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BA ITALIAN AND CLASSICAL STUDIES

  • UCAS code
    QR83
  • Typical offer
    BBB
  • Year of entry
    2021
  • Course duration
     4 years
  • Year of entry
    2021
  • Course duration
     4 years
View all

COVID-19 update


Find out about how we'll be delivering our courses in 2020.

With BA Italian and Classical Studies, combine the study of modern Italian culture and the Italian language with that of Ancient Rome in this stimulating joint honours degree.

Join our friendly and dynamic Department of Languages and Cultures, which offers the opportunity to study in a lively, multilingual community with staff and students from all over the world. We offer a flexible and supportive approach to learning which allows you to tailor your degree to your interests, including the opportunity to learn other languages.

Through this course you will become confident and highly skilled in written and spoken Italian. You will master the fundamental elements of the language, to the point where you will graduate with a near-native command of it. We’re proud of our small language classes, led by native speakers. Direct access to expert staff for help and feedback ensures you develop your language skills to the best of your ability.

You will also gain a broad understanding of the most important features of the culture and history of Italy, from the Middle Ages to today. You will have the opportunity to study with leading academics on topics including Dante, Machiavelli, Michelangelo, fascism, the history of the language, the resistance, Fellini and contemporary culture.

The classical studies element of this course enables you to explore the literature of ancient Greece and Rome. Through the study of translated texts you will consider genres and themes like poetry, tragedy and love in classical literature, and their influence on the modern world. You can broaden your knowledge with optional modules in subjects including art, society, and history, and take advantage of our own unique collection of Greek and Egyptian antiquities. You can also discover Rome through our unique, award-winning digital model of the city. For further information, visit the Department of Classics website.

An integral part of the course is the opportunity for you to spend up to a year in Italy, studying at a partner institution, undertaking a work placement or working as a British Council language teaching assistant. This enables you to immerse yourself in the culture and greatly improve your knowledge of Italian at the same time. The core language module in the second year will prepare you for your time abroad, equipping you with the skills and knowledge required to work and live in a different culture.

We provide accelerated learning in Italian, meaning that you can start from beginner's level if you have not studied the language before, or at intermediate level if you have only learned it up to GCSE or AS level. Regardless of which level you join the course at, all students achieve the same standard of written and spoken Italian by the final year. Please check the entry requirements for more details on entry points.

Overview

Join our friendly and dynamic Department of Languages and Cultures, which offers the opportunity to study in a lively, multilingual community with staff and students from all over the world. We offer a flexible and supportive approach to learning which allows you to tailor your degree to your interests, including the opportunity to learn other languages.

Through this course you will become confident and highly skilled in written and spoken Italian. You will master the fundamental elements of the language, to the point where you will graduate with a near-native command of it. We’re proud of our small language classes, led by native speakers. Direct access to expert staff for help and feedback ensures you develop your language skills to the best of your ability.

You will also gain a broad understanding of the most important features of the culture and history of Italy, from the Middle Ages to today. You will have the opportunity to study with leading academics on topics including Dante, Machiavelli, Michelangelo, fascism, the history of the language, the resistance, Fellini and contemporary culture.

The classical studies element of this course enables you to explore the literature of ancient Greece and Rome. Through the study of translated texts you will consider genres and themes like poetry, tragedy and love in classical literature, and their influence on the modern world. You can broaden your knowledge with optional modules in subjects including art, society, and history, and take advantage of our own unique collection of Greek and Egyptian antiquities. You can also discover Rome through our unique, award-winning digital model of the city. For further information, visit the Department of Classics website.

An integral part of the course is the opportunity for you to spend up to a year in Italy, studying at a partner institution, undertaking a work placement or working as a British Council language teaching assistant. This enables you to immerse yourself in the culture and greatly improve your knowledge of Italian at the same time. The core language module in the second year will prepare you for your time abroad, equipping you with the skills and knowledge required to work and live in a different culture.

We provide accelerated learning in Italian, meaning that you can start from beginner's level if you have not studied the language before, or at intermediate level if you have only learned it up to GCSE or AS level. Regardless of which level you join the course at, all students achieve the same standard of written and spoken Italian by the final year. Please check the entry requirements for more details on entry points.

