Students who pursue the Italian Studies Certificate are not limited to a specific career track. The ability to think analytically, communicate clearly, and understand people from diverse cultural backgrounds has served our graduates well in a wide range of professions. Our students discover that current job listings call for the types of abilities they have acquired through their liberal arts education: communication skills, analytical skills, interpersonal skills, a capacity for problem solving, and the ability to learn quickly. Many job listings include foreign language proficiency as a desirable or necessary tool.
In consultation with a faculty mentor and with the help of ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ Career Services, students approaching graduation can identify companies and organizations offering job opportunities that correspond to their personal interests. When recent graduates can employ their marketable skills in the pursuit of an individual passion, they greatly enhance their chances for success, satisfaction, and lifelong rewards. Our students combine the Italian studies certificate along with their major. They come from various disciplines such as journalism, political science, education, sociology, or business, and then seek employment in print or broadcast media, government, teaching, social services, or industry. These students possess career-specific skills in addition to general knowledge and language proficiency.
Some of our students pursue internships, either in the United States or abroad, in which they employ their foreign language skills in a professional capacity. Several of our Italian studies certificate recipients enter M.A. and Ph.D. programs, usually in another discipline, and go on to academic positions at universities. Others attend law school or medical school. Volunteer service abroad with organizations such as the Peace Corps provides training that can help a student identify a future career track.
