University of Sydney / Faculty of Arts / Department of Italian Studies / Postgraduate / Research Courses

Postgraduate Research Degrees

Research strengths

An overview of research, training and current projects can be found in the Research section.

 Research strengths of the Department of Italian Studies
  • Italian language and linguistics
  • Sociolinguistics
  • Language teaching methodology
  • Sociolinguistic studies in the area of language contact, shift, attrition, with particular attention to Italian and its dialects in Australia
  • Bilingualism and bilingual education
  • Language in education
  • New technologies in language education
  • Curriculum design
  • Methodologies of Italian language teaching and learning
  • History of linguistics
  • Philology (medieval, Renaissance, modern) and textual editing
  • Paleography
  • Editing medieval and renaissance texts
  • Editing immigrant narratives
  • Literary history and theory
  • Dante studies
  • Fifteenth and sixteenth-century Florentine and Roman culture and social history
  • Sixteenth-century epic, comedy, satire, literary theory
  • Women's fiction
  • Modernism
  • Early nineteenth-century literary movements
  • Politics, society and literature 1930-present (the culture of Fascism, of the Resistance, and of terrorism)
  • Luigi Pirandello
  • Futurism
  • Twentieth-century literary culture
  • Intellectual debates in contemporary Italy
  • Literature of migration
  • Translation studies
  • Literary translation
  • Scholarly translation
  • Translation of renaissance classics
  • Cultural studies
  • Racism and football
  • Italian chic
  • Gender and sexuality in migrant letters
  • International and comparative literature
  • Cross-cultural writing
  • Film studies
  • Relationship between narrative and film
  • Medieval and Renaissance studies
  • Florence: confraternities and lay piety, spectacle, social history
  • Siena: Accademia degli Intronati, literary and theatrical culture
  • Rome: the Archconfraternity of the Gonfalone in Renaissance
  • Science fiction
  • Modern and contemporary theatre
  • Eduardo De Filippo
  • Dario Fo
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The department has strong interdisciplinary and cross-cultural interests, and joint supervision with other disciplines is available. Collaborating departments currently include:

Other research areas can be discussed by prospective postgraduate candidates with the Postgraduate Coordinator. Research proposals may be inter- or cross-disciplinary within the broad field of Italian Studies. Supervision is arranged according to the individual research proposal. Inter-departmental joint supervision, for example, may be arranged.

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Research Programs (PhD, MPhil, MA Research only)

Course information and degrees and definitions are available from the Arts Faculty

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Entry requirements:

For PhD and MPhil: BA (Honours) in Italian or Italian Studies, or equivalent qualification and for an MA Research: BA in Italian or Italian Studies, or equivalent qualification; prospective candidates are asked in the first instance to contact the Postgraduate Coordinator who will invite them to prepare a research proposal. Your research proposal (2000 words for a PhD, 1000 words for an MPhil or MA) should
state the proposed topic and specify the questions to be addressed:

  • explain the significance of the topic;
  • describe the approach to be adopted, and the kinds of methodology that might be employed;
  • say whether any hypotheses to be tested, and say what they are and how this might be done;
  • identify the major source materials on which the project will be based, and state their location if they are not easily available;
  • give a rough preliminary timetable for the various activities that the project will involve, for example so many months of preliminary research, so many months of fieldwork or archival research overseas, so many months of close textual analysis, and so on;
  • outline any ethical approvals that may be required;
  • explain how the research will add to existing scholarship;
  • Include a bibliography.

The Postgraduate Coordinator will then invite the prospective candidate to consult with an appropriate staff member. Research thesis topics are decided upon on the basis of discussion with the coordinator and the relevant staff member and supervision arrangements are made accordingly.

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Intake

Applicants are admitted in Semester 1 and Semester 2; applications close at the end of October and the end of April. Application forms are available from the Arts Faculty.

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Method of payment for Australian permanent residents

Under current policy, the MPhil degree is HECS (Higher Education Contribution Scheme) exempt for the first three semesters of full time enrolment (six part time) and the PhD degree is HECS exempt for the first seven semesters of full time enrolment (fourteen part time), otherwise they are HECS liable.

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HECS weighting

If HECS liable, full time candidates pay 1.0 HECS per year, and part time candidates 0.5 HECS per year.

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Required attendance

Weekly (average) meeting with supervisor; regular attendance at departmental research seminars (held during semester).

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Departmental research seminar

All postgraduate coursework students attend departmental research seminars which are conducted regularly each semester. Research students present papers at this seminar on their work in progress, or workshop papers they are preparing for publication or for international conferences.

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Consultation hours

By arrangement between candidate and supervisor; normally one hour per fortnight, throughout the year.

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Assessment

Continuous assessment and appraisal of research and writing on the thesis topic, leading to submission of a thesis.

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Student resources

PhD students in the department of Italian Studies are guaranteed computer access, with email facilities, as well as one of the best research libraries in Italian Studies in Australia, with interlibrary-loans provided free of charge. There are also, from time to time, opportunities for part-time teaching in the department of Italian Studies to supplement the income of those Research postgraduate students who are holders of Australian Postgraduate Awards (APAs). APA award holders in addition have access to supplementary University funding, including conference travel grants and annual support allowances.

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