Romanian and Serbian/Croatian

Romanian and Serbian/Croatian brings together two of the most significant but least studied language groups in Europe, offering linguistic and cultural access to a region of enormous historical complexity and contemporary importance. Romanian belongs to the Romance family, descending directly from Vulgar Latin and retaining traces of the region's ancient and medieval history. Serbian and Croatian are South Slavic languages that are largely mutually intelligible and the primary languages of millions of people across the former Yugoslav space, a region whose recent history has generated urgent questions about nationalism, identity, and reconciliation.

At University College London you will develop genuine linguistic proficiency in both languages over four years full time, building the ability to read literature and journalism, engage with contemporary media, and communicate with native speakers. Alongside language learning you will study the histories, cultures, and politics of Romania and the Serbian/Croatian-speaking countries, exploring questions that range from Ottoman and Habsburg legacies to post-communist transition and European integration. The ability to read primary sources in both languages gives you access to perspectives that are rarely available in translation.

UCL's location in London and its strong international research networks make it an excellent base for this kind of specialist study. The programme trains the kind of careful attention to language and meaning, and the habit of understanding things in their contexts, that are valued across many professions.

Graduates go on to careers in diplomacy, international organisations, journalism, NGOs, business in the region, translation and interpreting, academia, and the civil service. The combination of rare language skills and substantive regional knowledge is in real demand. Many also continue to postgraduate study in area studies, European history, or languages.