Modern Languages and Economics
Modern languages combined with economics is a pairing that brings together cultural intelligence and analytical rigour in a way that few other degree combinations match. A modern language develops high-level proficiency in a foreign language alongside deep engagement with the cultures, literatures, and intellectual traditions those languages carry. Economics provides the quantitative and conceptual tools to understand how economies work, how resources are allocated, how markets function and fail, and how policy choices affect the wellbeing of individuals and societies.
Together, the two disciplines equip you to operate with precision and fluency in international professional contexts that demand both analytical and intercultural competence.
At the University of Reading, this four-year programme integrates language study with economics in a genuinely combined curriculum. You will study your chosen language or languages to an advanced level throughout the programme, working on reading, writing, speaking, and listening while also engaging with the cultural and literary traditions associated with the language. In economics, you will develop both micro and macroeconomic understanding, quantitative skills, and the ability to analyse economic problems and policies with evidence and rigour.
Reading has strong departments in both modern languages and economics, and the programme draws on the expertise of both.
Graduates with this combination of language proficiency and economic understanding are particularly well suited to careers in international business, banking and finance, international organisations, economic consulting, government, the foreign service, and development economics. The ability to conduct economic analysis while also operating in another language is genuinely rare and valued in a wide range of professional contexts. Further postgraduate study in economics, finance, area studies, or development is also a natural progression for graduates who want to deepen their expertise.