Undergraduate study | Italian

• You’ll complete a four-year MA (Honours) degree. You can take Italian as a single honours degree, or jointly with one of a range of other subjects, including other European languages, classics, and history of art.
• It doesn't matter whether you’re starting from scratch, or have some existing knowledge of Italian. Over the course of your four years, ​​​you’ll progress in all aspects of the written and spoken language, and acquire a good knowledge of Italian society, past and present, through cultural study.

Years 1 & 2

• The first two years will provide a solid foundation in the Italian language, with classes streamed in the first year according to how much Italian you already know. Some of our second year courses are taught in Italian to help prepare you for your Italian experience on the Year Abroad.
• Whatever your starting point, by the end of your second year you’ll also have had a literary introduction to Italy's culture and society.
• Whether you’re doing single or joint honours, you’ll do the same amount of Italian in these pre-honours years. You’ll gain the rest of your credits from partner subject courses, if you are doing a joint degree, and outside courses, of which single honours students take more. This choice and flexibility may enable you to change the focus of your degree going into your final two (honours) years, which is when you start to specialise.

Years 3 & 4

• Your third year will typically be spent abroad, either studying or working, turning classroom learning into living engagement with other cultures. Our graduates have told us how much the Year Abroad has benefitted their broader life experience and skills, as well as their understanding of Italy.
• If Italian is the only language you are studying, your Year Abroad will be in Italy. If you’re doing a joint degree with another language, you’ll divide your time and travel plans between your two languages.
• As well as developing advanced language skills in these years, you will learn how to undertake your own research to the level of completing a dissertation or long essay in your final year. This is your chance to focus on a topic, period or discipline that’s of particular interest to you. We have an extensive range of honours courses to choose from, covering subjects like literature, cinema and politics, from the Middle Ages to the present day.

Location

• You’ll typically be based at the heart of the University of Edinburgh, in the city’s historic centre. Our School has its own Study Resource Centre, in-house screening room and computing labs. The Main University Library is just across the square from us, and the nearby National Library of Scotland hosts a large collection of Italian manuscripts and books.

Teaching and learning

• Our approach to learning and teaching is active, inclusive and question driven to help you gain skills for life after university.
• Across your courses, you’ll typically be taught in a combination of lectures, tutorials (including language classes) and seminars. On some courses, you will have seminars instead of lectures, especially in your honours years.
• You will also be expected to study independently and in small groups, and to read widely.

Assessment and support

• You’ll be assessed through a combination of coursework and exams. 
• Coursework may take a range of forms to give you the opportunity to practice different skills. 
• Exams will include oral exams to test your spoken language skills.
• Depending on where you go and what you do on your Year Abroad, Year 3 may include being assessed, in part, by a host university.
• As well as the teaching and other staff you will meet day-to-day, there are lots of ways to get help with your learning, including through the University’s Institute for Academic Development and Edinburgh University Students' Association.

In the 2025 to 2026 academic year, you can take Italian as a single honours degree, or study any of the following joint honours degree combinations...

* Please note that this degree combination does not have the same structure as all the others, though it is still a four-year degree with a study abroad element.

If you’d like to study on any of our undergraduate programmes, you must apply through UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. 

The UCAS site will show you if any of our Italian degree programmes remain open for application for 2025 entry.

Search the UCAS website for our Italian programmes

If you have applied to start studying Italian with us in September 2025, check out our applicant website for 2025 entry.

Visit the applicant website for Italian

Keen to get a head start for 2026?

There’s lots of information about our undergraduate Italian programmes on the University of Edinburgh Degree Finder. 

For example, you can find out about:

• the courses you will take each year
• how you will be taught and assessed
• the support we offer
• entrance requirements
• English language requirements
• fees and funding opportunities
• student societies and living in Edinburgh

Browse our Italian programmes on Degree Finder 2026

Applications for 2026 entry open in September 2025.

Skills and experience

Studying a language to degree level demonstrates that you are a good communicator, and someone open to other cultures and new ideas - what employers value as intercultural competence.

Beyond the language skills you will develop on this programme, you will gain a nuanced understanding of other cultures and societies.

Graduating with a four-year Master of Arts degree from the University of Edinburgh also shows intellectual maturity, resilience, and flexibility.

The skills you will be able to demonstrate to employers when you graduate include the ability to:

• understand, analyse and articulate complex issues and concepts
• manage your time to meet deadlines on different types of projects
• work independently and as part of a group

Opportunities across sectors

Our programmes are an excellent primer for a range of careers, especially those that place a premium on thinking that is both disciplined and imaginative.

Within the private, public, not-for-profit, and for-benefit sectors, previous graduates have gone on to work in:

• business, finance, commerce and tech
• communications, marketing, advertising and public relations
• education, outreach, advocacy and training
• journalism, broadcasting and media
• leisure, tourism and travel
• politics, policy work, diplomacy, civil service and law
• publishing, culture, heritage and the arts
• research, development, consultancy and venture acceleration
• translating and interpreting

Local and global opportunities

With increasing migration in response to changing global dynamics, there is demand for our graduates in Scotland, the UK and abroad.

Wherever you are based in the world, the ability to communicate in another language, and to understand the cultures to which it opens doors, will make you stand out.

If you are keen to work abroad, it’s good to know that Italy is a cultural and scientific powerhouse; an advanced economy with the ninth-largest nominal GDP in the world. 

The country is a founding member of the European Union and a member of numerous international institutions, including the UN, NATO, and the Council of Europe. It has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites of any nation.

Further study

The enhanced research skills you will develop on an Italian programme, particularly in your honours years, are a valuable asset if you wish to continue studying at postgraduate level. 

At the University of Edinburgh, we typically offer a Masters by Research degree in Italian and taught masters programmes in: 

• Comparative Literature
• Intermediality

Find out more about LLC alumni and futures