Our faculty members are collectively committed to working across disciplinary and national boundaries. As a depart
Welcome to the Department of French and Italian!
Our faculty work across disciplinary and national boundaries and teach courses on global French, Francophone, and Italian cultures, literature, theory, and film. We host regular visits from Francophone and French writers, critics, scholars, artists, and filmmakers both at public events at USC and for the enrichment of our courses.
Through support from the French and Francophone Resource Center, and through faculty initiatives sponsored by Visions and Voices, the USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute, and the Shoah Foundation Institute, we regularly reach out to students and colleagues throughout the university, and to the wider Southern Californian community.
The department offers courses in Italian language, literature and culture while maintaining relationships to the Italian and Italian American community to provide our students of Italian with an entry into Italian and Italian-American business and cultural opportunities via the Italy-American Chamber of Commerce-West, the IAMLA and the Istituto di Cultura di Los Angeles.
Our Basic Language Program offers French and Italian classes for all levels. We regularly offer Maymester classes that travel to France, Francophone countries, and Italy and a study abroad program in Paris. Our majors and minors can also benefit from our seminars at USC and enroll in our honors programs in French and Italian.
Antonia Szabari
Chair, Department of French and Italian
Explore our Programs
French and Italian Language
Studying French or Italian is about much more than vocabulary lists and verb charts. It’s a chance to step into new worlds — from cinema, fashion, and food to philosophy, politics, and pop culture. In our language classes, you’ll practice speaking from day one, work with songs, films, and social media, and discover how French- and Italian-speaking communities shape today’s global conversations.
French Major
If you are interested in declaring a major or a minor in either French or Italian (or both), please contact the department’s academic advisor for French and Italian Isaura Peña or contact our our Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Julie Van Dam to discuss tailoring our wide range of courses to your academic interests.
Italian Major
If you are interested in declaring a major or a minor in either French or Italian (or both), please contact the department’s academic advisor for French and Italian Isaura Peña or contact our our Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Julie Van Dam to discuss tailoring our wide range of courses to your academic interests.
Graduate Program
If you are interested in the Ph.D. in French and Francophone Studies at USC, we invite you to explore the French and Italian and CSLC websites or contact the Director of Graduate Studies, Edwin C. Hill (edwinhil@usc.edu). We look forward to hearing from you!
Abroad Programs
Our programs abroad combine the excitement of travel with real immersion in another culture. The language truly comes alive through the experience of living with a French or Italian family, sharing their table and traditions, and navigating a new city.
Honors Programs
The B.A. in French or Italian with honors is available to students who have an overall G.P.A. of 3.0 and a G.P.A. of at least 3.5 in courses counted for French or Italian major credit.
Faculty Recognition
News
Looking for Louis Delgrès: Caribbean History and the Epistemologies of Collage, a talk by Dr. Robert Decker
Francophone Research and Resource Center
The Francophone Research and Resource Center (FRC) develops and conducts programs, workshops, conferences, seminars and other activities for those interested teaching or learning French, French literature and French culture. For further information on the FRC’s mission and outreach for Francophone research and resources, please contact Dr. Béatrice Mousli.
