Comparative Literature and Spanish

Comparative literature and Spanish is a combination that opens literature across linguistic and cultural boundaries. Comparative literature is the study of texts from different national traditions in relation to each other, asking how literary forms, ideas, and themes travel across languages and cultures, how translation works, what the canon includes and excludes, and what it means to read without borders. As the University of St Andrews describes it, this approach allows students to read texts of any genre, of any period, and written in a multitude of languages, all in English translation, considering the relationships that exist between literatures around the world.

Spanish adds a language specialism that gives you direct access to one of the world's great literary traditions, spoken by hundreds of millions of people across Europe, Latin America, and beyond.

St Andrews' four-year full-time Comparative Literature and Spanish degree has a typical entry tariff of 184 points and includes a year abroad, giving you the chance to live and study in a Spanish-speaking country and deepen both your language competence and your experience of Hispano-phone culture. You will develop Spanish to a high level of proficiency while studying the comparative literature programme, which draws on expertise from across the School of Modern Languages and beyond. The combination develops close reading skills, analytical precision, an understanding of literary theory and criticism, and the ability to think across languages and cultural traditions.

Graduates work in education, publishing, journalism, translation and interpreting, the diplomatic service, cultural organisations, arts administration, and roles in international business where language and cultural knowledge are valued. The analytical and writing skills developed through comparative literature transfer well to law, the civil service, media, and communications. Postgraduate study in comparative literature, Spanish, translation, or a related field is a natural next step for those wishing to develop specialist expertise or pursue academic careers.