Programs Offered
We offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in French and Francophone Studies, Iberian and Latin American Studies, and Italian Studies.
French and Francophone Studies
Undergraduate
We offer a Major, Supplementary Major, and Minor in French and Francophone Studies. Our courses not only provide an opportunity to perfect your speaking and writing skills in French, but they also inspire you to integrate your study of history, politics, public policy, or media into your French specialization. Many paths toward a degree in French are open to you, and while all of them require a focus on the French-language tradition, their strength lies in how well they connect with other programs in the College of Arts and Letters and across the University.
Graduate
We offer a 2-year Master of Arts in French and Francophone Studies. The Graduate Program provides an interdisciplinary approach to the study of culture in France and the Francophone world. You can take a wide range of courses covering the entire spectrum of literary history, combined with allied courses in cultural studies, comparative literature, film, literary theory, history, and philosophy. Notre Dame is especially suited for you if you seek close collaboration with faculty and the opportunity to develop innovative research projects.
Iberian & Latin American Studies
Undergraduate
The Spanish program offers a Major and a Supplementary Major, with courses that provide you with expertise in language, as well as in the cultures and literatures of a variety of periods and locations. It also features a variety of opportunities, both locally and internationally. You can engage in Community Based Learning and study abroad in Chile, Mexico, or Spain. Our academic community is vibrant and dynamic, with diverse activities that you can engage in.
The Portuguese interdisciplinary minor opens doors for you to explore topics in diplomacy, history, business, international relations, social sciences, and much more. For example, our undergraduate students have traveled to Brazil to study things such as the incipient bamboo industry and the ever-growing Brazil-China trade relations or the Brazilian response to the global refugee crisis.
Graduate
We have two graduate programs in Iberian and Latin American Studies: a Master of Arts in Iberian and Latin American Studies and a Ph.D. in Spanish. Our graduate programs in Spanish provide you with training in the academic fields of Latin American, Spanish, Hispanic, and Iberian literary and cultural studies. The program’s goals are to cultivate a dynamic and productive academic community engaged in high-quality original research.
Italian Studies
Undergraduate
With a teaching staff of twenty and almost 400 students per semester, Italian is now one of the top-studied languages at Notre Dame. Great resources, outstanding faculty, and ground-breaking institutional initiatives create unparalleled opportunities for student learning and growth. The Italian Studies Program offers undergraduates eight options: a Major with two tracks, each with a possible Honors Track, a Supplementary Major with two tracks, and a Minor.
Graduate
We offer two graduate degrees in Italian, an M.A. in Italian Studies and a Ph.D. in Italian. The M.A. in Italian Studies is a two-year program whose primary focus is to train students intending to continue to a Ph.D. in the general area of Italian Studies. The Ph.D. in Italian is a five-year program offering a flexible curriculum tailored to each student’s interests and background that leads to a dissertation-oriented course of study designed to achieve both a high degree of specialization and a broad understanding of Italian literature and culture.