German and Portuguese

German and Portuguese is a combination that opens two very different but equally rich cultural and literary worlds. German is the most widely spoken native language in Europe, the language of Kant, Goethe, and Kafka, of a philosophical tradition that has shaped Western thought profoundly, and of a modern economy and political culture that remain central to European affairs. Portuguese, spoken by hundreds of millions of people across Brazil, Portugal, Africa, and beyond, carries a literary and musical tradition of extraordinary range and emotional depth, from medieval poetry and the epic of Camoes through to twentieth-century modernism and contemporary Brazilian fiction.

At Oxford this four-year full-time programme provides both practical training in written and spoken language and an extensive introduction to the literature and intellectual traditions associated with each language. You will learn to write and speak German and Portuguese fluently, engaging with texts across a broad chronological range from the medieval period to the present day. Oxford's tutorial system means you will spend significant time in one-to-one and small-group teaching, developing your thinking through sustained discussion and regular written work, which produces a particularly high level of rigour and precision in literary and linguistic analysis.

The combination of German and Portuguese is genuinely rare at degree level, making it highly distinctive in the graduate employment market. Alongside literature, the programme offers options to explore linguistics, philology, and other related fields, allowing you to tailor your studies to your developing interests.

Graduates are strongly placed for careers in diplomacy, translation, international business, journalism, publishing, academia, education, and cultural institutions. The combination of German and Portuguese provides exceptional coverage of European and Lusophone markets, and many graduates also go on to postgraduate study in German, Portuguese, or comparative literature.