Greek and Spanish

Greek and Spanish is a combination that spans ancient and modern worlds, bringing together one of the foundational languages of Western civilisation with one of the most widely spoken living languages on earth. Ancient Greek is the language of Homer, Plato, Sophocles, and the New Testament, and knowledge of it opens direct access to a literature of extraordinary richness and diversity. Spanish, spoken across twenty countries and by hundreds of millions of people, connects you to the cultures and intellectual traditions of Latin America, Spain, and the wider Hispanic world.

Studied together, the two languages develop a remarkable range of linguistic and analytical skills.

This four-year full-time programme at the University of St Andrews develops your Greek language ability alongside the literary and cultural analysis skills needed to engage seriously with ancient texts, arguments, and ideas. You will read original Greek works across different genres, building both linguistic competence and the capacity to interpret complex material in its cultural context. The Greek element also develops tools of literary and cultural analysis that are important for understanding intricate problems in any discipline, from philosophy to rhetoric to poetics.

Your Spanish studies run in parallel, developing your modern language proficiency to a high level through spoken and written work, literary study, and cultural engagement. A year abroad is built into the programme, giving you the opportunity to spend time in a Spanish-speaking country, which is essential for reaching genuine fluency and for understanding contemporary Hispanic cultures from the inside.

With a typical entry tariff of 184 points, the programme attracts students who are intellectually ambitious and willing to engage seriously with languages across historical periods and linguistic families.

Graduates from classical and modern language combinations are well placed for careers in law, the diplomatic service, academia, journalism, translation, publishing, education, and international organisations. The analytical rigour developed through classical study combined with practical modern language ability is a genuinely distinctive asset in the graduate labour market.