Welcome to The Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese at The Pennsylvania State University!
The Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese at The Pennsylvania State University is at the forefront of literary, linguistic and cultural studies in the United States.
Our mission is to provide training that not only meets the highest standards of professional research but also prepares students for civic engagement and intellectual autonomy. To fulfill this mission, our goal is to be recognized as a leading department for the scientific study of language and for the integrative study of literature in the broad context of cultural productions. Achieving this requires ongoing evaluations of our curriculum at the graduate and undergraduate levels to provide a meaningful course of study that adapts to the different individual interests of our students and to reinforce the already strongly cohesive research paradigms that characterize our faculty.
The Department’s Spanish Program has a long tradition of advancing diverse and interdisciplinary studies that intersect with broader transnational and transatlantic discourses. The Literature Program promotes dialogues with other fields and disciplines through Afro-Hispanic Studies, U.S. Latino Studies, Early Modern/Modern Studies, Comparative Literature, Literary Theory, Inter-Art, Film, and Cultural Studies.
The Department’s Italian Program offers a vibrant undergraduate experience that includes a BS major option, a BA major option, and a minor. With a core faculty nationally recognized for their research and team of highly trained and dedicated instructors, the program provides a rigorous but flexible curriculum in Italian language, literature, and culture. Many of our students effectively incorporate summer or semester abroad programs in Italy. Our majors and minors have gone on to graduate programs and careers in fields such as medicine, law, education, business, and the performing arts.
The Department also houses a Hispanic Linguistics Program considered one of the top in the nation. Scholars in the Linguistics Program play a central role in the cross-disciplinary Center for Language Science, and the increasing methodological sophistication of the program’s experimental research provides a transformative model for Hispanic Linguistics programs.
Our Literature Program and our Hispanic Linguistics Program have outstanding undergraduate and graduate programs. With a strong core faculty representing several fields and specializations, our students have the opportunity to fully explore their interests while gaining a foundational preparation in their areas of specialization. The Department has established an excellent placement record for its graduate students.
The Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese at The Pennsylvania State University is committed to excellence in innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to the study and understanding of languages, literatures and cultures.
Contact Us
The Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese
Address for correspondence:
The Pennsylvania State University
442 Burrowes Building, 230 Old Coaly Way,
University Park, PA 16802
Telephone: 814-865-1168
Fax: 814-863-7944
Email: sp-it-port@psu.edu