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COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

ITALIAN STUDIES

Students studying together.

Italian Studies is a popular major at Villanova. The program’s breadth—literature, art, design, gender, and media studies—prepares students for business careers and civic engagement.

Our current economic and social realities require a dynamic education. Italian Studies provides students with the analytic and creative thinking skills to engage a multimedia world of fraught complexities and exciting opportunities. Students develop advanced fluency in Italian and are exposed to all aspects of Italian culture—literature, visual art, film, music, etc. They gain perspective by studying one of the world’s most influential cultures, which is at the crossroads of the world’s eastern and western hemispheres. Our students excel in medical, legal, and public service careers because our program requires rigorous study of core societal issues concerning culture, politics, language, and history. We prepare students to be responsible colleagues and global citizens through sustained study of these issues with a focus on inclusion and diversity.

WHY ITALIAN STUDIES?

Italian offers a flexible major or minor, which can be easily combined with a degree in psychology, communications, humanities, economics, business, nursing, and political sciences. Thanks to its size, students in the program can design their own path and receive an exceptional degree of personalized attention. The Italian Studies program also offers classes that fulfill the diversity (1 and 2) and Fine Arts university requirements.

Italian Studies provides students with the analytic skills to engage a multimedia world of fraught complexities and exciting opportunities. The program actively prepares students to be responsible colleagues and citizens through sustained study of issues involving inclusion and diversity. Internship and study abroad opportunities in Italy are key experiences to opening paths for medical, legal, and public service careers.

Being fluent in an additional language is a gateway to living a multicultural life. As a language of culture, business, and science, Italian offers academic and professional opportunities in the fashion, design, and food industry, as well as in the scientific and academic community. Our alumni have been admitted to top graduate programs in Italian, English, and education, to competitive law and medical schools, and to careers in finance firms and leading media companies.

Director of Italian Studies
Dr. James C. Kriesel
St Augustine Ctr Liberal Arts Rm 333
(610) 519-4696

  

UPCOMING PROGRAM EVENT

What does Italian culture add to a business? A female perspective on entrepreneurship
A presentation by Lisa Tortolani (Villanova alumna, Co-Founder of 20Fund, investing in female-founded and Italian-based startups).

WHO WE ARE

ALYSSA BALZAROTTI ’20 CLAS

Alyssa Balzarotti ’20 CLAS graduated with a double major in Psychology and Italian Studies. "As a graduate student pursuing my EdS in School Psychology, studying Italian has undoubtedly prepared me for the challenges ahead. It helped me strengthen my reading, writing, and critical thinking skills, as well as develop public speaking skills that are critical for my career trajectory. Additionally, I feel confident that because of my time studying Italian, I am better able to work effectively with culturally diverse students and think critically about tailoring educational practices and interventions to individual needs. "

TAYLOR MALATESTA ’20 CLAS

Taylor Malatesta ’20 CLAS graduated with a double major in Italian Studies and Political Science. "I found that my experience with the Italian Studies Department profoundly informed my understanding of world politics and cross-cultural dialogue. This connection was never clearer than when I embarked on a summer internship at a law firm in Milan, Italy with the help of the incredible Italian Studies faculty. My time in Milan was one of the most memorable experiences of my life, and it serves as a testament to the strength of the Italian Studies program in preparing its students to utilize their language skills in practical, real-world settings. That is, as an intern at an Italian-speaking firm, I was able to communicate with my colleagues in Italian, translate documents, and even sit in on meetings conducted entirely in Italian. Now, as a law student at Villanova, I am pursuing a career in international law, a passion that I found and fostered through my engaging and exciting Italian course work.”

ALEXANDRA GOLIA '19 CLAS

Alexandra Golia '19 CLAS graduated with majors in Mathematics and Italian and a minor in Business. “After taking just one Italian class at Villanova, I quickly developed a passion for the language and a desire to learn more about the culture and my own heritage. While studying abroad at the University of Bologna, I got the chance to connect with relatives I hadn’t seen in 20 years. The relationships I formed and the education I received during my time in Italy have made my life more meaningful. I currently work at J.P.Morgan Chase & Co. as a financial analyst in the Global Finance and Business Management sector. My diverse education has given me a more global perspective, which is helpful since I regularly work with people in different countries like India, England, and Poland. I am grateful for Italian Studies, for the experiences and connections it has allowed me to seek, and for the doors it put in front of me that I have yet to open.”

EDUCATION WITH IMPACT

 

AN EDUCATION IN THE LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES promotes intellectual curiosity and rigor; instills the fundamentals of critical insight, mature judgment and independent thinking; and strengthens students’ sense of their moral responsibility for others and for the betterment of society.