Italian and Modern Greek

Italian and Modern Greek represent two of the great languages of Mediterranean Europe, each carrying a literary and cultural tradition of extraordinary richness. Italian is the language of Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, and the Renaissance, and remains one of the most widely studied and loved languages in the world, central to art history, music, and European culture more broadly. Modern Greek is the living descendant of one of the most influential languages in human history, connecting contemporary Greek society to an ancient philosophical and literary heritage while also giving access to a vibrant and complex modern nation at the crossroads of Europe and the eastern Mediterranean.

At the University of Oxford, this four-year programme combines serious advanced language study with deep engagement with the intellectual, literary, and cultural traditions of Italy and Greece. You will work intensively on both languages, developing your reading, writing, speaking, and listening to a high level, and you will engage with literature in the original, from classical and Renaissance Italian texts to modern Greek prose and poetry. The programme draws on Oxford's outstanding scholars in both Italian and Modern Greek studies and benefits from the tutorial system, which provides exceptionally close and rigorous academic engagement.

You will develop the analytical, interpretive, and critical skills that come from reading difficult and important texts with care and from arguing about them in a demanding intellectual environment.

Graduates from Oxford with this combination of languages are exceptionally well prepared for careers in diplomacy, the foreign service, translation and interpreting, academic research, journalism, publishing, cultural institutions, and international business. The combination of Italian and Greek, covering both Western Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, is rare and valuable. Further study at postgraduate level in Italian studies, Byzantine studies, Mediterranean history, or comparative literature is also a natural pathway.