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Sample Four Year Plan

ITAL: B.A. in Italian Language and Literature

While Italian has long been acknowledged as an important language for college students in the study of the humanities (literature, music, art, history, architecture, theatre etc.), it has also become increasingly useful in planning careers in business, government, technology and other professions relating to Italy's influential role in today's global economy. Current data available from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and the Modern Language Association (MLA) show that Italian has become a major language of study in the United States. Italy is one of the top five economies in the world and is a leading member of the G8 Group of the wealthiest Western democracies. An estimated 7,500 American firms do business with Italy and more than 1,000 U.S. companies (including IBM, General Electric, Motorola, City Bank and Price Waterhouse) have offices in Italy. These Italy- based multinationals typically and increasingly demand a multilingual and multicultural expertise of their candidates for employment. Italy is a world leader not only in the culinary arts, interior design, furniture production, fashion, graphic design, but also in machine tool manufacturing, with advanced technologies in robotics, electro-mechanical machinery, shipbuiliding, space engineering, construction machinery, and transportation equipment. Many of these renowned firms have offices in the United States. Moreover, these fields in which the Italians have traditionally excelled have throughout the decades favored a flourishing business of commercial brokerage connected with import-export transactions. Besides these traditional fields of Italo-American business exchange, new opportunities arise, as Italy's economy changes: state-owned companies are becoming privatized, opening up the Italian market to American companies and professionals in aerospace, transportation, insurance, finance, shipping, telecommunications, banking and other commerce. With the Italian market opening, American companies like AT & T and franchising retailers such as Midas, Blockbuster, etc. are establishing ties with Italian companies in the areas of cable TV, international cellular telephone systems, the Internet and more, and will need employees who speak Italian and English. The Language, Culture and Literature Option has been redesigned (approved by Senate PCC, May 14, 2002) with the offering of a wide range of courses well suited not only for students who are preparing themselves for graduate study, research or other professional development in the field of the humanities but also for those who are specifically seeking a teaching career in education, combining their language major with a major in foreign language education. Pending approval for the Fall of 2003 is a double major in Italian and foreign language education proposed by the College of Arts and Humanities and the College of Education. The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) currently provides a certification endorsement for the teaching of Italian in secondary schools (grades 7-12).

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