Arabic and Spanish

Arabic and Spanish share a history that is unique among language pairings: for nearly eight centuries, from 711 to 1492 CE, much of the Iberian Peninsula was governed by Arabic-speaking Muslim rulers, and the cultural, linguistic, and intellectual exchange between Arabic and Spanish speakers during that period produced one of the most significant episodes of cross-cultural contact in European history. Studying both languages together at degree level is therefore not simply about acquiring two separate sets of linguistic skills; it is about engaging with a shared history and the ongoing interactions between Arabic and Spanish-speaking worlds.

At the University of Edinburgh this four-year, full-time programme develops your written and spoken skills in both Arabic and Spanish to a high level of proficiency, while also exploring the cultural impact of both languages and the historical interaction between their speakers. You will engage with Arabic and Spanish literature, culture, history, and contemporary society, developing the analytical and communicative skills that dual-language study demands. Edinburgh is one of the UK's leading universities for the study of both languages, with specialist staff in Arabic and Hispanic studies whose research brings depth and currency to the teaching.

Graduates with Arabic and Spanish are exceptionally versatile internationally. Many move into diplomacy, the foreign service, international organisations, and roles in international development where knowledge of both the Middle East and the Spanish-speaking world is genuinely rare and valued. Others build careers in international journalism, translation, international business, and consulting with a focus on Arabic or Spanish-speaking markets.

Teaching, academic research, and cultural work are also well-established paths. The combination opens career opportunities across an unusually wide geographic and cultural range, and postgraduate study in Arabic, Spanish, translation, Middle East studies, or Latin American studies is available for those who want to develop deeper expertise in a particular direction.