People standing outside the Leaning Tower of Pisa during the day.

Facts & figures

Modern Languages

#1 in NSW
2024 QS World University Rankings

Italian Studies

One of the world's most beautiful languages

Italian language, culture and post-war immigration has enriched many other societies including the United States, Canada, Germany and Australia.

Italian Studies boasts a lively and engaged student community and a vibrant research culture. Our graduates forge careers in fields as varied as diplomacy, education, tourism, design, architecture, music, fashion, arts and food in Australia and abroad.

This discipline is generously supported by the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, through the Italian Institute of Culture, and has previously been supported by the Cassamarca Foundation.

Our study offerings

Italian Studies

Select from a wide range of language and culture units from one of the largest Italian departments in Australia and undertake a semester with one of our Italian partner universities. Develop high levels of linguistic aptitude and deep understanding of Italian authors, thinkers and literary and intellectual movements from the Middle Ages to the present.

Undergraduate

*Available in the shared pool of majors and minors

Research

Our research

Our staff maintain strong interdisciplinary links with a wide range of research clusters across the humanities as well as the social science disciplines of education and politics. Our research areas include:

Sociolinguistics and language teaching methodologies
Translation studies
Medieval and Renaissance studies
Intellectual history
Critical, literary and visual theory
Modern Italian literature and culture
Migrant and travel studies
Italian theatre.

Learn more about languages and cultures research.

Exchange

Our advanced exchange programs provide life-changing experiences in Italy where students exercise their language skills and develop an understanding of cultural intricacies first hand.

Partner institutions

University of Bologna
University of Florence
University of Padova
University of Pavia
University of Rome – La Sapienza
Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan
University of Turin
Ca' Foscari University of Venice

Learn more about study abroad and student exchange.

Our people

Academic staff

Associate Professor Giorgia Alu
Associate Professor Francesco Borghesi
Dr Daniel Canaris
Associate Professor Antonia Rubino
Dott Anna Marini (Italian Government Lecturer)

Key academic contacts

For Undergraduate coursework, language level assessment, postgraduate research and exchange please email antonia.rubino@sydney.edu.au
For Honours please email chiewhui.ho@sydney.edu.au

Sessional staff

Antonella Beconi
Daniela Panìco

Honorary Associates

Emeritus Professor Nerida Newbigin
Dr Maria Cristina Mauceri
Dr Kathleen Olive

Research affiliate

Dr Cristiana Palmieri
Dr Talia Walker

Events

2024 International Conference | Missionaries, Languages, East Asia (XVI-XX Century)

When: 24 – 26 June 2024
Where: Fondazione per le Scienze Religiose, Giovanni XXIII, Via San Vitale 114, Bologna, Italy

Part of the Australian Research Council Discovery Project Transforming the East: Jesuit Translations of the Confucian Classics (DP210100458).

View the program (pdf, 3.4MB)

Italian Studies

Diploma of Language Studies

Flexible pathway program

Chair

Associate Professor Giorgia Alu

View Associate Professor Alu’s academic profile

Contact

Phone

1800 SYD UNI (1800 793 864) (in Australia)
+61 2 8627 1444 (outside Australia)

Email

slc.enquiries@sydney.edu.au

Address

School of Languages and Cultures, Room 506, Brennan MacCallum Building A18, The University of Sydney NSW 2006

Social media

Connect with us

Scholarships

Opportunities from the School of Languages and Cultures

Featured news

Group photo at the 2024 School of Languages and Cultures Awards Ceremony

Awarding student excellence in languages and cultures

The School of Languages and Cultures hosted its 2024 Awards Ceremony to recognise 61 students for their outstanding performance in language and culture studies with special guests, donors and officials from around the world.

16 February 2024

Globe sculpture with columns in the background of an Italian building

Experience Italy: growing valuable skills with a new language

Stepping out of your comfort zone to study a new language overseas can lead to a rich learning experience. Arts and Science student, Adeline Chai, shares about her time of growth in Italy when she embarked on an intensive in-country unit.

03 November 2023

Sydney academics awarded prestigious ARC Grants

University of Sydney academics have been awarded more than $24 million in funding for 42 new research projects, spanning accessible playgrounds for children with vision impairments, attracting and retaining quality teachers in early education, and developing facilities to improve renewable technology.

Typed letter in Indonesian from the early 1950s, collected at the National Archives of Australia

Re-imagining Australia using a multilingual lens

'Opening the Multilingual Archives of Australia' project hopes to mobilise under-utilised non-English resources from over 50 languages to highlight the multilingual nature of Australian history.

Seated guests and presenters in the MacLaurin Hall watching a mezzo-soprano singer and pianist performing

Community celebration of student excellence in languages and cultures

With special guests including benefactors and official representatives from various countries, the School of Languages and Cultures held its 2023 Awards Ceremony in recognition of 94 high-achieving students for their academic performance.

