Modern Languages / International Relations

Modern Languages and International Relations is a combination that addresses the world's most pressing challenges from two deeply compatible perspectives. International relations provides the analytical frameworks for understanding how states, international organisations, and non-state actors interact, examining questions of security, trade, human rights, climate governance, and the structures of global power. Modern languages gives you the linguistic and cultural competence to engage directly with non-Anglophone countries, cultures, and literatures, moving beyond the mediated understanding that English-only education provides.

At Aberystwyth University, this four-year, full-time programme allows you to combine international relations with your chosen modern language, developing both your analytical understanding of global affairs and your linguistic competence in a specific language and cultural tradition. The international relations component examines global challenges and the opportunities and obstacles that shape how they are managed, while the language strand develops your proficiency in speaking, reading, writing, and listening, alongside an understanding of the literature, culture, and art associated with your chosen language. Aberystwyth's Department of International Politics is one of the oldest and most distinguished in the world, and the language provision reflects the university's commitment to genuinely international education.

Graduates of Modern Languages and International Relations are well placed for careers in diplomacy, international organisations, foreign policy, journalism, development work, international business, and the civil service. The combination of rigorous political analysis and genuine language competence is rare and highly valued by organisations that operate across cultural and linguistic boundaries. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in international relations, area studies, or modern languages, building specialist expertise for research or senior professional roles.