Entry requirements A Level BBB | IB 30 points overall

Select Reading as your firm choice on UCAS, and we will guarantee you a place if you achieve one grade lower than the published offer.

Typical offer

BBB

Beginner's Italian: No previous language qualifications are required.

Intermediate Italian: GCSE Italian at grade A (7) or AS level Italian at grade B.

Advanced Italian: A level Italian at grade B.

International Baccalaureate

30 points overall

Extended Project Qualification

In recognition of the excellent preparation that the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) provides to students for University study, we can now include achievement in the EPQ as part of a formal offer.

BTEC Extended Diploma

DDM

English language requirements

IELTS 7.0, with no component below 6.0

For information on other English language qualifications, please visit our international student pages.

Alternative entry requirements for International and EU students

For country specific entry requirements look at entry requirements by country.

International Foundation Programme

If you are an international or EU student and do not meet the requirements for direct entry to your chosen degree you can join the University of Reading’s International Foundation Programme. Successful completion of this 1 year programme guarantees you a place on your chosen undergraduate degree. English language requirements start as low as IELTS 4.5 depending on progression degree and start date.

  • Learn more about our International Foundation programme

Pre-sessional English language programme

If you need to improve your English language score you can take a pre-sessional English course prior to entry onto your degree.

  • Find out the English language requirements for our courses and our pre-sessional English programme

Structure

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3
  • Year 4

Core modules include:

  • Italian language (at beginner's, intermediate or advanced level)
  • Texts, readers and writers
  • Ancient song

Optional modules include:

  • Italian Medieval and Renaissance culture (in translation)
  • Twentieth-century Italian culture
  • Making Italians: a journey in the history and culture of modern Italy
  • Ancient Greek 1
  • Ancient Greek 2 (I)
  • Ancient Greek 3 (I)
  • Ancient Greek 4 (H)
  • Ancient Greek 5 (H)
  • Latin 1 (C)
  • Latin 2 (I)
  • Latin 3 (I)
  • Latin 4 (H)
  • Latin 5 (H)
  • Rome in the Augustan Age
  • The civilisation of fifth-century Athens

Comparative modules include:

In addition to these Italian modules, students may choose to take a module from our list of comparative modules. Comparative modules do not focus on one specific country or culture, but rather they contrast and compare different literary, cinematic or historical traditions.

  • The making of modern Europe: 1789 to the present
  • What is comparative literature?
  • Greats of European cinema
  • Introduction to linguistics
Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Core Modules Include:

  • Italian language

Optional modules include:

  • Italian cinema
  • 'Apocalittici e integrati': intellectuals and society in twentieth-century Italy
  • Fictions of Italy: themes and genres
  • Museum history, policy and ethics
  • Ancient drama
  • Ancient epic
  • Ancient Greek 1
  • Ancient Greek 2 (I)
  • Ancient Greek 3 (I)
  • Ancient Greek 4 (H)
  • Ancient Greek 5 (H)
  • Ancient persuasion
  • Curatorship and collections management
  • Greek history: Archaic Age to Alexander
  • IWLP language module
  • IWLP modern Greek 2
  • IWLP modern Greek 3
  • IWLP modern Greek Level 1
  • Latin 1 (C)
  • Latin 2 (I)
  • Latin 3 (I)
  • Latin 4 (H)
  • Latin 5 (H)
  • Museum communication and interpretation
  • Practice of entrepreneurship
  • Roman history: from republic to empire
  • Writing women in Renaissance Italy

Comparative modules include:

In addition to these Italian modules, students may choose to take a module from our list of comparative modules. Comparative modules do not focus on one specific country or culture, but rather they contrast and compare different literary, cinematic or historical traditions.

  • Society, thought, and art in modern Europe
  • Unity, nationalism and regionalism in Europe
  • Science, perversion, and dream in global fantastic literature
  • Love in Medieval Renaissance
Please note that all modules are subject to change.

You can choose from three options for your third year: studying at a partner institution through the Erasmus+ programme, undertaking a work placement or working as a British Council language teaching assistant.