13 December 2022

Frame of world globe lit against blue evening sky

5 reasons to get the Diploma of Language Studies

Gain sought-after skillsets from the state’s leading institution for Modern Languages.* Our flexible pathway program allows you to learn a language (or more) during or after your degree at your own pace.

24 November 2022

Headshots of all newly elected Fellows to the Australian Academy of Humanities from the University of Sydney

Academics named Fellows of the Australian Academy of Humanities

University of Sydney academics from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Sydney Law School have been appointed as Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.

20 January 2022

Chapel steeple in Italy

A scholarship celebrating Italian culture and language

The Frances Merenda Travelling Scholarship helped to provide access to extraordinary research material held only in Venice.

13 October 2021

Magnifying glass over the land of Australia on a globe

Rethinking Australia in many languages

Understanding Australia requires more than knowledge of the English language. Professor Adrian Vickers highlights the wealth of non-English sources and cross-cultural exchanges that can reorient our perspective on the Australian story.

City of Sydney skyline and top of a sandstone clocktower

Early career researchers awarded $9m funding

The University of Sydney has received funding for 22 research projects through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) scheme.

Jacaranda flowers with the University of Sydney's Quadrangle building in the background

Fulbright Scholarship for Philosophy Alumna Hannah Orban

Hannah Orban, Philosophy Honours graduate, talks about her journey from Arts degree and NSW Govt graduate program working on initiatives for students with disability, to a Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Michigan.

Stained glass window in the Great Hall

Celebrating student success in languages and cultures

The School of Languages and Cultures hosted its 2021 Awards Ceremony to recognise 136 students for their outstanding performance in the academic years of 2019 and 2020.

16 December 2020

Bird's eye view of the University's Quadrangle and surrounding buildings on campus

Recognising high-achieving students in language and culture studies

The School of Languages and Cultures congratulates 75 students who have received scholarships and prizes in 2020.

10 December 2020

Three girls posing on an old bridge over a canal by trees, colourful buildings and landmarks in Verona, Italy

From E12 to overseas immersion: Victoria's story so far

Within her first year at university, Victoria Lonergan gained more than she'd imagined – including a new language skill and cultural experiences that inspired greater pursuits for a bright future.

18 November 2020

Town square in Padova, Italy

In-country learning online: Experiencing Italy from home

From language workshops to cultural tours, two students share how they got a taste of Italy through our first-ever virtual OLE in-country unit.

16 November 2020

Reflection of Quadrangle on the New Law School Building.

ARC success for University of Sydney researchers

The Australian Research Council (ARC) has announced University of Sydney researchers will receive funding for more than 50 new Linkage and Discovery projects.

11 November 2020

Abstract world map with colourful pins sticking out

How languages help you stand out from the crowd

From law to tech, public health to environmental policy, meet some of our language graduates who are making an impact across various fields in Australia and beyond.

09 September 2020

Collage of eight language students from the University of Sydney

Learning languages at Sydney

At the University of Sydney, we teach languages through cultures. From extracurricular enrichment to scholarship support, our students share some highlights and key opportunities from their language learning experience.

Vice-Chancellor Dr Michael Spence and students in the University's Quadrangle

Learning languages opens our minds

Vice-Chancellor and Principal at the University of Sydney, Dr Michael Spence, recently graduated with a Diploma of Languages (Korean Studies) at the very university he leads.

Colourful assortment of world flags with poles stuck into a sun-lit concrete bluish-grey wall

How studying languages can expand your world

In this interconnected era, cross-cultural and multilingual skills are integral to navigating the world around us. We talk with two of our former students who are making their mark through languages.

25 February 2019

Two women smiling at an opened old Renaissance-era book of Dante's Divine Commedy

Sydney librarian discovers rare drawing by Renaissance artist

One of the most enigmatic figures in Renaissance art, Giorgione, has been identified as the artist behind a drawing that remained undiscovered for over 500 years on the back page of a University of Sydney library book

03 October 2019

Sydney rises again in arts and humanities rankings

The University of Sydney has risen to 41st in the world and second in Australia for arts and humanities in the 2020 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings by subject.

Strong results continue for FASS in the 2018 QS Subject Rankings

The QS 2018 Subject Rankings, released last week, highlighted another strong showing for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, with nine subjects ranking in the top two domestically, and three reaching the global top 20.

19 February 2019

Minister Ray Williams (far right) with the first graduating cohort of volunteer teachers from NSW community language schools.

Community languages institute celebrates first graduating cohort

The Sydney Institute for Community Languages Education (SICLE) - a partnership between the University of Sydney and New South Wales Department of Education - has celebrated its first graduating cohort.