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Welcome to the Graduate Program in Italian at Rutgers , located on the New Brunswick campus. Admission to the program usually requires an undergraduate major in Italian, however students from other major areas are encouraged to apply. Our graduate students can enroll in either our Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.), Master of Arts (M.A.) or Doctoral program (Ph.D.).  For more information about the Graduate School - New Brunswick click here .

Our program covers all periods of Italian literature. Its strength is sustained by the variety of critical approaches and interdisciplinary perspectives represented by our faculty, who also edit and publish the internationally recognized journal Italian Quarterly. In addition to research, the program emphasizes pedagogical training. A variety of seminars at the Rutgers World Languages Institute, a special course in pedagogy, and teacher training workshops help prepare graduate students for the classroom.

Our standard of excellence is maintained by an active and committed graduate student body that organizes biannual conferences and publishes, with the assistance of the faculty, La Fusta, one of the first and most prominent graduate journals at Rutgers University and in the country.

Deadlines
Complete applications received by January first are given priority in financial aid decisions for students matriculating in September. Applications received after January first may still be considered.

Financial Aid
The Department considers all qualified graduate students for various forms of financial support, including the Transliteratures Fellowship ($20,000/year and tuition coverage). Four-year Excellence Fellowship packages, typically include two years of Teaching Assistantship. Three- or four-year Teaching Assistantship offers are available on a competitive basis. This package consists of a stipend, tuition coverage, and a fee waiver. Very good health benefits are also available. Students may also have the opportunity to be appointed as PTLs (part-time lecturers) and as instructors in the Department’s undergraduate summer programs at Rutgers and in our Summer Program in Urbino, Italy.

Forms
Application forms (including the application forms for fellowships and assistantships) and copies of the Graduate School catalog are available on request from the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 18 Bishop Place, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1103. Application forms may also be downloaded from the Graduate Admissions Web page. 

Application Requirements
·        All undergraduate and graduate academic transcripts;

·        Three letters of recommendation from persons familiar with the applicant's work;

·        A statement of purpose, indicating the applicant’s current academic interests and long-term
         goals;

·        For students with American degrees, GRE scores;

·        For international students, TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores;

·        A writing sample, 1,500-2,000 words in length, demonstrating the applicant’s critical abilities.

Andrew W. Mellon Fellowships in Humanistic Studies
Mellon fellowships provide a stipend of $17,500 for the first year of doctoral study and pay tuition and fees. Health insurance is also provided. Click here for more information.

Princeton-Rutgers Exchange
Princeton and Rutgers have been operating an exchange program since 1964, whereby a student at one university may take graduate courses at the other. For more information, inquire in the main office, call (732) 932-7031, or email the Department Administrator.

The Inter-University Doctoral Consortium (IUDC)
The Inter-University Doctoral Consortium (IUDC) offers eligible students the opportunity to take graduate courses at other distinguished universities throughout the greater New York area. The IUDC is open to doctoral students who have completed at least one year of full time study toward the Ph.D. Students in the program may take up to two courses at these partner institutions, after approval of the Graduate Director.
 
Masters in Teaching (M.A.T.)
The M.A.T. program is intended primarily for those who are teaching, or intend to teach, at the secondary school level. The program emphasizes language, literature, and culture.

Candidates for the M.A.T. must satisfactorily complete ten term courses (30 credits) and take an examination based on a reading list.*

Application
The MAT program is intended primarily for those who are teaching, or intend to teach, at the K-12 level. Candidates are admitted on the basis of their prior formal background and professional experience/performance.  They should have the equivalent of a Minor in Italian before applying or, as an alternative, take some undergraduate courses.  (Up to 4 undergraduate courses are permitted by the Graduate School). 

The GRE is not required for admission. An applicant for the MAT is encouraged to take the courses offered during the summer at the World Languages Institute prior to being admitted to the MAT program.  Courses with a grade of B or better will be counted toward the degree.  Students wishing to take graduate courses toward the MAT during the academic year need the permission of the Graduate Director. 

The MAT in Italian is considered to be a terminal degree, in that it does not lead to the Ph.D. program.  Any student who seeks admission to the Ph.D. program after completing the MAT degree must apply through the normal application process. 

Degree Requirements:
MAT students are required to take a total of 30 credits.  Students admitted prior to the Summer 2007 session may choose from the first and second option while students admitted from the Summer 2007 can only take the first option.

