We are committed to the interdisciplinary study of Italian literature, film and culture, and our faculty has a great depth and breadth of expertise, particularly in medieval and Renaissance culture and literature, linguistics, modern and contemporary literature, and film studies.

The Ph.D. in Italian Studies builds on linguistic, literary, film and cultural studies to support a selection of interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary studies. The program provides an intellectually rigorous and focused but flexible set of core courses that prepare students for the pursuit of more specific individual research interests. In addition to their specialization in literature, culture or film studies, students will have a minor field and complete a Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization or a Graduate Minor related to either their major or minor field (students may petition to create their own minor provided that the desired Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization or a Graduate Minor does not exist at OSU). They will also receive preparation in foreign language pedagogy and the history and structures of the Italian language, establish coordinated theoretical grounding in one or more disciplines, and achieve proficiency in two professionally relevant languages in addition to Italian and English.