Modern Languages (Arabic and Italian) and International Relations

Arabic, Italian, and international relations is a rare and ambitious combination that opens access to two of the world's most historically and culturally significant language traditions while grounding your understanding in the frameworks of international politics. Arabic is by far the most widely spoken language of the Middle East, carrying both a classical literary tradition of enormous depth and a vital contemporary relevance to some of the world's most significant political and diplomatic questions. Italian is one of the great romance languages, with a rich heritage in literature, art, music, and philosophy, and a central place in contemporary European affairs.

International relations provides the conceptual tools to understand how states, organisations, and peoples interact across borders.

At the University of St Andrews, this four-year full-time programme allows you to pursue Arabic alongside Italian and international relations as part of a joint honours degree. You will develop practical language skills in both languages, alongside the cultural and literary understanding that serious language study demands. The international relations element equips you to analyse global politics, diplomacy, and the forces that shape international order.

The combination invites genuinely comparative thinking across different languages, cultures, histories, and political systems. In your third year you will spend a year abroad, deepening both your linguistic immersion and your international perspective.

Graduates from this combination are well placed for careers in diplomacy, the foreign office, international organisations, journalism, international business, development agencies, NGOs, academic research, and translation. The rarity of Arabic competence combined with Italian and a grounding in international relations is a genuinely distinctive profile that opens doors across the most internationally engaged sectors. Postgraduate study in Arabic and Islamic studies, international relations, area studies, or translation is a natural continuation.