As one of the humanistic programs of the College of the Liberal Arts, the Italian major is not designed to be directly vocational. Nevertheless, rigorous training in either of the two Italian major options can prepare students for rewarding and unique careers in business, travel, ministry, banking, and education. In addition, the federal government employs liberal arts graduates with foreign-language skills in organizations including the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Information Agency, and the Department of Labor. The Italian major is also preparatory for graduate work directed to the Ph.D. degree required for teaching and research in colleges and universities. Students with degrees in the humanities are particularly successful applicants to professional schools, such as law and medicine.

Italian is the voice of one of the formative cultural traditions of the Western world. The study of Italy and its language offers a rigorous, interdisciplinary exploration of the continuing vitality of modern Italian and Italian American culture though literature, cinema, translation studies, the arts, Roman thought, fashion, tourism, Mediterranean cuisine, and much more. Italian, in its humanistic breadth and depth, offers students access to a wide variety of professional pathways through an emphasis on global communicative understanding and cultural sensitivity. Italian is increasingly important in business; six of the 100 biggest companies are headquartered in Italy, and Italy is the world’s fifth largest industrial producer of goods. Learning a foreign language also improves oral and written skills in English interactions. Penn State's Italian program is small, and prides itself on its capacity to provide individual attention and mentoring to each of its majors and minors.