History and French

History and French at the University of Oxford is a degree that brings together one of the world's great intellectual traditions with the language and culture of France and the French-speaking world. History at Oxford develops your ability to work with primary sources across different periods, to engage critically with historiographical debates, and to construct sustained arguments about the past with rigour and clarity. French develops linguistic competence and cultural knowledge, giving you access to French literature, thought, and society across several centuries, and to the political and intellectual history that has made France one of Europe's most influential nations.

This four-year full-time programme is taught through the tutorial system, which means that much of your learning takes place in intensive one-to-one or small-group sessions with scholars who are specialists in the areas you are studying. You will have the opportunity to pursue both subjects with genuine depth, reading widely in the history of different periods alongside developing your French to a high level of written, spoken, and analytical competence. The integration of the two subjects is intellectually productive: your historical knowledge enriches your understanding of French literary and cultural texts, while your engagement with French primary sources, many of which have been central to European historical debate, deepens your historical inquiry.

Oxford's libraries, including the Bodleian, provide exceptional resources for both historical research and literary study. The intellectual community of students and tutors is demanding and stimulating in equal measure.

Graduates pursue careers in the civil service, law, academia, journalism, international organisations, finance, publishing, and education. Many continue to doctoral research in history, French studies, or comparative historical topics. The combination of historical rigour and French linguistic competence is particularly valued in careers with a European dimension.