Italian

Overview

The Italian department from University College London (UCL) is one of the largest in the UK, and our staff cover a broad range of specialisms. We have a strong tradition of collaborative relationships with research centres and interdisciplinary consortia both within UCL and the University of London, and at a national and international level, notably in Italy and the USA.

Expertise of the Italian programme covers periods from the medieval to the contemporary, with specific strengths in: Dante, medieval literature, renaissance culture with a specific focus on the visual arts and the history of ideas, romanticism, the political and cultural history of modern Italy, Italian Jewish history, language study and linguistics, twentieth-century avant-gardes, Mafia, contemporary literature and graphic novels.

Careers

Students completing their doctorates in Italian Studies have followed a variety of different career paths, both within and outside academia. 

Career destinations include: research fellowships (British Academy Fellowship), posts in secondary (UK, Italy) and in higher education (Manchester, Reading, UCL, London SAS), publishing and journalism, librarianship, and an internship at Christie's.

Employability

The department supports doctoral students in developing a range of skills that are invaluable not only to careers in academia, but in numerous other fields where PhD holders are prized for their skills in communication, critical analysis, management of projects and deadlines, and intercultural mediation. 

Recent doctoral students have gone on to work in universities and schools, in libraries, museums and archives, in NGOs and in broadcasting and film industries.