Comparative Literatures and Cultures and Modern Languages

Comparative literature and cultures takes a deliberately international approach to the study of texts, asking not what a single literary tradition has produced but how different traditions relate to one another, how ideas and forms travel across languages and borders, and what comparisons between literatures in different languages reveal about both. Combined with the serious study of a modern language or languages, it becomes a particularly powerful qualification, giving you the linguistic access to read across cultures in the original and the critical framework to make sense of what you find.

At the University of Exeter you will study this three-year programme with the option of a four-year version that includes an international placement year, giving you the opportunity to immerse yourself in the language and culture of your chosen country through study or work abroad. The three-year programme itself is substantial in its international scope, combining literary and cultural study across languages with practical language development. A sandwich year and a work placement are embedded in the programme, providing professional experience alongside your academic study.

You will develop strong skills in critical reading, translation, cultural analysis and comparative argument, working with texts from multiple traditions and learning to situate them in their cultural and historical contexts.

Graduates of this degree are well prepared for careers in translation and interpreting, publishing, journalism, international business and diplomacy, the cultural sector, education, and postgraduate study in literary or cultural fields. The combination of linguistic proficiency and critical thinking is valued by any employer operating across national and cultural boundaries. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in comparative literature, translation studies, cultural theory, European studies or a language-specific discipline, deepening the expertise the undergraduate degree has given them.

For students who want to engage with literature and culture in the widest possible way, this programme provides an intellectually ambitious and practically grounded foundation.