Modern Languages (Arabic and Persian) and English

Arabic, Persian, and English at the University of St Andrews is a four-year programme of remarkable intellectual breadth, bringing together two of the most significant languages of the Middle East and South Asia with the study of one of the world's major literary traditions. Arabic is spoken by hundreds of millions of people across the Arab world and is the liturgical language of Islam; Persian has been a prestige language of scholarship, poetry, and governance across a vast geographical sweep from Iran to Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, producing a literary tradition whose influence on world literature is profound; English literature spans more than a thousand years and a global range of writers. Combining all three over four years, with a year abroad, produces a graduate with genuinely unusual scholarly depth and cross-cultural range.

You will develop practical proficiency in Arabic and Persian alongside sustained engagement with English literature, learning to read texts in their original languages and to bring comparative perspectives from three very different cultural and linguistic traditions. The year abroad takes your linguistic and cultural learning beyond the university, placing you in environments where your language skills can develop through real-world use and encounter.

A typical entry tariff of 200 points reflects the selectivity of the programme. Graduates are exceptionally well placed for careers in academia, the diplomatic service, international journalism, area studies research, translation and interpreting, international organisations, and cultural and heritage institutions. Many continue to doctoral research in Arabic studies, Persian studies, comparative literature, or related fields.