Linguistics with French

Linguistics with French is a degree that combines the scientific study of language as a system with the practical development of advanced French language proficiency. Linguistics is the systematic analysis of how language works, encompassing its sound systems, grammar, meaning, use in social contexts, how it is acquired, and how it varies and changes. French, taught with a focus on society, politics, and culture, is developed through immersive teaching that includes instruction in the language itself, guided by staff who are often native speakers and who support you in developing fluency and cultural knowledge rapidly.

At the University of York, this three-year full-time programme allows you to combine your development of French proficiency, whether you begin as a beginner (ab initio) or with prior knowledge, with a rigorous academic understanding of how language works at every level. You will study phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics alongside your French language and cultural modules, developing both the practical and the analytical dimensions of language study. A sandwich year with a work placement gives you direct professional experience in a French-speaking or language-related professional environment.

Entry typically requires around 136 UCAS tariff points.

Graduates of linguistics with French work in translation, interpreting, speech and language therapy (with further training), language teaching, publishing, journalism, the civil service, international business, and a wide range of roles where both deep language knowledge and analytical linguistic understanding are valued. Many graduates also continue to postgraduate study in linguistics, French studies, or applied linguistics.