English Studies and French

English studies and French is a combination that develops two of the most important skills a humanities graduate can have: the ability to read and write with critical precision in English and the ability to engage with one of the world's great literary and cultural traditions in its own language. English studies develops your capacity for close reading, critical argument and cultural analysis across a wide range of texts and periods. French adds a linguistic and intercultural dimension, opening the literature, thought and contemporary life of the Francophone world to direct engagement rather than mediated translation.

At the University of Stirling this four-year programme combines the breadth and depth of an English studies education with the language development and cultural knowledge that serious French study demands. You will read widely in English and engage with major works of French literature from the medieval period through to the present, developing the ability to analyse texts in both languages in their historical and social contexts. A year abroad is embedded in the four-year structure, giving you the opportunity to develop your French in an immersive context and to experience Francophone culture from the inside, which is one of the most transformative aspects of a modern languages education.

Graduates are well placed for careers in which strong reading and writing skills are combined with the ability to engage across cultural and linguistic boundaries. Translation, publishing, teaching, journalism, cultural and arts administration, communications, the civil service and international organisations are among the most common destinations. The year abroad experience and the linguistic competence developed in French are particular assets in any role with a European or Francophone dimension.

Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in English literature, French, translation studies or a related field.