Portuguese and Arabic

Portuguese and Arabic at the University of Oxford is a combination of two globally significant languages with rich and interconnected histories. Portuguese is the language of Brazil, Portugal, and several other nations across Africa and Asia, spoken by more than 250 million people and opening access to some of the world's most dynamic economies and vibrant cultures. Arabic is spoken by more than 300 million people across North Africa, the Middle East, and beyond, and it is the classical language of an intellectual tradition that preserved and extended the knowledge of the ancient world while Europe was in its medieval period.

The historical encounters between the Arabic-speaking world and the Lusophone world, in the Iberian Peninsula, in sub-Saharan Africa, and in the Indian Ocean, give the combination a particular depth.

This four-year full-time programme at Oxford brings together two languages that demand serious linguistic and cultural engagement. The Portuguese strand takes you from strong pre-existing knowledge of the language or starts you from an intermediate level, while the Arabic strand typically begins from an intermediate or advanced position depending on your background. Oxford's tutorial system ensures intensive engagement with both languages and their literary and cultural traditions, and time abroad in Portuguese-speaking and Arabic-speaking countries is central to the programme.

Graduates from this programme pursue careers in diplomacy, international business, journalism, translation and interpretation, international organisations, the law, and academia. The combination of Portuguese and Arabic is genuinely rare, and graduates with serious competence in both are valuable to organisations working across the Lusophone and Arabic-speaking worlds, including development agencies, energy companies with operations in Brazil and the Gulf, and international media organisations. Postgraduate options include Luso-Brazilian studies, Arabic and Islamic studies, translation studies, and international relations.