
A Postgraduate Certificate, one core module (30 credits), one optional module (30 credits) full-time three months, part-time six months, is offered.
Core module
Optional modules
Students choose from a range of optional modules on topics such as the following:
Dissertation/report
All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of 12,000 words (taught pathway) or 18,000 words (research pathway).
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of seminars, tutorials, seminar-presentations, film screenings, and visits to research libraries including the British Library, the Warburg Institute, Institute of Historical Research and Senate House. Students are assessed by a variety of methods: unseen examinations, long essays, coursework and the dissertation.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Language, Culture and History: Italian Studies MA
The programme will be of interest both to those who wish to enhance their knowledge of Italian culture for professional purposes - in the fields, for example, of education, media, commerce and tourism - as well as to students wishing to pursue their studies at doctoral level.
Recent career destinations for this degree
Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.
UCL Italian is the original home of Italian studies in Britain, and has a distinguished record in the field of graduate studies and research. Students benefit from UCL's excellent Italian resources, including the Rotton and Ogden collections, and the Castiglione and Dante collections.
UCL's central location enables easy access to London's exceptional resources including the specialist collections of Italian material in the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes. The British Film Institute Library holds major Italian film periodicals and numerous books on Italian cinema, and the nearby British Library houses the largest collection of early printed books in the world.
The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The 2014 REF was carried out by the UK's higher education funding bodies, and the results used to allocate research funding from 2015/16.
The following REF score was awarded to the department: School of European Languages, Culture & Society
74% rated 4* (‘world-leading’) or 3* (‘internationally excellent’)
Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.
The MLitt in Italian Studies is a one-year taught programme run by the Department of Italian in the School of Modern Languages. The programme's core focus is on questions of Italian national identity, and students are encouraged to take their particular interests in Italian culture further through more research-focused study, drawing on the wide historical and thematic range of specialist expertise offered by the Italian Department.
The taught element of the course consists of five compulsory modules involving literary theory, research skills, and Italian literature and culture. Classes are delivered through a mixture of lectures, seminars and fortnightly tutorials, with class sizes ranging from individual one-to-one teaching up to 20 students. Modules are assessed through coursework; there are no final exams for this programme.
Targeted attention is also drawn to practical skills, such as designing research posters, giving formal presentations, and designing funding bids. Students will have the opportunity to broaden their language portfolios.
You will spend the summer months focusing on researching and writing a final dissertation of no more than 15,000 words.
Further particulars regarding curriculum development.
The modules in this programme have varying methods of delivery and assessment. For more details of each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the latest module catalogue which is for the 2017–2018 academic year; some elements may be subject to change for 2018 entry.
As a postgraduate research student of Italian studies, you will be exposed to an environment that celebrates both language and culture, through rigorous research and vibrant social events.
Studied informally here at Edinburgh since the late 16th century, Italian was formally added to the curriculum in 1919. Since then it has developed into a broad area of study that engages with both contemporary culture and historical times, when Italy shaped our civilisation.
Postgraduates are an integral part of our research community. We can offer you supervision in:
Your place in our graduate school will see you taking part in a thriving research community, attending regular seminars, publishing papers, presenting your research at national and international conferences, and participating in interdisciplinary research clusters across the School of Literatures, Languages & Cultures.
Just a few minutes away from our base in George Square is the Italian Cultural Institute, where you will receive a warm welcome and the opportunity to mix with Scotland’s wider Italian academic community.
You will also have access to its extensive library and programme of events. Also extending cultural and academic networks is the Edinburgh Journal of Gadda Studies, which is produced here at the School and offers opportunities for you to contribute to the editorial team as a research or editorial assistant. Through our membership of this network we also host the Edinburgh Gadda Prize, presented biennially.
This programme allows you to explore the cultures of the variety of language-speaking areas in which we specialise - French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Brazilian Studies and Spanish and Latin American Studies - and it also gives you a thorough grounding in comparative literature and cultural studies in the context of modern languages. You can choose whether you want your focus to be broadly comparative or whether you wish to engage with one or more specific language-speaking areas.
