History and Spanish

History and Spanish is a degree that takes both of its constituent disciplines seriously, asking you to develop real language proficiency and genuine historical understanding in parallel. History at Manchester is one of the UK's strongest departments, with expertise across a wide range of periods and regions. Spanish opens access to the history, literature, and culture of Spain and Latin America, regions whose histories are inseparable from the wider global narratives that historians study.

Together, the two subjects enrich each other in ways that neither can achieve alone.

This four-year full-time programme includes a sandwich year and a work placement, giving your studies a significant professional dimension. Typically, students in combined language programmes spend part of the year abroad in a Spanish-speaking country, developing their linguistic and cultural competence through immersion alongside academic study. You will study historical periods and themes spanning European, Latin American, and global history, reading primary sources, engaging with historiographical debates, and developing your own extended research projects.

Your Spanish studies will take you through language skills at an advanced level and into the literature, film, and cultural history of the Spanish-speaking world.

Graduates from this programme pursue careers in international business, diplomacy, journalism, the law, the civil service, education, translation, the charity sector, and academia. The combination of historical thinking and language skill is particularly valued in roles that require cross-cultural communication, research, and the ability to engage seriously with unfamiliar contexts. Manchester's reputation in both history and modern languages adds weight to the qualification.

Postgraduate options include history, Hispanic studies, translation, international relations, and law, and the programme's research training provides a strong foundation for doctoral study.