ITAL-MA - Italian (MA)

The mission of the undergraduate program in Italian is to expose students to a variety of perspectives in Italian language, culture, and history by providing majors with training in writing and communication as well as cultural, textual, and historical analysis in order to develop students into critical and global thinkers prepared for careers in business, social service, and government, or for graduate study in Italian.

Per policy (GAP 4.5.1 Doctoral Degrees, Requirements), all of the coursework for the Italian MA and Italian PhD must be completed at Stanford.

The Department of French and Italian is committed to providing academic advising in support of graduate student scholarly and professional development. The overall goal of advising, both in the DLCL and the department, is to help graduate students make academic and career choices wisely, and think ahead, in order to craft a long-term plan for their graduate student career and beyond. When most effective, the advising relationship entails collaborative and sustained engagement by both the adviser and the advisee. As a best practice, advising expectations should be periodically discussed and reviewed to ensure mutual understanding. Both the adviser and the advisee are expected to maintain professionalism and integrity. Advising is both an academically invaluable form for the transmission of expertise, as well as a key aspect of creating a strong departmental and Stanford community.

Faculty Advisers

Faculty advisers guide students in key areas such as selecting courses, designing and conducting research, developing of teaching pedagogy, navigating policies and degree requirements, and exploring academic opportunities and professional pathways.

• Upon enrolling, students plan their work under the direction of the Chair of Graduate Studies or a faculty member designated by the program. When the student selects a more specialized adviser, the transition should involve oral or written communication between both advisers and the student concerning the student's progress, goals, and expectations. It is possible for doctoral students to choose two main advisers at the dissertation stage, provided all agree this is academically sound. 

• Faculty advisers should meet with assigned students to discuss their selection of courses and to plan from a broader, longer-term perspective, including discussion of Program milestones and a basic timeline; an overview of Department and DLCL offerings beyond courses; student goals and interests and DLCL or Stanford programs that may be relevant; and (for doctoral students) how to transfer previous graduate coursework.

• Faculty advisers and graduate students should meet at least once per quarter to assess the advisee's course of study, performance over the past quarter, and plans for the next quarter, as well as longer term plans. If a student has two advisers, the student should meet at least once per quarter with each adviser and at least once per year with both advisers at the same time. 

• For doctoral students, faculty should help their advisees plan for exams, research grant applications, develop research projects, and plan ahead for both the academic job market and the job search beyond academia.

• Faculty advisers should provide feedback about the student's progress to the department during the Annual Review process. For more information about the Annual Review, see the Graduate Handbook.

Graduate Students

Graduate students are active contributors to the advising relationship, proactively seeking academic and professional guidance and taking responsibility for informing themselves of policies and degree requirements for their graduate program.

• Upon enrolling, students plan their work under the direction of the Chair of Graduate Studies or a faculty member designated by the program. As the student develops a field of expertise, the student choose a program adviser to replace the Chair of Graduate Studies role. The transition should involve oral or written communication between both advisers and the student concerning the student's progress, goals, and expectations. 

• Graduate students and faculty advisers and should meet at least once per quarter to assess the advisee's course of study, performance over the past quarter, and plans for the next quarter, as well as longer term plans. If a student has two advisers, the student should meet at least once per quarter with each adviser and at least once per year with both advisers at the same time. 

• Students should consult with their advisers on all academic matters, including coursework, conference presentations and publications, research travel, and teaching plans. 

• Students should provide a thorough self-evaluation each year for the annual review. For more information about the Annual Review, see the Graduate Handbook.

For a statement of University policy on graduate advising, see the Graduate Advising section of this bulletin.

The department expects undergraduate majors in the program to be able to demonstrate the following learning outcomes. These learning outcomes are used in evaluating students and the department's undergraduate program. Students are expected to demonstrate:

1. oral proficiency in Italian beyond the interpersonal level with presentational language abilities.

2. writing proficiency in Italian beyond the interpersonal level with presentational language abilities.

3. close reading skills of authentic texts in Italian.

4. the ability to develop effective and nuanced lines of interpretation.