Our Italian partner institutions include universities in Bergamo, Bologna, Florence, Genoa, Naples, Padua, Pavia, Pisa, Rome, Siena and Venice. The Department of Modern Languages has a study abroad officer who can help you prepare for study at one of these universities.

You can also talk to the Department's specialist year abroad team, who can provide you with support in securing and preparing for a placement. Past students have carried out roles with organisations such as Ermanno Scervino, the Istituto per la storia della Resistenza e dell’età contemporanea and the UN.

Core modules include:

  • Italian language

Optional modules include:

  • Dissertation
  • Italian language for management and business
  • Dante
  • Performance and the self in Renaissance Italy
  • History of the Italian language
  • Voice and the self in modern Italian poetry
  • Performance and the self in Renaissance Italy: court culture, Petrarch and his imitators
  • After the flood: Italy from 1945-1956
  • Alexander to Cleopatra: history and culture of the Hellenistic corld (c. 330-30 BC)
  • Anatolia and the Aegean in the late Bronze Age: the context for the Trojan War
  • Ancient biography
  • Ancient Egyptian language and hieroglyphs
  • Ancient Greek 1
  • Ancient Greek 2 (I)
  • Ancient Greek 3 (I)
  • Ancient Greek 4 (H)
  • Ancient Greek 5 (H)
  • Archaeology and topography of Ancient Greece
  • British School at Rome Undergraduate Summer School
  • Carthage: the rise and fall
  • Dante
  • Digital Silchester
  • Greek art and drama
  • IWLP modern Greek 2
  • IWLP modern Greek 3
  • IWLP modern Greek level 1
  • Introduction to language teaching
  • Language and power
  • Latin 1 (C)
  • Latin 2 (I)
  • Latin 3 (I)
  • Latin 4 (H)
  • Latin 5 (H)
  • Roman cities
  • Technology in the ancient world
  • Transformations of Helen
  • Voice and the self in modern Italian poetry: 1900s-1980s
  • Xenophon’s Anabasis

Comparative modules include:

In addition to these Italian modules, students may choose to take a module from our list of comparative modules. Comparative modules do not focus on one specific country or culture, but rather they contrast and compare different literary, cinematic or historical traditions.

  • EU case studies
  • Cinemas of the world
  • Nineteenth-century European novel
  • Language and power
Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Fees

New UK/Republic of Ireland students: £9,250* per year

New international students: £17,320 per year

*UK/Republic of Ireland fee changes

UK/Republic of Ireland undergraduate tuition fees are regulated by the UK government. These fees are subject to parliamentary approval and any decision on raising the tuition fees cap for new UK students would require the formal approval of both Houses of Parliament before it becomes law.

EU student fees

With effect from 1 August 2021, new EU students will pay international tuition fees. For exceptions, please read the UK government’s guidance for EU students.

Additional costs

Some courses will require additional payments for field trips and extra resources. You will also need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.

Financial support for your studies

You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.

Flexible courses (price per 10 credit module)

UK/Republic of Ireland students: £750

International students: £1275

Careers

By the time you graduate, you will be able to write and speak fluently in Italian – an immensely useful skill to have given that there is currently a great shortage of well-qualified linguists in the UK. The experience of studying or working abroad also distinguishes you from non-language graduates, providing evidence of self-reliance, adaptability and enterprise. The course also provides you with numerous transferable skills in research, analysis, presenting and group working, which will prove useful in a wide range of careers.

Recent modern languages graduates have gone on to careers ranging from translating, teaching and research to financial services, telecommunications, and education. They have worked at EU institutions, in marketing, tourism, the fashion industry, the international art business and regional development. Recent employers of our graduates include Sony Europe, the British Council, the Civil Service, the Tate Modern, Oxford University Press, BNP Paribas, Dow Jones, Vodafone and PwC, all of whom clearly value the technical and intellectual training of a degree in modern languages.

Contextual offers


We make contextual offers for all our courses.

