U-ROM-AB - Romance Studies (AB)

Five major-level departmental FL courses, in each of the two fields of study (see the descriptions of the single-language majors). The entry-level course for credit in the Romance studies major is the same as the entry level course for the minor in each of the French, Italian, and Spanish fields, i.e. French 204, Italian 203, and Spanish 301. 

Students with unusual depth of study in Creole or Portuguese may petition the Romance studies faculty to unite one of the above sequences of five FL departmental courses with a combination of three courses and a required thesis (involving two semesters of independent study courses) in Creole or Portuguese. The Romance studies major in French, Italian, or Spanish and Creole or Portuguese therefore requires unusual initiative and experience in the field of either Creole or Portuguese. Petitions to undertake this option must include a one-page abstract of the project, a bibliography, and the names of three committee members who have consented to serve on the thesis committee.

International/Experiential Learning Requirements for the Romance Studies Major

To ensure breadth and depth of learning and linguistic/cultural immersion, any student completing the Romance Studies major must also complete two of the following international and/or experiential learning experiences related to their fields of Romance study. Each of these must be approved by the director of undergraduate studies:

• study abroad (up to two programs may be counted);

• an appropriate DukeEngage or another Duke service and/or experiential learning program;

• research experience related to the Romance language/culture field in a humanities lab, a fellowship, a research independent study, research assistantship, professional research environment, etc.;

• an honor’s thesis uniting the two fields; or

• a certificate in a related field with content directly related to that of the fields of language/culture study.