English and German

English and German is a combination with a strong intellectual logic. English literature spans nearly a thousand years, from Beowulf through the Elizabethan and Romantic periods to modernism and contemporary writing, and studying it in depth develops close reading skills, critical thinking, and a sustained engagement with the ideas and values that literary culture has carried across the centuries. German literature is one of the great European literary traditions, encompassing Goethe, Schiller, Kleist, Heine, Kafka, Thomas Mann, and Brecht among many others, and studying it in the original language gives you access to both the texts and the broader culture, philosophy, and history in which they are embedded.

Together the two traditions enrich each other, and the comparative dimension deepens your understanding of both.

At the University of St Andrews, this four-year programme carries a typical entry tariff of 200 points and includes a year abroad, reflecting both the demanding academic standards of one of the UK's most selective universities and the importance of extended immersion in a German-speaking environment for developing genuine linguistic and cultural competence. You will be taught to close read texts across a range of genres and historical eras in both English and German, considering the ideas, human values, and historical forces that have shaped the literature of both traditions. The year abroad, typically involving time studying at a German-language university, deepens your linguistic fluency and your first-hand engagement with German culture.

Graduates of English and German programmes work in education, publishing, translation, journalism, diplomacy, international organisations, and the full range of roles where both deep literary and analytical skills and foreign language competence are valued. Postgraduate study in English literature, German, or comparative literature is a natural further step.