The programme brings together the specialisms of our teaching team who are experts in a variety of different areas: cultural studies, visual studies, linguistics, comparative literature and cultures, history and thought. We will help you steer a pathway through the programme that reflects your specific interests and knowledge of the languages of those areas on which we focus. You will be able to choose whether you study texts in the original language(s) or in English translation; if you work in the original language(s) this will be reflected in the final degree title.
Visit our website for more information on fees, scholarships, postgraduate loans and other funding options to study Modern Languages at Swansea University - 'Welsh University of the Year 2017' (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017).
Modern Languages at Swansea encompasses Arabic, French, German and Hispanic Studies with research strengths in written culture from the medieval period to the present day, including contemporary European cinema. We also have language expertise in Italian and Mandarin Chinese, but, depending on your choice of topic, advanced knowledge of a language is not an entry requirement. Some comparative projects in both literature and film can be researched in English translation.
The MA by Research in Modern Languages is ideal for those who want:
an MA qualification in niche areas where taught programmes are not offered;
the experience of a research degree without committing to a PhD at the outset.
Research proposals are invited on any topic in Modern Languages for which staff can provide supervision. It is advisable to email a member of academic staff in the appropriate area before applying (see staff web pages).
An MA by Research in Modern Languages gives you the chance to pursue a project based around your own passions and interests, leading to a qualification which can open the door to an academic career or boost employment prospects outside academia (typically in the private sector, the Civil Service, or education).
It will give you the freedom to explore a topic of your choosing in Modern Languages and develop a methodology under the close supervision of two experienced academics but without attending regular classes as required in taught programmes.
You will be supervised closely by two experienced academics in your field. Typically, you will meet them fortnightly in the first term and at regular intervals thereafter. Meetings are logged and goals agreed each time.
All research students in Modern Languages are required to attend skills and training courses at College and Institutional level. They give presentations to other research students and staff at departmental seminars and the annual departmental postgraduate symposium in June and the College of Arts and Humanities conference in October. Advanced research students may have opportunities to teach undergraduate tutorials and seminars. You have a budget (currently £200 per year) to attend conferences outside Swansea.
MA by Research degrees typically last from one year (full-time study) to two years (part-time study). Some students choose to ‘upgrade’ at the end of their first academic year to an MPhil or PhD. This can be permitted on the recommendation of the two supervisors. If they do upgrade their year on the MA counts towards the MPhil or PhD.
Our expertise in Modern Languages ranges from the French medieval lyric and Enlightenment drama, women's writing and feminism; travel; the conflicted memories of World War Two; film and literature about the Baader-Meinhof Group; and the works of the Nobel Laureates, Elias Canetti, Jean Cocteau, Günter Grass, Mario Vargas Llosa, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Herta Müller. Our dynamic research environment which has won attention and funding from outside bodies such as the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the Modern Humanities Research Association, the Wellcome Trust and the EU.
We support the following research centres all of which also house postgraduate research students:
Contemporary German Culture (http://www.swansea.ac.uk/riah/researchgroups/ccgc);
Gender in Culture and Society (GENCAS, http://www.swansea.ac.uk/gencas);
The Comparative Study of the Americas (CECSAM, http://www.swansea.ac.uk/riah/researchgroups/cecsam);
Medieval and Early Modern Research (MEMO, http://www.swansea.ac.uk/riah/researchgroups/memo).
For further information on research specialisms and supervisory interests of our staff visit: http://www/swansea.ac.uk/artsandhumanities/about-us/.
If you already have a considerable base of knowledge and a firm idea of where your interests lie, this course could be for you. The degree requires no coursework; the main focus is a 40,00-word dissertation, supervised by an appropriate member of staff. You will be encouraged to undertake relevant research-skills training and, where appropriate, further language study.
Courses typically start in September/October of each year; other dates are possible subject to various rules & regulations and supervisor(s) availability. The University of Warwick boasts an unusually high concentration of staff with research interests in the Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern periods, many of whom are recognised international experts in their field. Their joint expertise offers unparalleled opportunities for interdisciplinary study. Staff who teach for the Centre are drawn from the departments of English and Comparative Literary Studies, History, History of Art, Theatre Studies, Classics, School of Modern Languages (inc Italian, French and Hispanic Studies). Geographically, the Centre for the Study of the Renaissance has particular strengths in Renaissance and Early-Modern England and Britain, Italy, France, and central Europe (especially Germany and Switzerland). Further details of staff who are linked to the Renaissance Centre can be found on this webpage: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ren/about_us/centrestaff/ by checking the 'academic staff' box, top left.
