Ianua linguarum reserata

Degree programme objectives

Bachelor's degree in Italian Language and Literature opens the way for the acquisition of basic knowledge and competence in the Italian language, Italian linguistics, history, literature and culture.

Studying Italian will, on one hand, improve students' linguistic knowledge and skills required in fields based on communication and communication technologies, such as translation or public service, while on the other it will build analytical capabilities, independence and creativity.

Through a systematic training which connects the fields of practical language, specialized linguistics, and literature, students will master the main principles of a cultivated written and spoken style in both Italian and Czech.

Study plans

Admission Procedures
Admission to Bachelor's and long-cycle Master's degree programmes in 2025/2026
Submission deadline until midnight 28. 2. 2025

  • Information on entrance examinations designed for this degree programme
    This programme is accredited in Czech and requires students to have a native-speaker or C1 knowledge of Czech or Slovak.

    The criteria for admission for studies are the results of the Field of Study Examination. Applicants may also be admitted based on other criteria, see Admission without the Entrance Examination. The Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University disregards the results of SCIO National Comparative Examinations.

    You can file your e-applications for studies from 1 November to 28 February.
    The Field of Study Examinations are held from 22 to 27 April.
    The date and time of the examination will be stated in the electronic invitation for the examination, which will be uploaded to your e-application. The faculty will not be sending paper invitations. Applicants applying for the major study plan and minor study plan in a combined study must comply with the conditions for admission into both plans.

    Learning Potential Test (TSP)

    For admission for studies in this degree programme, you do not need to take the TSP.

    Field of Study Examination

    This examination is intended to check the applicants’ knowledge of the given field of study. This is done in the form of a motivation letter and a paper on the assigned topic..
    Basic description of the Field of Study Examination:

    1. The motivation letter: The motivation letter is written in Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, or in English with a length of 1500 to 3000 characters including spaces. Please explain in your letter why you want to study the subject Italian Language and Literature, why at Masaryk University, specify your education and interests related to the degree programme, and what your plans are after completing your bachelor's degree.
      Upload the motivation letter in PDF format directly to your e-application, in the section Příloha 2, no later than by 8 April. Please select the correct type of attachment, i.e. "Italský jazyk a literatura: Motivační dopis". Do not forget to click on "Save" at the bottom of the page.

    2. Paper on assigned topic (computer-based in-presence test). Candidates must read in advance (in any language, not necessarily Italian) a novel of their choice from the following:
      La luna e i falò, Cesare Pavese. Se questo è un uomo, Primo Levi. Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Il Gattopardo. Italo Calvino, Se una notte d'inverno un viaggiatore. Italo Calvino, Il sentiero dei nidi di ragno. Antonio Tabucchi, Sostiene Pereira. Umberto Eco, Il nome della rosa. Leonardo Sciascia, Il giorno della civetta.

      On the day of the written test, candidates will answer a list of questions aimed at ascertaining their understanding of the text read (content, structure, context, etc.). The test will take place in the Faculty of Arts classrooms on one or more fixed dates (depending on the number of applications). Candidates may use the class computers, which will not be connected to the internet. Answers may be given in Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan or English.
      The test will be divided into 2 parts with a 30-minute break inbetween. The total amount of time needed to complete the test including initial 30-minute instructions and the break is 4 hours.

    Admission without the entrance examination

    You may be exempt from the entrance examination based on secondary school results in the following four profile subjects: Czech or Slovak language, history and two languages.

    Secondary school results may be applied for an exemption from the entrance examination by those applicants whose average grade was 1.5 or higher in each of the four profile subjects. The total average result in all subjects is not taken into consideration. Secondary school seminars are also disregarded. The average grade of each profile subject is calculated based on the results of the last four years of study in the following way: the mid-year grade is calculated from the final year, whereas the final grades are calculated from the previous three years. It is also necessary that applicants have studied each of the profile subjects for at least two years during the last four years.
    Enter your grades in your e-application. Then print the grades out and let your secondary school certify them with a stamp and a signature. Upload the scan of the certified grades into your e-application. You can also upload officially certified school reports or any other documents certifying your school results.
    Please upload the officially certified documents directly to your e-application in the section Application for the Exemption from the Entrance Examination no later than 28 February.

  • Evaluation criteria valid for the applicants applying for a place on this degree programme

    • Total number of points for the motivation letter: 50
    • Limit for successfully passing the motivation letter: 30
    • Total number of points for the paper on the assigned topic: 50
    • Limit for successfully passing the paper on the assigned topic: 30
    • Total number of points in the Field of Study Examination: 100
    • Limit for successfully passing the Field of Study Examination: 60

Studies

  • Objectives
    Bachelor's degree in Italian Language and Literature opens the way for the acquisition of basic knowledge and competence in the Italian language, Italian linguistics, history, literature and culture.

    Studying Italian will, on one hand, improve students' linguistic knowledge and skills required in fields based on communication and communication technologies, such as translation or public service, while on the other it will build analytical capabilities, independence and creativity.

    Through a systematic training which connects the fields of practical language, specialized linguistics, and literature, students will master the main principles of a cultivated written and spoken style in both Italian and Czech.

  • Learning Outcomes

    After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

    • communicate in spoken and written Italian
    • have an overview of the functioning and structure of Italian as a specific Romance language
    • perform linguistic analyses of texts, at all linguistic levels and based on knowledge in selected branches of linguistics
    • critically address literary history in basic interdisciplinary and cultural contexts
    • analyse literary texts
    • translate from Italian into Czech and vice versa

  • Occupational Profiles of Graduates
    Graduates of this programme have the knowledge and skills to be able to perform independent work in intercultural communication, in internal and external company communication, in cultural institutions, as editors in translation agencies and translation sections of national and international institutions and companies, and as editors in the media and publishing houses. In all of these fields, they will be able to apply their linguistic competence and knowledge of a different cultural milieu.
  • Practical Training
    Practical training is not an obligatory part of study.
  • Goals of Theses
    A standard length of a Bachelor's thesis is 70 000 characters, including footnotes, cover sheet, content, index, and bibliography. Students can work with already published texts, although they must approach them in an analytic and critical way in order to express their own comments, opinions, and conclusions. These are to be written in Italian so as to demonstrate the student's capability to work with sources and to communicate in an appropriate and cultivated way, without errors.
  • Access to Further Studies
    Graduates of the Bachelor's programme may subsequently continue in any related Master's programme (after fulfilling the conditions for admission).

Basic information

Abbreviation
B-IJ_
Type
Bachelor's degree programme
Profile
academic
Degree
Bc.
Length of studies
3 years
Language of instruction
Czech Czech

50
estimated number of admitted
107
number of active students
22
number of theses/dissertations

Faculty of Arts
Programme guaranteed by