Italian
In addition to general university requirements for the Ph.D., the following regulations apply to graduate students in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures:
To be accepted into the Ph.D. program, students must demonstrate by an exceptionally strong academic record that they are capable of advanced study in literature. The student will normally take two to three years of graduate courses and devote the fourth year to study and research in the country on which the student’s study concentrates. The well-prepared student can expect to receive the Ph.D. after five years of study. The graduate program in Modern Languages and Literatures emphasizes work in three complementary areas: literary history, close textual analysis, and theory of interpretation. By way of preparing students in a variety of critical schools, the faculty and the visiting professors offer training in the different disciplines pertaining to critical theory, including philosophy, theory of language, psychoanalytic theory, intellectual history, and cultural anthropology.
Professional training is an essential part of our graduate program. A supervised teaching apprenticeship is required of degree candidates. In some years this may involve apprenticing alongside a professor in class. Training may also include serving as a research or editorial assistant.
In addition to the major language, the student must demonstrate proficiency in two other foreign languages besides English. If planning to work in premodern literature, one of those languages should be Latin.
The student must take a minimum of four semesters of graduate courses for credit, and audit one to two courses in the third. Auditing a course or two in the fifth year is encouraged. After this period, normally in the third year, the student will take examinations which, if completed successfully, will lead to candidacy for the Ph.D.
Graduate Study Abroad
The Department encourages and expects graduates student to do research abroad during their program of study. Italian graduate students can take advantage of a wealth of formal and informal contacts with Italian scholars, archives, and institutes.
After presenting a research proposal to their advisor, with the approval of that advisor and the head of section, students may elect to go abroad for a semester or the entire academic year in order to conduct research essential to their dissertation.
Admission Requirements
Application Procedures
Prospective graduate students may visit the departmental website at https://krieger.jhu.edu/modern-languages-literatures/ for further information on programs and faculty. All questions regarding the programs offered by the department should be emailed to mll@jhu.edu. Prospective students are encouraged to apply online through the secure Graduate Admissions website.