Romanian and Portuguese

Romanian and Portuguese are two Romance languages with histories, literatures and cultures of striking richness and global reach. Romanian, with its roots in Vulgar Latin and its position as the primary language of Romania and Moldova, carries a fascinating story of linguistic survival and cultural resilience. Portuguese, spoken across four continents by more than 230 million people, is one of the world's most widely used languages, underpinning literary and cultural traditions of enormous scope from Portugal and Brazil to Mozambique, Angola and beyond.

Studying both languages together at University College London opens an unusually broad set of scholarly and professional possibilities.

This four-year joint honours programme divides equally between your two languages. You will study speaking, listening, reading, writing and translation in both Romanian and Portuguese, developing genuine communicative competence alongside deep cultural and critical understanding. Your studies will range across literature, history, film, linguistics and politics, with the flexibility to shape your programme around your particular interests from within a wide variety of available modules.

In the third year you will spend time abroad split between two countries where your languages are spoken, giving you extended immersion that is essential to reaching a high level of linguistic fluency and cultural familiarity.

Graduates with a command of Romanian and Portuguese alongside strong analytical and communication skills are well placed for a wide range of careers. Translation and interpreting, international diplomacy, journalism, law, business roles with a European or Lusophone dimension, cultural organisations and development work are all common destinations. The deep cultural and linguistic competence the degree develops is increasingly valuable in an interconnected world.

Many graduates also go on to postgraduate study in languages, translation, area studies, international relations, or law.