Modern Languages

French and Italian together open a remarkable span of European culture, literature, history, and contemporary life. Both are Romance languages with deep shared roots and significant divergences in grammar, vocabulary, and usage, and studying them in parallel develops a particularly acute linguistic sensitivity as you learn to hold two closely related but distinct systems in mind at once. Beyond the languages themselves, studying French and Italian gives you access to two of the world's richest literary and cultural traditions.

This four-year full-time programme at the University of Bath develops high-level proficiency in both languages, progressing from your current starting points through structured development in grammar, spoken communication, written expression, and cultural engagement. The programme includes a sandwich year, meaning you will spend a period in a professional working environment before returning to complete your final year. The programme also includes a work placement, providing further real-world context for your language use.

With a typical tariff of 152 points, this is a selective programme that requires genuine commitment and academic ability across two demanding linguistic disciplines.

Bath's strong modern languages department and its close connections with employers across the public and private sectors make it a well-supported environment for language study with a professional dimension. You will develop not only fluency but also the analytical and intercultural communication skills that employers in international organisations, business, and the public sector value highly. The sandwich year in particular is consistently cited by graduates as a transformative part of their degree, whether spent in a French or Italian-speaking country or in a UK organisation that works internationally.

Graduates from French and Italian programmes work in translation and interpreting, international business, the civil service and diplomatic service, education, publishing, journalism, the arts, cultural management, and a wide range of graduate roles where European language skills give a real advantage. Postgraduate study in linguistics, European studies, literature, or a related field is a further option, and many graduates build careers that actively draw on both languages throughout.