Italian and Linguistics (BA)
Program Description
Italian
New York University’s Department of Italian Studies is the largest free-standing Italian department in North America, with faculty expertise that includes a range of historical periods and methodologies, spanning from medieval literature to neorealist cinema. Students can take courses in topics such as Renaissance epic, Futurism, literary translation, avant-garde literature, opera, Italian American culture, and Dante’s Divine Comedy. Classes are conducted in both Italian and English.
We offer one-on-one faculty advising for students who choose to write honors theses and/or present their work at our annual undergraduate research symposium. Through our department, students have access to the bountiful event programming of the Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò and have the opportunity for internships and scholarships. Majors and minors are encouraged to enrich their studies by spending at least one semester at NYU’s breathtaking Florence campus.
Students of Italian Studies gain cultural fluency and research experience that prepares them for graduate study and for careers in a range of fields.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the science of human language. It seeks to determine that which is necessary in human language, that which is possible, and that which is impossible. While linguists work to determine the unique qualities of individual languages, they are constantly searching for linguistic universals—properties whose explanatory power reaches across languages. The discipline of linguistics is organized around syntax (the principles by which sentences are organized), morphology (the principles by which words are constructed), semantics (the study of meaning), phonetics (the study of speech sounds), phonology (the sound patterns of language), historical linguistics (the ways in which languages change over time), sociolinguistics (the interaction of language with society), psycholinguistics, and neurolinguistics (the representation of language in the brain). Current research by faculty members extends across the field, including topics in the interaction of syntax and semantics, phonetics and phonology, languages in contact, pidgin and creole languages, urban sociolinguistics, and computer analogies of syntactic processes.
Joint Honors
Joint majors must choose to complete their honors thesis in Italian or Linguistics. This choice should be outlined in a two-page proposal submitted by April 15 of junior year.
Italian Honors Track
To qualify for honors, a student must maintain an overall GPA of 3.65 and a major GPA of 3.65 or higher. Students who wish to pursue honors should contact the director of undergraduate studies for an application during their junior year. The director of undergraduate studies may, by petition to the director of college honors, consider strong candidates who do not meet the GPA threshold of 3.65.
Honors majors complete an 8-credit sequence consisting of ITAL-UA 999 Senior Honors Seminar, taken in the fall of senior year, and ITAL-UA 990 Honors Independent Study, taken in the spring of senior year. Both count as advanced courses for the major. Students work closely with a departmental faculty member who becomes the honors thesis adviser (chosen in consultation with the director of undergraduate studies). The thesis should be a work of scholarship and/or criticism from 40 to 60 pages in length. In consultation with a second faculty reader, the student’s thesis adviser determines whether or not to recommend them for honors in Italian. A grade of at least A- is required for the award of honors. Students receiving a lower grade will simply be awarded 8 credits toward the major.
Linguistics Honors Track
Students whose primary adviser and thesis research is in Linguistics must complete an honors thesis, which is an original research project of 40 to 50 pages conducted over two semesters. The thesis is due on April 1st of the student’s senior year. Additionally, students must take two advanced courses: LING-UA 102 Senior Honors Thesis Seminar (4 credits) in the fall semester, and one other advanced undergraduate course, graduate course, or independent study, chosen in consultation with the thesis adviser (totaling 8 credits). The Senior Honors Thesis Seminar and the additional course chosen with the student's adviser may be counted as advanced electives. The thesis must be presented either at an oral conference presentation or in a private defense/discussion with the thesis adviser and a second reader.
Students who excel in linguistics are encouraged to begin developing their honors project as early as the second semester of their sophomore year. To pursue honors, students should have a strong background in linguistics, typically gained through high-level coursework.
Admission to the honors program is by application in the second semester of the junior year. To be eligible, students must have a GPA of 3.65 or higher both overall and in linguistics. Applications are due by April 15th and must include a one- to two-page description of the proposed thesis topic. The student must select faculty members from both departments to serve as co-advisers. The thesis topic must reflect contributions to both disciplines.
Admissions
New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU. For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see How to Apply.