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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.
Covid-19 programme updates
Due to COVID-19, there may have been updates to this programme for the 2020 academic year. Where there has been an update, these are indicated with a red alert and a link which will provide further information.
Key information
Programme starts
September 2020
Modes and duration
Application dates
Tuition fees (2020/21)
Note on fees:
The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website.
Fee deposit: All full time students are required to pay a fee deposit of £1,000 for this programme. All part-time students are required to pay a fee deposit of £500.
Entry requirements
A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Applicants must demonstrate proven competence in the Italian language, including good reading knowledge and aural comprehension. Applicants whose first degree is not in Italian, or whose first language is not Italian will normally be required to pass a test of their knowledge of the language before they can be admitted.
English language requirements
If your education has not been conducted in the English language, you will be expected to demonstrate evidence of an adequate level of English proficiency.
The English language level for this programme is: Advanced
Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.
International students
Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.
International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below.
Select your country:
About this 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.
Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded a MA in Language, Culture and History: Italian Studies. Upon successful completion of 120 credits, you will be awarded a PG Dip in Language, Culture and History: Italian Studies. Upon successful completion of 60 credits, you will be awarded a PG Cert in Language, Culture and History: Italian Studies.
Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change.
Compulsory module
- Language, Culture and History. This core module permits research into two areas of major contemporary interest; recent modules available have included Memory, The Past, Sexuality, Warfare.
- Dissertation
Optional modules
Click here for a full list of all PG modules in SELCS. Students choose from a range of optional modules on topics such as the following:
- Dante: Divina Commedia
- Advanced Translation from and into Italian
- Twilight and Futurist Poets in Italy
- Marriage and Divorce Italian Style
- Identity and Performance in Renaissance Italy
- Nation, Culture and Society in Italy (1860-1915)
- Italian Contemporary Novel
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.
Additional costs
Accessibility
Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support & Wellbeing team.
Funding
For details of scholarships available to MA students in SELCS, please refer to the MA Scholarships webpage.
Scholarships relevant to this department are displayed below.
Jean Orr Scholarship
- Value:
- £7,000 (1 year)
- Eligibility:
- UK, EU, Overseas
- Criteria:
- Based on academic merit
For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.
Careers
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.
Why study this degree at UCL?
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.
Department: School of European Languages, Culture & Society
What our students and staff say
"UCL Italian is the oldest and one of the most prestigious Italian departments in the country. In recent years my research has concentrated on the history of Italian organised crime, where I hope to advance public and academic understanding of this major threat to democracy and the economy in Italy. "
Professor John Dickie
Italian Studies: Language, Culture and History
UCL Italian
Application and next steps
Applications
Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.
There is an application processing fee for this programme of £80 for online applications and £105 for paper applications. Further information can be found at: www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/taught/application.
Who can apply?
The programme is designed for students wishing to further their interest in Italian literature, language and history, and for those intending to proceed to doctoral research. It can also serve as a conversion degree, enabling students with first degrees in other disciplines to move on to a research degree in this field.
Application deadlines
- All applicants
- 11 August 2020
For more information see our Applications page.
Apply nowWhat are we looking for?
When we assess your application we would like to learn:
- why you want to study Italian Studies at graduate level
- why you want to study Italian Studies at UCL
- what particularly attracts you to this programme
- how your personal, academic and professional background meets the demands of a challenging programme
- where you would like to go professionally with your degree
Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.
UCL is regulated by the Office for Students.
Page last modified on 13 August 2020