First option:   27 credits of course work, chosen among courses in Italian literature, civilization, language, cinema and methodology taken primarily at the Rutgers Summer World Languages Institute or in the Italian Department (with the permission of the Graduate Director) and 3 credits to prepare a teaching portfolio. The 27 credits that are earned at the World Languages Institute should be distributed in the following fashion:  12 credits in literature and culture; 9 credits in language, grammar, and language across the curriculum; 3 credits in methodology; 3 elective credits.  One of the courses may be a course taught in English, chosen in consultation with the Graduate Director.

Second option:   30 credits of course work and a final exam based on the MAT reading list (available at the Department office).  One of the courses may be a course taught in English. 

All the courses taken in the Italian Department must be in Italian. 

Students may participate in a summer study abroad earning up to 6 credits toward the degree, with the approval of the Graduate Director. 

Students may elect to take one course (3 credits) at the Graduate School of Education, upon prior approval of the Graduate Director. 


The Graduate Director may accept up to 12 credits from another institution to be used toward the degree only after 12 credits have been completed at Rutgers.

 
Master of Arts Program (M.A.)
The M.A. program deals with all aspects of Italian literature and literary criticism. It is open to candidates with academic records of distinction and other evidence of scholarly accomplishments.

The candidates must satisfactorily complete 10 term courses (30 credits) and take a comprehensive examination based on a reading list,* or elect to write a master thesis. In the latter case, six of the 30 credits required for the M.A. will be devoted to research regarding the thesis topic. The thesis topic must be approved by the Graduate Director and the candidate's thesis advisor.
 
Doctorate in Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Doctoral candidates are required to complete 48 credits of course work beyond the bachelor degree, a minimum of 24 credits of research towards the dissertation, and residence for a minimum of one year.

Credit for graduate work taken at other institutions may be accepted in partial fulfillment of course requirements.

Doctoral candidates must demonstrate a reading knowledge of German or Latin, and of a second Romance language besides Italian.

After having fulfilled all course requirements the doctoral candidate must pass a qualifying examination based on a reading list,* and may then proceed with the preparation of the dissertation.

Please contact the department for more information on the Ph.D. program.


* THE READING LISTS, ON WHICH EXAMINATIONS ARE BASED, ARE AVAILABLE AT THE OFFICE OF THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Course work
The number of course credits required is 48, of which at least 30 must have been taken at Rutgers.  Someone who comes to Rutgers with an M.A. degree in Italian will have to take 30 credits of graduate work.  There is also a minimum requirement of 24 research credits.
All graduate students that teach must also take a Methodology of Teaching course in addition to the 48 course credits.  The Italian Department participates in the Transliteratures Project.  Students must take one course in another language department if they already hold an MA or equivalent or two courses if they came here with a BA. 

Ph.D. examination
The examination is given in two parts, one of which is called “major” and the other “minor.”  Please note that major and minor refer to the relative bulk of the exam reading lists and do not carry any connotation of specialization in a particular area.  For the purpose of these exams, the centuries of Italian literature are divided into four areas of “major” concentration as follows:

200-400 inclusive
400-600 inclusive
600-800 inclusive
700-900 inclusive

Students choose one of the above areas for the “major” concentration, which is based on a reading list for the “major” area.  The exam consists of three questions of two hours each.  The five centuries left uncovered by the area of “major” concentration are covered in the “minor” concentration exam, which is based on a reading list for the “minor” area.  This examination also consists of three questions of two hours each. 

Regulations regarding Ph.D. examinations
The Ph.D. exam that the student has chosen to take first, whether the “major” or “minor,” must be passed before the candidate is admitted to the second.  The dates on which the Ph.D. examination is given are: end of August, mid-November, mid-February, first week in May.  The candidate is expected to have completed all requirements before taking the comprehensive examinations and is expected to take both exams within two years of ending his/her course work. For each exam, one essay may be written in English as an option.  In case of failure, the exam must be taken again within the next three sessions.  Failure to do so is considered another failure. No exam can be failed more than three times.  For each failure the five-session limit is extended by one session.  The passing grade on each exam is an average of 2 on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest. 

M.A. exam option for Ph.D. students
Ph.D. students who have an outstanding academic record and do not wish to take the M.A. exam or write an M.A. thesis may request that the Minor part of the Ph.D. qualifying examination be considered as its equivalent and that the M.A. degree be awarded to them after passing that exam. Students who wish to avail themselves of the above option must notify the Department before completing 24 credits of course work.  The graduate faculty may refuse to grant the request of any student, if academic reasons warrant it. 
 
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