German and Spanish

German and Spanish is a combination that connects two of Europe's most widely spoken and globally significant languages. German is the most spoken native language in the European Union and the language of one of Europe's largest and most influential economies, with a literary and philosophical tradition of extraordinary depth. Spanish is spoken by hundreds of millions of people across Europe and Latin America, giving it a reach and cultural diversity that few languages can match.

Studied together at the University of St Andrews, they equip you with communicative competence and cultural knowledge across both linguistic worlds.

This four-year MA (Hons) programme builds your proficiency in both languages to a high level, developing the ability to read, write and communicate with sophistication in German and Spanish. You will engage with the literatures, histories, cultures and contemporary societies of both the German-speaking and Hispanic worlds, learning to analyse texts and cultural materials critically and to understand them in their historical and social contexts. A year abroad is built into the programme, giving you the opportunity to develop linguistic fluency through immersive experience in a German-speaking or Spanish-speaking country, which is one of the most effective ways of consolidating and accelerating language learning.

Graduates of German and Spanish are well placed for careers in international business, translation and interpreting, diplomacy, European and international organisations, journalism, publishing, education, law and the civil service. The combination of two major European and international languages makes graduates genuinely competitive in any role with a European or Latin American dimension. Many go on to postgraduate study in languages, linguistics, translation studies or area studies, and the year abroad experience tends to be valued by employers across a wide range of sectors.