German and Romanian

German and Romanian at University College London is a genuinely unusual pairing that connects the dominant language of Central Europe with the principal language of South-Eastern Europe. German is the most widely spoken first language in the EU, the language of Goethe, Kafka, and Brecht, and a major medium of European philosophy, science, and political thought. Romanian is a Romance language, the only one in Eastern Europe, descended from Latin and shaped by centuries of contact with Slavic, Turkish, and Hungarian neighbours.

Romania's history, from the principalities of the medieval period through Ottoman and Habsburg influence to communism and its violent end in 1989, is among the most dramatic in Europe, and Romanian culture, from its folklore and oral traditions to the films of the Romanian New Wave, is increasingly recognised internationally.

At UCL, this four-year programme develops genuine proficiency in both languages, with literary and cultural study conducted in each. You will study the major texts and traditions of German and Romanian literature and culture, develop oral and written fluency in both languages, and engage with the historical and contemporary contexts of both the German-speaking and Romanian-speaking worlds. UCL has exceptional scholarly resources in German studies and a strong Slavonic and East European studies department that covers Romanian, giving the programme a depth of academic expertise that is rare in UK higher education.

Graduates with genuine competence in German and Romanian are rare, and this combination opens distinctive career paths in diplomacy, international business particularly in Central and Eastern European markets, translation, journalism, academic research, and European institutions. Postgraduate study in German studies, Romanian studies, or comparative European languages is a natural further direction.