宾夕法尼亚大学的意大利研究与该学科的发展趋势保持一致，该趋势使相关学科领域倍增，并鼓励采用多种关键方法。该课程建立在语言能力要求和文学史核心知识的基础之上，它在时空和社会群体中得到反映，从而开启了具有浓厚意大利文化和大众文化的百科全书世界。该课程允许学生在选择课程时进行自由裁量权控制。<br> <br>意大利研究专业的课程有两个方向或集中方向：1）意大利文学，2）意大利文化。两者的基础都是意大利语，学生将有机会掌握所有四个沟通领域：口语，听力，阅读，写作。在这个坚实的语言基础上，学生可以选择两个方向之一。
The University of Pennsylvania, strong in its interdisciplinary and international dimensions, supports a flourishing Italian Studies Program for Undergraduates. The Program's distinctive configuration reflects our setting on the Penn campus and in the heart of Philadelphia, as well as the the opportunities to study abroad. Students can choose a traditional concentration in language and literature or shape more individualized curriculums that connect to sister programs. Such cross-disciplinary study may engage another Romance Language or reach beyond the Department, through courses sponsored by Comparative Literature and Cinema Studies, and a growing number of electives in Arts and Sciences related to issues of national and ethnic identity. Additionally, at a time when the study of foreign languages at the k-12 level is growing across the country and there is a global need for teachers of English as second language, undergraduate students in the Italian program are eligible to apply for an accelerated program of master's degree study by seeking admission to the Graduate School of Education as submatriculants, in their junior or senior year.