TO PROSPECTIVE UNDERGRADUATES

“I thoroughly enjoy studying Italian, there is always a great buzz coming from everyone.” “Thanks a million for making the language classes so enjoyable and beneficial, feel my Italian has improved leaps and bounds.” “Overall, fantastic year. I’m so glad I’m studying Italian. Fell in love with the country and language last summer. But by far my favourite aspect of the course is literature.” “Great staff, very approachable, always there to help you.” “Staff friendliest in the College!!!” “I thought every aspect of the teaching was very good.” “It is a very fair system that takes students’ time, ability and interests to heart.” “I enjoy learning Italian & look forward to returning after my year in Italy: grazie!”

These are just a few of the positive opinions expressed by current students of Italian at UCD. Those of us who teach the subject have long known of course that Italy’s language and culture are irresistibly fascinating, but it is gratifying to know that our students feel the same way. And why shouldn’t they? Italian, after all, is a beautiful language, and Italy’s unparalleled achievements in literature, philosophy, science, politics, religion, music, cinema and the visual arts have done more than any other national tradition to help shape the cultural heritage of the Western world.

“But what is the point of studying Italian?”, you might be wondering. “What jobs does it lead to?” The truth is, anything one loves doing is worthwhile.. And we in Italian Studies would be very much of the opinion of the recruitment consultant who wrote a letter to The Irish Times on 13 June 2007 saying that, quite apart from arts subjects “having great educational merit in themselves,” the most employable graduates are those who “have developed first-rate minds by studying what they had a passion for, and then applied those minds to a career where they thrived.”

What is for sure is that UCD graduates of Italian are highly regarded and have found interesting positions in a host of companies and institutions, in Ireland and abroad, some specifically connected with Italian, others less so, but all requiring the intellectual discipline acquired through learning a language and the sensitivity and openness of mind developed through in-depth contact with another culture.

You may also be worried, either because you have never studied a language before or because you have bad memories of doing so at school, that you will not be up to it. Well, Italian Studies at UCD gives you the chance to start with a clean slate. Just because you were not “good at” languages before doesn’t mean you are forever doomed to not be good at them: it all depends on your attitude of mind and on the quality of the teaching. So taking up a new language may be just the thing for you. At Level 1 the majority of our students are beginners, and the courses are designed very much with them in mind, though non-beginners are also catered for and very welcome. We also offer courses to students of Commerce, through the B. Comm. International programme and our language courses (and most of our “culture” ones) are open as Electives to students from all colleges.

If you feel you may be interested, check out what is on offer, and if you require further information, feel free to contact any member of staff. Arrivederci, a presto!

TO PROSPECTIVE POSTGRADUATES
Italian staff at UCD are scholars of international repute with a great variety of publications to their name, specialising in areas that range from the Middle Ages to the present. They also take pride in their commitment to teaching and are well known to students for their openness and approachability. All this makes for a very conducive environment within which to engage in advanced learning and conduct research.

Research seminars are held on a regular basis during term time, when all members of staff and postgraduates get together to share ideas on their work in progress, and there are also many opportunities for more informal socializing. Both English and Italian are the languages of daily intercourse.

If you are interested in pursuing postgraduate studies with us, either at M.A. or at Ph.D. level, please check the entries under STAFF and POSTGRADUATE on this web site, and then make direct contact, via telephone or e-mail, with the Italian Postgraduate Studies Coordinator:

Dr Ursula Fanning
Newman Building D319, UCD Belfield, Dublin 4
tel. +353.1.7168475
ursula.fanning@ucd.ie

and the person(s) you feel you would most like to work with.