Virtually every area of instruction at Bard—including the sciences—recognizes in its course offerings the central importance of the Italian contribution to civilization. Italian culture is unique in the extent to which it affects other European and non-European cultures: the Venetians in overseas trade and the Byzantine Empire; Savoy and France; Trieste, Venice, and Milan with the Austro-Hungarian Empire; Sicily with Normandy, Greece, Spain, and Islam. Contemporary aspects of German and Eastern European history—fascism and the Balkans are obvious examples—cannot be considered in isolation from Italian History.

The Italian Studies Program offers the means to explore any number of interests in Italy's cultural heritage —literature, history, cinema, art history, music,—in the most authentic and essential manner possible in the language in which it was created. The Program places a primacy on fluency in reading, writing and translating the Italian language, which students can accomplish through the eight-credit accelerated language course offered in an indivisible year-long course, every academic year, which is then followed by a month of study in Italy. Students complete first-year grammar approximately by March of the second semester and finish the course with intensive language review and cultural activities (film, literature, music, interactive internet, vel sim). Upon successful completion of this course, students enroll in 200-level Italian courses, which are specifically designed to review and improve language skills while working on significant cultural topics and literary texts.

The First Two Years and Moderation
At Moderation, the student is expected to have gained basic proficiency in the Italian language, and therefore have taken three semesters (or the equivalent) of language and two courses focusing on some aspect of Italian culture. The student presents the Moderation Board (composed of members of the Italian Studies Program and external faculty according to the student's particular interests and area of specialization), with the customary short papers outlining past academic achievements and a proposed program of study for the next two years, a ten-page analytical essay in English based on past coursework, and a project in Italian (a representative essay, translation, performance, tape, artwork) which demonstrates the ability to collect and integrate material with the skills needed to undertake and complete a significant Senior Project.

The Second Two Years and Senior Project
After Moderation each student follows an individual plan of study worked out with the adviser. One two-semester course in the student's final year is devoted to the Senior Project, a major work demonstrating the student's mastery of some aspect of the Italian language and culture. The project is not limited to a written study, but may be a film, photographic essay, or another form appropriate to the topic.