Program of Study (CAS Bulletin)

Romance Languages (2020 - 2022)

Overview of the Major

The Romance languages major requires a total of nine 4-point courses (36 points) distributed between two languages, with five courses (20 points) taken in the primary language and four courses (16 points) taken in the secondary language. The combinations of primary-secondary languages are:

  • French-Italian
  • French-Spanish
  • French-Portuguese
  • Italian-French
  • Italian-Spanish
  • Italian-Portuguese
  • Spanish-French
  • Spanish-Italian
  • Spanish-Portuguese
  • Portuguese-French
  • Portuguese-Italian
  • Portuguese-Spanish 

For declaration of and advisement in the major, students must visit the departments of both languages they intend to study. They must indicate to both departments which language is primary and which is secondary. Advisement for course sequencing takes place in the relevant departments.

Students must earn a C or better in all courses for the major. Courses graded Pass/Fail cannot be counted toward the major. Below are listed the requirements for each of the four languages available in this major.

French as Primary Language

Five required courses (20 points):

  • Written Contemporary French (FREN-UA 105)
  • One of the following:
    • Spoken Contemporary French (FREN-UA 101)
    • French Phonetics (FREN-UA 103)
    • Translation (FREN-UA 107)
    • Advanced Techniques of Translation (FREN-UA 108)
    • Acting French (FREN-UA 109)
    • Business French (FREN-UA 110)
  • One of the following:
    • Approaches to French Literature (FREN-UA 140)
    • Approaches to Francophone Literature (FREN-UA 145)
    • French Society and Culture from the Middle Ages to 1900 (FREN-UA 163)
    • Contemporary France (FREN-UA 164)
  • Two advanced courses in French literature or linguistics, selected in consultation with the director of undergraduate studies in the Department of French.

For French as the secondary language, subtract one of the two advanced courses.

Italian as Primary Language

Five required courses (20 points):

  • Advanced Review of Modern Italian (ITAL-UA 30)
  • One of the following:
    • Conversations in Italian (ITAL-UA 101)
    • Italian through Cinema (ITAL-UA 107)
    • Italian through Opera (ITAL-UA 108)
  • One of the following:
    • Creative Writing in Italian (ITAL-UA 103)
    • Advanced Composition (ITAL-UA 105)
    • Translation (ITAL-UA 110)
  • One of the following:
    • Readings in Medieval and Renaissance Literature (ITAL-UA 115)
    • Readings in Modern Italian Literature (ITAL-UA 116)
  • One advanced course in Italian, selected in consultation with the director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Italian Studies.

For Italian as the secondary language, subtract the one advanced course.

Portuguese as Primary Language

Requires five courses (20 points) beyond the level of Intermediate Portuguese II (PORT-UA 4), including courses taken in English with writing assignments completed in Portuguese, approved by the director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

For Portuguese as the secondary language, subtract one of these five advanced courses.

Spanish as Primary Language

The prerequisite for all Spanish courses in the Romance languages major is either Advanced Spanish (SPAN-UA 50; formerly Advanced Grammar and Composition, SPAN-UA 100) or Advanced Spanish for Spanish Speaking Students (SPAN-UA 51, formerly 111). Note that neither course counts toward the major.

Students must take five upper-level courses taught in Spanish (20 points), chosen in consultation with the director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. One of the five may be an advanced language elective (creative writing, conversation, or translation).

For Spanish as the secondary language, subtract one of these five upper-level courses.

Honors in Romance Languages

To be eligible, a student must spend a minimum of three full semesters in residence at the College of Arts and Science (attendance at NYU Buenos Aires, Florence, Madrid, or Paris counts toward this residence). The student must maintain a cumulative and major GPA of at least 3.65. A Romance languages major who meets these requirements and wishes to pursue a senior honors project should apply to the director of undergraduate studies in the language department of his or her intended faculty adviser.

Courses

For course descriptions and prerequisites, please see under French, Italian, and Spanish and Portuguese in this Bulletin