Arts - Italian
Our BA degree programme at University College Cork is the gateway to the immense and exciting possibilities of education. We offer a wide variety of subjects across diverse fields – this allows you the flexibility and opportunity to choose your career pathway or postgraduate route.
| Award Name | Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | Major |
| Awarding Body | National University of Ireland |
| NFQ Level | Level 8 NFQ |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) | Major | National University of Ireland | Level 8 NFQ |
Duration
3 years, full-time.
Specific Subjects or course requirements
Leaving Certificate Entry Requirements
At least six subjects must be presented. Minimum grade H5 in two subjects and minimum grade O6/H7 in four other subjects. English and Irish are requirements for all programmes unless the applicant is exempt from Irish. Applicants will need to meet the following minimum entry requirements:
English O6/H7
Irish O6/H7
Other Language O6/H7
Italian (Group 6a)
Students wishing to take Beginners’ Italian are recommended to have a minimum of grade H4 in another modern continental language, or Irish, or Latin, or Greek in the Leaving Certificate examination (or equivalent). Students wishing to take Non-Beginners’ Italian are recommended to have a minimum of grade H4 in Italian in the Leaving Certificate examination (or equivalent).
Leaving Certificate Vocational Progamme LCVP
Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme LCVP
Distinction 66 points
Merit 46 points
Pass 28 points
QQI FET Applicants General Information
Careers / Further progression
Skills and Careers Information
Italian is not widely taught in Irish schools and consequently our student numbers are small compared, for example, to those in French. Demand by employers in Ireland for graduates of Italian, with the strong language and analytical skills you can acquire with UCC, is currently greater than supply, and many of our graduates also choose to work in Italy or other countries.
Further information
September 2026
CK101 Arts: Approximate Available Places 50
Find out about the mature entry requirements at https://www.ucc.ie/en/study/undergrad/entryreqs/matureapplicants/
CK101 Arts: Approximate Available Places Overall 500
Entry 2026
Early online application (discounted): Fee €35 Closing Date: 20 January 2026 at 5pm
Normal online application: Fee €50 Closing Date: 1 February 2026 at 5pm
Late online application - restrictions apply (see page 3 2026 CAO Handbook): Fee: €65 Closing Date: 1 May 2026 at 5pm
Change of Mind - restrictions apply (see page 3 2026 CAO Handbook): Fee: Nil Closing Date: 1 July 2026 at 5pm
Be sure to complete any action well in advance of closing dates. You should avoid making an application close to a closing date. No extensions to closing dates will be allowed and all application fees are non-refundable.
LATE APPLICATIONS
Late Applications are those which are received after 5pm on 1 February 2026. The closing date for late applications is 5pm on 1 May 2026, subject to the restrictions listed on page 3 of the 2026 CAO Handbook. The online facility for late applications opens on the 5 March 2026 at 12:00 noon - a fee of €65 applies.
Restrictions
As a CAO applicant you may experience one or more of the following restrictions based on your course choices, your category of application, or restrictions imposed by the HEIs that you wish to apply to. Please read the section on 'Restrictions' on page 3 of the 2026 CAO Handbook carefully. This section includes information on:
General Restrictions
1. Making a late application
2. Making changes to your course choices
Restricted Courses
3. Applying for a restricted course
Mature Applicants
4. Mature applicants
Supplementary Admissions Routes
5. Applying for DARE and/or HEAR
This programme gives you the space to explore your options. Ultimately you will not only excel in specific subject knowledge you will develop those intellectual, social and management skills essential for today’s working environment.
Our Arts CK101 programme is a full-time three-year honours programme, based at the College of Arts, Celtic Studies & Social Sciences (CACSSS). If you wish to spend a year abroad at one of our partner institutions in Europe and beyond, you can apply to our four-year Arts (International) CK108 programme which is open to language and non-language students.
Subject options on registration: Students choose four subjects from the list below in Year 1, with not more than one subject from any group.
Students continue with 2 of these subjects in Years 2 & 3:
Group 1: Asian Studies, Computer Science***, History, Portuguese
Group 2(a)*: History of Art
Group 2(b)*: European Studies, Folklore, Gaeilge/Irish, Greek and Roman Civilisation, Studies in Psychology****
Group 3: Archaeology, Chinese Studies, German, Latin***, Mathematical Studies, Politics
Group 4: French, Sociology, Studies in Music
Group 5: Béaloideas, Economics, English, Greek***, Religions and Global Diversity
Group 6(a)**: Geography, Italian
Group 6(b)**: Celtic Civilisation, Philosophy, Spanish
*Groups 2(a) and 2(b): Students can combine History of Art with any subject from Group 2(a) in Year 1 only.Students can only study one subject from Groups 2(a) and 2(b) in Years 2 & 3.
**Groups 6(a) and 6(b): From Year 2, students may combine Italian with Spanish, but students may not combine Italian with Celtic Civilisation or Philosophy; or Geography with Celtic Civilisation, Philosophy or Spanish.
***These subjects are available in First Arts and thereafter only as a 10-credit subject in the Single Subject Programme
****This subject is available in Year 1 only
A degree in Italian provides access to a rich and influential culture and to the language and society of a country that offers opportunities for exciting careers and further study. Most of our students have no Italian before joining us.
Italian is a small, accessible department. Learning takes place in small groups, allowing you to reach a high level of linguistic proficiency and to develop important critical and analytical skills.
You can choose from a range of modules on literature and art, film and music, politics and the media. Various pathways through the BA provide the opportunity to spend Year 3 studying at one of our partner universities in Italy, an experience that our students often describe as the best of their lives.
Students in all years of the course take an intensive Italian language course, taught in small tutorial groups. Free access is provided to an online Computer-Assisted Language-Learning (CALL) tool.
Year 1 Modules
Most of our students are beginners, but we also provide for the growing numbers of non-beginners taking Italian. In the award-winning Year 1 culture module, the focus is on modern Italian culture and society, providing you with a survey of Italy since unification in 1860, through the analysis of texts which include passages from literary works, films and documentaries, examples of art and architecture, music and historical documents.
You will be guided in your reading through specially written introductions, notes, and glossaries, and through the close readings led by lecturers in class. UCC Italian students have an excellent record in the NUI’s Scholarship for the best performance in first-year Italian, winning the award on at least eight out of 14 occasions since 1999.
Beginner Level
IT1101 Introduction to Written and Spoken Italian (10 credits)
IT1201 Post-Unification Italian Culture and Society
Non-Beginner Level
IT1102 Non-Beginners' Written and Spoken Italian (10 credits)
IT1201 Post-Unification Italian Culture and Society
Year 2
Students continue their intensive study of the Italian language, in preparation for Year 3, which may be spent abroad, or final year. Modules on Italian literature, cinema and the media (continuing to focus on the modern period) give you an understanding of the country’s culture and society. At the same time, the modules provide you with an intellectual challenge, helping you develop important critical and analytical skills sought after by employers.
Final Year
Students in the final year take an advanced language course and may continue to specialise in modern Italian culture, as well as developing independent thinking through the study of Dante’s Divine Comedy and other landmarks of world literature.
Dr. Mark Chu
m.chu@ucc.ie
(+353) (0)21 4902 486
http://www.ucc.ie/en/italian/
http://www.ucc.ie/en/ck101/italian