Modern Languages (French and Spanish) and Management
Modern languages combined with management is a degree that equips you to work in international business environments with genuine linguistic competence in two of the world's most widely spoken and commercially significant languages. French opens the cultural, literary, and professional worlds of France and the francophone countries of Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Spanish gives you access to the economies and cultures of Spain and the enormous Spanish-speaking world across Latin America, representing one of the largest communities of speakers of any language on earth.
Management provides the conceptual and practical tools to understand and lead organisations across strategy, marketing, finance, operations, and people.
At the University of St Andrews, this four-year programme leads to an MA (Hons) and develops language and communication skills to a high level of proficiency through the study of French and Spanish language alongside literature, culture, and contemporary society. The management component gives you a rigorous grounding in business and organisational thinking, while the languages create the cross-cultural competence needed to work effectively across different national and cultural contexts. The programme includes a year abroad, which is central to developing the genuine fluency that the degree aims for.
Graduates from modern languages and management degrees are particularly well placed for careers in international business, where organisations value people who combine commercial acumen with the ability to communicate and build relationships across linguistic and cultural boundaries. Roles in international marketing, trade, business development, and cross-border management are among the most direct paths. The civil service, diplomacy, international development, and the media also draw on this combination.
Postgraduate study in business, international management, or languages is a natural next step for those who want to develop specialist expertise.