Modern and Medieval Languages, BA (Hons)

Modern and Medieval Languages at Cambridge

You can pursue your interests in many areas, from Italian Renaissance art to contemporary Brazilian cinema and medieval German folk tales to socialist realism in Stalin’s Russia.

This course also includes options in linguistics, such as the historical and cognitive dimensions of the languages you’re studying.

All our students study 2 languages, one of which can be learnt from completely from the beginning, except French and Latin.

No matter what your proficiency when you arrive, you leave with near native-speaker competence in at least one of your languages. Most of our language classes are run by native speakers.

You study 2 of:

• French, if you’re taking it at A level or IB Higher Level
• German
• Italian
• Portuguese
• Russian
• Spanish

Or, you can choose to combine any of these with either:

• Classical Latin. Currently you can only choose this option if you've studied Latin at A level.
• Classical Greek, which you can study at post A level or completely from the beginning

If you wish to combine one of these modern European languages with:

• Arabic, Hebrew or Persian – apply for the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies course
• History – apply for the History and Modern Languages course

In the second and fourth years, it may be possible to take an introductory course in a language and culture you haven’t studied before.

The languages offered are subject to availability, but may include:

• Catalan
• modern Greek
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Ukrainian

You can also take a one-year course at the University Language Centre to get a further language qualification. Courses are available in:

• basic Arabic and Mandarin
• basic, intermediate and advanced French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish

In the third year, you’ll spend at least 8 months abroad in one or two countries. You’ll do one of 3 things:

• go to a foreign university
• become an English-speaking assistant at a school
• complete an internship with a firm

You can say which languages you’re interested in when you apply to study the course. You will be able to change this choice before or after you start on the course.

Teaching and facilities

Teaching

We are a large and diverse Faculty which consists of six sections, whose members are internationally renowned experts in their fields.

Facilities

Our facilities include:

• a well-stocked Faculty library
• Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) facility
• Media Centre, which has equipment for film studies
• bespoke language teaching and learning materials at the Language Centre
• You'll also have access to the impressive Cambridge University Library, one of the world’s oldest university libraries

Course costs

When you go to university, you’ll need to consider two main costs – your tuition fees and your living costs (sometimes referred to as maintenance costs).

Your living costs will include costs related to your studies that are not covered by your tuition fees. There are some general study costs that will apply for all students – you can find details of these costs here.

Other additional course costs for Modern and Medieval Languages are detailed below. If you have any queries about these costs, please contact the Faculty.

Books and set texts

All required reading is held in University and College libraries or available online, but you may choose to buy some books, such as language text books or literary texts for close study. The costs for these books will vary but will typically be up to £50 per year. Some Colleges may provide grants for purchasing books.

Printing and photocopying

You may need to do some printing and photocopying. The use of the printers in the Faculty costs 5p per A4 sheet in black and white, and 20p per A4 sheet in colour. You may typically spend £20 per year on printing and photocopying.

Field trips and study abroad

Year abroad in Year 3: you will be expected to cover daily living costs and any travel costs associated with the year abroad, at a level that would have been incurred whilst studying in Cambridge. Visit our tuition fees page to find out more about tuition fees on your year abroad. For most UK/EU students and most Year Abroad activities, the normal student loans are available to cover maintenance costs and fees. Find out more about year abroad costs on the Faculty website.

Your future career

Fluency in a foreign language, an understanding of foreign cultures, and analytical and research skills are all in great demand on the job market.

Employers, even those who aren’t primarily interested in languages, value the experience, independence and cross-cultural awareness you’ve gained during your year abroad.

As a graduate you’ll have a range of jobs open to you. Recent destinations of our graduates include:

• BBC World Service
• international law firms
• UNICEF
• KPMG

Some graduates acquire further training and become:

• linguists
• language teachers
• translators
• interpreters