Benvenuto! / Benvenuta! The Italian studies (ITST) major at Wesleyan provides students with the linguistic proficiency and intercultural awareness necessary to live and work successfully in an Italian-speaking environment. Through a comparative, international, and interdisciplinary education with rigorous language training at its core, students will develop an in-depth knowledge of Italian history, culture, and society from the Middle Ages to the present. 

Small classes taught in Italian, along with co-curricular activities and study abroad opportunities, allow Italian majors at Wesleyan to foster abilities considered essential in an ever-globalizing world, including critical thinking, intercultural interpretation and literacy, and effective citizenship. Students who major in Italian studies often pursue careers in teaching, translation and interpreting, publishing, arts administration, law, international business, and more.

What You'll Study

  • As an Italian studies major you’ll be required to take nine courses above Elementary Italian II or Intensive Italian. One of the nine required courses may be taken in English.

  • All students are required to take at least one course for the major in their senior year.

  • Italian majors are strongly encouraged to spend at least one semester of study abroad at the Eastern College Consortium (ECCO) Study Abroad program in Bologna, Italy. Up to four credits may be earned through this program.