Modern Languages and International Relations
Modern languages and international relations is a degree built on the insight that understanding the world requires both the linguistic capability to access it directly and the analytical frameworks to make sense of what you find. Languages give you entry into cultures, societies and political systems on their own terms; international relations provides the theoretical and historical tools to understand how states, international organisations, non-governmental actors and global forces interact. Together they equip you for a career that operates confidently across national and cultural boundaries.
At the University of Leicester this four-year programme allows you to develop advanced proficiency in your chosen language or languages alongside a serious engagement with the major debates in international relations. You will study theories of international order, the history of the international system, foreign policy analysis, global governance, conflict and security, and contemporary issues in world politics. The languages component develops your reading, writing, speaking and listening to a high level, and brings you into direct contact with the literatures, cultures and current affairs of the countries whose languages you study.
The combination means you graduate with skills that are genuinely scarce, the ability to engage analytically with international questions and to do so in more than one language.
Graduates go on to careers in diplomacy and the foreign service, international organisations, the civil service, journalism, NGOs, development organisations, international law, business, humanitarian work and academic research. The combination of language competence and international relations training is particularly valued by employers in contexts where you need to understand both the analytical and the cultural dimensions of global affairs. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in international relations, development, law or area studies.
The degree is a strong foundation for any career with a genuinely international dimension.