Italian Studies

The Italian Studies Program at Florida Atlantic University is one of the most comprehensive in the Southeastern United States, offering undergraduate Minor and  Major, graduate-level coursework for Master's and Doctorate, and a rare focus on Italian American Studies and creative writing.

The heart of our vibrant academic community is our dedicated faculty and native-speaking teaching assistants and LA assistants who bring passion and authenticity to the classroom.

Our students are involved in multiple research projects in digital humanities, such as the maintenance of the Italian American Oral History Archive that preserves Italian American voices at the FAU library; ITAMM-Italian American Memories Documentary Archive that protects Italian American documents, letters and photographs; the series of student-led interviews Floritalians. Portraits of Italians in South Florida, and the website Strade dorate dedicated to expanding the knowledge of Italian American culture in Italy. We also created the first international literary park included in the Rete Nazionale Parchi Letterari, on American poet Mary Oliver.

Our commitment to immersive and experiential learning is reflected in international initiatives such as  the Venice Study Abroad Program, a six-week journey through the heart of Venice, Italy, and the Castle in Tuscany research days that offer dynamic, on-site academic enrichment and vary every year.

We also collaborate with SITE (Study, Intercultural Training and Experience), offering our graduates the opportunity to teach English in Italy for one academic year.

In addition, we partner with the Gallio Film Festival delle Opere Prime, which celebrates emerging Italian filmmakers, thus strengthening our ties to Italy’s contemporary cultural landscape.

In Boca Raton, we foster strong community engagement  through Club Insieme and Gamma Kappa Alpha National Honor Society, welcoming public participation in our academic activities, such as:  Film Series, showcasing classic and contemporary Italian cinema; the Michele D. Serra New Italian Cinema Series, welcoming guests from Italy’s film scene; and Italy in Transit: International Symposium, our annual scholarly gathering that continues to grow in scope and impact.

The FAU Italian program has a healthy relationship with the Italian community that generously contributes with scholarships and participation to the support of Italian culture.

Want to see what we have been doing? See the photo journal of our program highlights.

Want to hear directly from our students? Listen to our students speaking about the FAU Italian program.

Want student-to-student advising? Write to one of our current majors.

The Italian Program currently has "memoranda of understanding" with the University of Venice Ca' Focari, University of Roma 3, the American University in Rome, and the University of Macerata, and gives students partnership possibilities (Progetto Tandem) with the University of Trento, and teaching experience in Italy as part of the SITE network in Lombardy.

Italian Course Offerings ITALIAN VIRTUAL ADVISING

 

 

Click here for 9-minute video presentations of the FAU Italian program.

 

The Italian Program faculty has been honored with several prestigious recognitions:

• Dr. Myriam Ruthenberg won two university-wide teaching awards, a University Faculty Talon Award, and in 2007 she was knighted by the Republic of Italy. She is now Professor emerita.
• Dr. Ilaria Serra won the 2020 and 2012 University Scholar of the Year Award. She was honored by the Italo American Cultural Society "for her dediction to Italian Studies" in 2019, and received a Career Achievement Award from FATI-Florida Association Teachers of Italian in 2023 and 2024. She was knighted by the Republic of Italy in 2023. She received both the ILF Italian Language Foundation Teaching Award and the Columbus International Award in 2024. 
• Dr. Emanuele Pettener was appointed Writer in Residence in the Department of Languages, Linguistics and Comparative Literature in 2020. He is a recognized author of fiction and editor.

 

WHY STUDY ITALIAN?

Browse your career possibilities with a degree in Italian