Russian and Spanish

Russian and Spanish brings together two of the world's most significant languages and the vast, contrasting cultural and political worlds they open up. Russian connects you to one of the great literary traditions, home to Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Akhmatova, and Bulgakov, and to a country whose role in twentieth-century history, from the revolution and the Soviet project through to contemporary geopolitics, is impossible to understand from the outside alone. Spanish connects you to more than 500 million speakers across Spain, Latin America, and elsewhere, to a literary tradition of extraordinary breadth, and to contemporary social and political developments across two continents.

Together, the two languages give you a genuinely rare and international profile.

At Queen Mary University of London, this four-year programme builds proficiency in both languages alongside the study of their literatures, cultures, film, and history. You will learn to read, write, and speak in both Russian and Spanish at an advanced level, engaging with literary and cultural texts in the original. The programme develops critical and analytical skills through close reading, essay writing, and seminar discussion, and you will gain a comparative perspective on the two linguistic and cultural worlds you are inhabiting simultaneously.

Queen Mary's location in east London, one of the most diverse parts of one of the world's most multilingual cities, provides an enriching context for language learning and cultural study.

Graduates of Russian and Spanish programmes are notable for their rarity and the breadth of their expertise. Career routes include diplomacy and international relations, journalism, translation and interpreting, academic research, international organisations, and business roles where knowledge of both the Russian-speaking and Spanish-speaking worlds is valued. Postgraduate study in Russian studies, Hispanic studies, or comparative literature is a natural further step for those who wish to deepen their expertise.