Thematically, the CSR promotes research in (but not limited to):
Further details may be requested from the Director of Graduate Studies, https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ren/about_us/
Note: this MPhil can be developed into a PHD.
You'll be required to write a thesis of up to 60,000 words (exclusive of appendices, footnotes, tables and bibliography). Work for this degree can be done in any of the areas where the Centre can offer expert supervision. Please consult the staff list to see current research interests. https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ren/about_us/centrestaff/
Please note that all doctoral students are first registered as MPhil students. There is an upgrade procedure in the third term of the first year (for full-time students) or the first term of the second year (for part-time students), in order to register for a PhD degree. Details of the procedure are included in the Graduate Handbook which students receive upon arrival in the Department. Further details may be requested from the Director of Graduate Studies, https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ren/about_us/
The University of Warwick boasts an unusually high concentration of staff with research interests in the Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern periods, many of whom are recognised international experts in their field. Their joint expertise offers unparalleled opportunities for interdisciplinary study. Staff who teach for the Centre are drawn from the departments of English and Comparative Literary Studies, History, History of Art, Theatre Studies, Classics, School of Modern Languages (inc Italian, French and Hispanic Studies). Geographically, the Centre for the Study of the Renaissance has particular strengths in Renaissance and Early-Modern England and Britain, Italy, France, and central Europe (especially Germany and Switzerland). Thematically, the CSR promotes research in (but not limited to):
Courses typically start in September/October of each year; other dates are possible subject to various rules & regulations and supervisor(s) availability. Further details may be requested from the Director of Graduate Studies, https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ren/about_us/
Royal Holloway is a thriving centre for postgraduate research in Italian with particular expertise in Renaissance studies, cultural studies, Anglo-Italian cultural relations, 19th- and 20th-century art, Italian cinema and detective fiction, making it an ideal place to study for a postgraduate degree in Italian.
This degree enables you to independently explore your area of interest in real depth, it can also provide you with the chance to test or try out an area of study in preparation for doctoral study. Whilst you will be working independently, you won’t be alone, you will receive specialist one-to-one tuition throughout your degree. You will work closely with your specialist supervisor, or supervisors, to develop a clearly defined research topic and complete a 30,000-40,000 word dissertation.
You will be part of our research-led environment in which academic staff are working at the frontiers of their subjects. The breadth of our teaching and research expertise means that we are able to provide the latest thinking, expert support and intellectual challenges. We have a thriving Italian research environment, with topics ranging from the medieval and Renaissance periods to the contemporary 21st century. Recent research includes projects on The Italian Academies 1530-1700, The Cult of the Duce: Mussolini and the Italians 1918-2005, and Interdisciplinary Italy 1900-2020. Our academics would be pleased to hear from anyone interested in postgraduate research in their areas of expertise.
In addition to your dissertation you will undertake a taught course designed to equip you with an array of theoretical and historical approaches to the study of literature, art and culture. This will enable you to articulate, refine and persistently test your own approach to your chosen topic within this broader theoretical and methodological framework. You will also have access to skills training and enjoy the additional support of a dedicated Research Advisor.
Theories of Literature and Visual Culture
This module is taught across two terms. It provides you with knowledge of a range of historical and modern theoretical approaches to the study of literature and the visual arts. It refines your theoretical understanding and provides you with the methodological tools needed to proceed to PhD research if you so wish.
Dissertation
You will write a 30-40,000 word dissertation on a subject of your choice, receiving one-to-one support from your supervisor.
Theories of Literature and Visual Culture is assessed by an essay and presentation.
The dissertation is examined by a Visiting Examiner and includes a viva voce.
