The Italian program at Notre Dame offers a wide variety of options for students, as it includes a major, supplementary major or minor, and minor. Furthermore, those studying Italian can pair it with other programs to focus on subjects including international economics, or literature and culture. Italian majors are quick to describe the relaxed and encouraging atmosphere of their Italian classes. While intimidating at first, the entire program has consistently brought out the best in students, leaving them amazed at how much they can learn in short periods of time.
There are many ways to practice Italian outside of the classroom, including Italian round tables and coffee meet-ups with native Italian speakers. Furthermore, Notre Dame offers the Bologna study abroad and Rome gateway program to give students an immersive Italian experience. These study abroad programs are crucial to language mastery, as students are completely immersed in Italian and learn how to navigate a broad variety of situations in a new language.
After completing an Italian major, students said that they felt as though they had gained invaluable critical thinking skills and the ability to see things from a different perspective. Italian has given them the opportunity to think and express themselves in a new way, as well as opening doors to new areas of study. Italian can be used as a vehicle to study Italian philosophy, history, or the famous author Dante.
To learn more, contact Italian Studies in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures.
Luke Van de Walle (‘24) is a political science and global affairs major who specializes in current event writing and conducting interviews. He is a member of the CSLC Media Team.
Originally published by at cslc.nd.edu on September 23, 2021.