Modern Languages

Modern languages degrees that span three distinct languages offer one of the most ambitious and rewarding programmes of study available to undergraduates. French, Persian, and Ancient Greek each belong to different branches of the Indo-European language family, and together they open access to three quite different cultural, literary, and intellectual traditions. French connects you to Francophone literature, philosophy, film, and the contemporary culture of over seventy countries.

Persian, one of the world's great classical languages, unlocks a poetic and literary tradition of extraordinary richness stretching from medieval Iran to contemporary diaspora culture. Ancient Greek is the language of Homer, Plato, and the New Testament, and reading these texts in the original transforms your understanding of the foundations of Western thought.

At the University of St Andrews, you will develop French to a high level of linguistic proficiency through the study of language, literature, and culture. Alongside this, you will engage with Persian and Greek according to the flexible structure of the programme, building reading competency, cultural knowledge, and the analytical skills that come from working seriously with complex linguistic systems. You will learn to think comparatively about language and culture, and to construct arguments that draw on evidence from literary and historical sources.

The programme runs over five years full-time and leads to an MA (Hons) degree.

Graduates of modern languages programmes combining French, Persian, and Greek are prepared for careers in translation, interpreting, diplomacy, academic research, journalism, international development, and cultural institutions. The combination of rare language skills and broad humanistic training makes graduates highly distinctive in a competitive graduate market. Many continue to postgraduate study in linguistics, comparative literature, Middle Eastern studies, or classical scholarship.