In the final year you will be offered a range of subjects enabling you to benefit from the research interests of the staff. Beginners in Italian Although the department admits a large number of students qualified in Italian or indeed native speakers of Italian, approximately half the first-year intake of about eighty students consists of beginners in Italian. In the first year beginners are separately taught and assessed for language, and language continues to be streamed in Year 2. In oral and aural classes active participation is stimulated through the use of audio-visual material ranging from commercially produced teaching aids to authentic material recorded on audio cassettes and videos. The third year of the programme is normally spent studying at an Italian university chosen by each student in consultation with their personal tutor.
All students normally take an examination at their Italian university.
For students following the Italian and Business Studies programme there is the possibility of taking up placements organised with firms such as Glaxo, Olivetti, Fiat and Pirelli, and for students spending the whole year in Italy there is a limited number of language assistantships available in secondary schools. This also allows students to get used to living in Italy with a group of people they know before going off to their individual universities or jobs.