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Related Courses


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2020
2021
Undergraduates
Postgraduates
Undergraduates
Postgraduates

Subjects A-B

  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Animal Science
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Architectural Engineering
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Building and Surveying
  • Business and Management, Accounting and Finance

Subjects C-E

  • Chemistry
  • Classics and Classical Studies
  • Climate Science
  • Computer Science
  • Construction Management
  • Consumer Behaviour and Marketing
  • Creative Writing
  • Drama
  • Ecology
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environment

Subjects F-G

  • Film & Television
  • Food and Nutritional Sciences
  • Foundation programmes
  • French
  • Geography
  • German
  • Graphic Communication and Design

Subjects H-M

  • Healthcare
  • History
  • International Development
  • International Foundation Programme (IFP)
  • International Relations
  • Italian
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Marketing
  • Mathematics
  • Medical Sciences
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Museum Studies

Subjects N-T

  • Nutrition
  • Pharmacology
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate Studies
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Psychology
  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Spanish
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Surveying and Construction
  • Teaching
  • Theatre

Subjects U-Z

  • Wildlife Conservation
  • Zoology

Subjects A-C

  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Animal Sciences
  • Archaeology
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Business (Post-Experience)
  • Business and Management (Pre-Experience)
  • Chemistry
  • Classics and Ancient History
  • Climate Science
  • Computer Science
  • Construction Management and Engineering
  • Consumer Behaviour
  • Creative Enterprise

Subjects D-G

  • Data Science
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Energy and Environmental Engineering
  • Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environmental Science
  • Film, Theatre and Television
  • Finance
  • Food and Nutritional Sciences
  • Geography and Environmental Science
  • Graphic Design

Subjects H-P

  • Healthcare
  • History
  • Information Management and Digital Business
  • Information Technology
  • International Development and Applied Economics
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Management
  • Medieval History
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Microbiology
  • Nutritional Sciences
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Project Management
  • Psychology
  • Public Policy

Subjects Q-Z

  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Social Policy
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Strategic Studies
  • Teaching
  • Theatre
  • Typography and Graphic Communication
  • War and Peace Studies
  • Zoology

Subjects A-B

  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Animal Science
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Architectural Engineering
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Building and Surveying
  • Business and Management, Accounting and Finance

Subjects C-E

  • Chemistry
  • Classics and Classical Studies
  • Climate Science
  • Computer Science
  • Construction Management
  • Consumer Behaviour and Marketing
  • Creative Writing
  • Drama
  • Ecology
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environment

Subjects F-G

  • Film & Television
  • Food and Nutritional Sciences
  • Foundation programmes
  • French
  • Geography
  • German
  • Graphic Communication and Design

Subjects H-M

  • Healthcare
  • History
  • International Development
  • International Foundation Programme (IFP)
  • International Relations
  • Italian
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Marketing
  • Mathematics
  • Medical Sciences
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Museum Studies

Subjects N-T

  • Nutrition
  • Pharmacology
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate Studies
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Psychology
  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Spanish
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Surveying and Construction
  • Teaching
  • Theatre

Subjects U-Z

  • Wildlife Conservation
  • Zoology

Subjects A-C

  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Animal Sciences
  • Archaeology
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Business (Post-Experience)
  • Business and Management (Pre-Experience)
  • Chemistry
  • Classics and Ancient History
  • Climate Science
  • Computer Science
  • Construction Management and Engineering
  • Consumer Behaviour
  • Creative Enterprise

Subjects D-G

  • Data Science
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Energy and Environmental Engineering
  • Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environmental Science
  • Film, Theatre and Television
  • Finance
  • Food and Nutritional Sciences
  • Geography and Environmental Science
  • Graphic Design

Subjects H-P

  • Healthcare
  • History
  • Information Management and Digital Business
  • Information Technology
  • International Development and Applied Economics
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Management
  • Medieval History
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Microbiology
  • Nutritional Sciences
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Project Management
  • Psychology
  • Public Policy

Subjects Q-Z

  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Social Policy
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Strategic Studies
  • Teaching
  • Theatre
  • Typography and Graphic Communication
  • War and Peace Studies
  • Zoology

Ready for more?

How to apply
Visit an Open Day
Get a prospectus
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