Stephanie Malia Hom, Chair, French & Italian
Chair's Welcome
Benvenuti and bienvenue to the Department of French and Italian! I welcome you to our community of scholars whose mission is to pioneer new understandings of French- and Italian-speaking worlds with our interdisciplinary research and teaching.
As a department, we are small but mighty. Our faculty are internationally renowned experts in their fields. Our students are highly skilled in intercultural communication. Our graduates have gone onto meaningful careers in international business, film and media, education, medicine, law, and more.
Guided by our core values of collegiality, creativity, inclusion, fairness, and transparency, our department aims to deepen the academic inquiry and interpersonal connection that are the hallmarks of a UCSB education. Our small-size classes in French and Italian provide spaces for real human connection and communication.
Our faculty and students know that by studying languages and cultures outside of our own, like the many cultures belonging to France and Italy, we can better communicate with one another and understand what connects us as humans.
I invite you to explore all our department has to offer. Dive into the Faculty Bookshelf on our website. Take that Beginning Italian course. Attend a lecture on French literature. Make pizza with the Italian Club. Learn about French pop culture. We look forward to welcoming you!
Undergraduate Programs
We offer majors and minors in French and Italian, as well as a major in Transnational Italian Studies, the only one of its kind in the U.S.
In French, students have many course options in French and Francophone literature and culture that equip them with valuable language proficiency and critical thinking skills. In addition to rigorous preparation in the French language, students also have the opportunity to explore their professional interests with courses that connect French to biology and bioethics, business, international relations, law, among others.
In Italian, our courses focus on the culture and history of Italy as seen from a global perspective. Students who major or minor in Italian gain communicative competency in the language as well as a broad familiarity with literary and cultural traditions of the Italian-speaking world. The Italian program also offers the Transnational Italian Studies major, which is taught in English and highlights how Italy and Italian culture developed in relation with other languages, histories, and cultures, including its longstanding relationship with France.
Our department also emphasizes the importance of translation in our curriculum. We offer specialized courses on translation in French and Italian, and undergraduates also have the opportunity to complete a minor in translation studies.
Graduate Programs
Students interested in pursuing graduate degrees in French and/or Italian may do so through the Comparative Literature Program, which offers MA and PhD programs. Graduate students find close mentorship with our faculty in French and Italian, who offer seminars in literary theory and other specialized topics as well as serve on qualifying exam and dissertation committees. Students can also take advantage of several interdisciplinary emphases (i.e., Applied Linguistics, Feminist Studies, Global Studies, Translation Studies, etc.) approved by the UCSB Graduate Division, which supplement the major discipline by adding a portfolio of marketable skills.
Study Abroad
With the goal of a global education in mind, our department strongly encourages students to study abroad in Italy or in a French-speaking country with any UC-approved program or with the many UC-affiliated programs in Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Bologna, Milan, Rome, and Florence. There are numerous UC programs offered in France and Italy, including summer programs in both countries as well as on campus.