Università degli Studi di Perugia

Degree course in Foreign languages and cultures [L-11] D. M. 270/2004

General information

Qualification awarded

Degree in Modern Languages and Cultures

Level of qualification

First Cycle

Specific admission requirements and specific arrangements for recognition of prior learning

Students wishing to enroll in the degree program must have a secondary school diploma or another equivalent diploma attained abroad and recognized as suitable. Enrollment is limited to a planned number which varies from year to year. All candidates for admission must pass two written admissions exams for the purpose of evaluating their knowledge of Italian and their achievement of a B1 level in English. The tests will be administered in the months of September/October, in accordance with precise rules which will be published each year in their respective announcements. As a degree course for a planned number of students and an obligatory admissions test, there is no provision for activities designed to make up for curricular deficits.

Profile of the programme

The degree program in FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND CULTURES seeks to train first-level graduates who will be able to work in both the public and private sectors, nationally and internationally.

Qualification requirements and regulations

This is a 3-year program. To be awarded the degree students must acquire 180 credits (ECTS credits). The average academic year work load is 60 credits. Each credit corresponds to an overall student time commitment of 25 hours, distributed as follows: 6 hours of classroom learning and 19 hours of individual study. The program is divided into two curricula: 1. English/Spanish/Portuguese-Brazilian; 2. English/German/French. The teaching and learning activities, scheduled to begin in the last week of September, are divided into semesters and may consist of lectures, seminars, exercises, and in specific cases, with the approval of the Degree Program Council, other forms of activity which the teacher believes useful. In most cases, the courses are divided into modules. It should be noted that foreign language courses also include, in addition to the official course held by the teacher (which may be subdivided into modules and is the only part of the course that “assigns” credits) exercise and language laboratory activities held at the University Language Center (Centro Lingusitico d’Ateneo – CLA) which provide fundamental tools and learning materials for reaching the various levels of language proficiency as defined by the Common Framework of the Council of Europe. All other aspects regarding the organization and management of the degree program are descried in the university teaching regulations and corresponding student handbook (Manifesto degli Studi) available on the faculty website.

Key learning outcomes

The foreign language and cultures graduate will have acquired and know how to use specific skills and abilities:

- in education (the degree program constitutes the basis for the acquisition of techniques and methodologies necessary for the future teaching of both foreign languages and literatures and Italian for foreigners – after completing the master’s degree and the teacher certification process and passing the relevant teacher selection exams provided for by law;

- in private industry, in the service sector and in cultural institutions;

- in publishing, literary and technical translation;

- as language experts, either in institutions of the European Union (European Parliament, European Commission, Council of Ministries, etc.) and in other national and international agencies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, agencies for international cooperation, governmental and non-governmental organizations and the United Nations, as well as public and private agencies (for the organization of national and international trade fairs and exhibitions).

Examination regulations, assessment and grading

Exams for individual courses are oral exams before a commission of at least two teachers.
Other possible forms of evaluation (e.g. written exams, final or mid-term, seminar presentations) appear in the descriptions for individual courses. Exams for individual courses are marked on a thirty point scale and, where appropriate, the attribution of honors. After the first year, enrollment in subsequent program years may be subject to meeting the requirements described in the university teaching rules and corresponding student handbook, available on the faculty website.

Graduation requirements

Students who have acquired all the credits provided for in their academic career plan are
admitted to the comprehensive exam for the attainment of the degree in foreign
languages and literatures. The comprehensive exam is worth 9 ECTS credits and consists
in the writing, presentation, and discussion – before a commission chaired by a
full professor of the faculty and composed of at least 5 (five) members and 2
(two) auxiliaries – of a written thesis completed under the guidance of a
supervisor on a subject chosen by the student and related to one of the three
languages or literatures comprising each of the two degree curricula.

Mode of study (full-time, part-time, e-learning, ...)

Full-time students are required to attend classes. Students unable to attend lessons for valid reasons documented by way of self-certification, shall declare themselves “non-attending” and shall inform the teacher of the course of their status at the beginning of the course, for which the student may be given a differentiated exam program.

Occupational profiles of graduates with examples

The three-year degree prepares graduates for professional employment as archivists, museum librarians and associated occupations, as correspondence secretaries and administrative positions using foreign languages, publicity and public relations specialists, tour guides and other positions in the tourism industry, travel agents, radio and television announcers and related positions in the performing arts, specialists in the organization of fairs, exhibitions, conferences and conventions, linguists and philologists, journalists, and communications specialists for the hotel and restaurant industry.

Access to further studies

The program degree meets the requirements for admission to the master’s degree program and gives students the possibility to attain the individual language certificates
included in the European “Language Portfolio” project (Alliance Française, Istituto Cervantes, Goethe-Institut, University of Cambridge, Universidade de Lisboa, etc.)

Programme director or equivalent

Tabella riepilogativa regolamento

General (Regulations 2013)