The graduate faculty in Italian offers three degree programs. 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 civilization. The M.A. and Ph.D. programs deal with all aspects of Italian literature and literary criticism. All three programs are open to candidates with academic records of distinction and other evidence of scholarly accomplishment. The master of philosophy degree is available to doctoral candidates in Italian who, in addition to meeting the other M.Phil. requirements of the Graduate School-New Brunswick, achieve grades of A in at least nine term courses.
Candidates for the M.A.T. must complete satisfactorily 10 term courses (30 credits) and take an examination based on a reading list. Master of arts candidates also take 10 term courses (30 credits) and must pass a comprehensive examination based on a reading list. Six of the 30 credits required for the M.A. may be devoted to a research problem if the candidate elects to write a thesis.
Doctoral candidates usually are required to complete 48 credits of course work beyond the bachelor`s degree and do a minimum of 24 credits of research toward the dissertation. In addition, they must be in residence for one year. Credit for graduate work taken at other institutions may be accepted in partial fulfillment of the course requirement, but in no case may the doctoral candidate do less than a full year of course work at Rutgers. Doctoral candidates must demonstrate a reading knowledge of German, Greek, or Latin and reading proficiency in a second Romance language. The language requirement must be satisfied before the candidate is admitted to the qualifying examination. This examination is based on a reading list covering all periods of Italian literature. Once a student fulfills the course requirements, including the residence requirement, and passes the qualifying examination, he or she is admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree and then may proceed with the preparation of a dissertation.
Reading lists on which the examinations are based, as well as the Guide for Graduate Students in Italian, are available at the office of the program director. The graduate program in Italian participates in the Transliteratures program.