On graduation you will have a proven ability to undertake focused research, improved your written and oral presentation skills, and honed skills in critical analysis. In addition, you will have an understanding and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights in literature, film, cultural studies or the visual arts. All of the these skills will be appealing to employers and enable you to pursue your chosen career. Alternatively, you will also be in a strong position to continue onto doctoral study, having demonstrated that you have the self direction, originality and initiative required.
In recent years a number of our Modern Languages, Literature and Culture postgraduates have gone on to successful academic careers both in Britain and internationally in the fields of modern languages, critical theory and film.
Postgraduates have also embarked upon many interesting and successful careers outside academia – in the UK, continental Europe and the United States – including journalism at The Independent, work for NGOs, trade sales, publishing, professional translating, teaching, opera direction, museum curatorship, creative arts, and librarianship.
Visit our website for more information on fees, scholarships, postgraduate loans and other funding options to study Literary Translation at Swansea University - 'Welsh University of the Year 2017' (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017).
We are an established centre for research into literary translation with expertise in the following languages: Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Welsh. We are currently leading a project on the Visualisation of Translation Variation and are particularly interested in proposals which articulate with it. See: http://www.delightedbeauty.org/vvv/Home/Project.
An MA by Research in Literary Translation gives you the chance to pursue a project based around your own passions and interests in Literary Translation, leading to a qualification which can open the door to an academic career or boost employment prospects outside academia (in the private sector, the Civil Service, education, or the translation industry).
The Literary Translation research programme will give you the freedom to explore a topic of your own choosing in Literary Translation and develop a methodology under the close supervision of two experienced academics but without attending regular classes as required in taught programmes.
As a student enrolled on the MA by Research in Literary Translation, you will be supervised closely by two experienced academics in your field. Typically, you will meet them fortnightly in the first term and at regular intervals thereafter. Meetings are logged and goals agreed each time.
All research students are required to attend skills and training courses at College and Institutional level. They give presentations to other research students and staff at departmental seminars and the annual departmental postgraduate symposium in June and the College of Arts and Humanities conference in October. Advanced research students may have opportunities to teach undergraduate tutorials and seminars. You have a budget (currently £200 per year) to attend conferences outside Swansea.
MA by Research in Literary Translation degree typically lasts from one year (full-time study) to two years (part-time study).
The MA by Research in Literary Translation is ideal for those who want:
-an MA qualification in niche areas where taught programmes are not offered;
- the experience of a research degree without committing to a PhD.
Research proposals are invited on any topic in Literary Translation for which staff can provide supervision. You may analyse multiple translations of a classic text, for instance, or the consistency of the translation decisions taken by a particular translator. You may like to investigate a whole genre, such as crime fiction, or you may want to try your own hand at a piece of literary translation, explaining your strategy in a detailed theoretical commentary. It is advisable to email a member of academic staff in the appropriate area before applying (see staff web pages).
For informal enquiries regarding Literary Translation please contact Professor Julian Preece ([email protected]).
Staff research interests in Translation and Interpreting cover a range of themes, including:
• Literary Translation
• Theatre translation/adaptation
• Translation Theory (including non-Western)
• History of Translation
• Comparative Translation Studies
• Translation and Social Discourse
• Corpus-based Translation Analysis
• Translation and the Lexicon
• Computer-based Lexicography and Terminography
• Translation processes: psycholinguistics of translation, translation workflows
• Translation tools and technologies
• Translation visualisation
Research proposals are invited on any topic in Literary Translation for which staff can provide supervision. You may analyse multiple translations of a classic text, for instance, or the consistency of the translation decisions taken by a particular translator. You may like to investigate a whole genre, such as crime fiction, or you may want to try your own hand at a piece of literary translation, explaining your strategy in a detailed theoretical commentary. The Department benefits from extensive library holdings in print and online form. All postgraduate students have access to two computer-based language laboratories, an advanced Translation and Media computing lab, and a more specialised Translation Research facility housing the latest digitisation, corpus analysis and computer assisted translation tools.
This course offers an introduction to the academic discipline of Translation Studies, broadening the students’ understanding of diverse approaches to translation theory and practice. The course also helps students acquire competence in translation practice, apply analytical thinking and come into contact with elements of the translation profession, such as terminology, CAT tools and working as a freelance translator.
