Italian (Research)

A Masters by Research (MScR) programme is ideal if you would like to complete a short piece of independent research in any area of Italian studies, from medieval to contemporary culture. The programme is a good stepping stone to a PhD, but is equally of value as a stand-alone qualification.

As a Masters by Research student, you will be part of a wider masters community while specialising in what most interests you right from the beginning of the programme. This is how it is different to a taught Masters (MSc).

Italian has been studied at the University of Edinburgh since the eighteenth century. The first lectureship in the subject was established in 1919 and, today, it is a broad area of study involving a sizeable community of teaching and research staff, language tutors, and PhD students.

We founded the Edinburgh Journal of Gadda Studies in 2000 and coordinated the international Edinburgh Gadda Prize. To mark our centenary in 2019, we hosted the Biennial Conference of the Society for Italian Studies.

Research excellence

In the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), our research in Italian was submitted in Modern Languages and Linguistics (Panel D - Arts and Humanities; Unit of Assessment 26).

The results reaffirm Edinburgh’s position as one of the UK’s leading research universities - third in the UK.

As published in Times Higher Education's REF power ratings, this result is based on the quality and breadth of our research in the unit of assessment.

Join our interdisciplinary community and undertake a project comprising research assignments and a 15,000-word dissertation under the guidance of an experienced and well-published supervisor.

Our expertise covers most areas of Italian cultural studies from the Middle Ages to the present, including:

• literary history and theory

• comparative studies

• translation

• film studies

• philology

• philosophy

• intermediality

• cultural studies

• decolonial studies

• digital humanities

• environmental humanities

• political theory

• practice-led research

Go beyond the books

Beyond the Books is a podcast from the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at research and the people who make it happen.

Listen to a mix of PhD, early career and established researchers talk about their journey to and through academia and about their current and recent research. Guests include Dr Emanuela Patti (Series 2 - Episode 8) talking about her research at the intersection of literary, media, and cultural studies.