Modern Languages (French and Italian) and Classical Studies

Modern languages combining French and Italian alongside classical studies is a degree that places the richness of three cultural and intellectual traditions in productive dialogue with each other. French and Italian are two of the great literary languages of Europe, each carrying centuries of philosophical, poetic, narrative, and theatrical achievement. Classical studies adds the ancient foundations from which so much of European thought and culture emerged: the literature, philosophy, history, and languages of Greece and Rome, whose influence on both French and Italian culture is pervasive and deep.

At the University of St Andrews you will study across four years on a full-time programme, with a year abroad that takes your modern language learning to a high level of proficiency in an immersive environment. As an MA (Hons) student of French you will develop language and communications skills through the study of French and Francophone language, literature, and culture, from medieval texts to contemporary writing. The Italian strand develops a parallel depth in the language and literature of Italy, giving you access to one of the world's richest artistic and intellectual traditions in its own language.

Classical studies contributes historical and philosophical depth, examining how the Greek and Roman worlds shaped the literary and intellectual frameworks through which French and Italian writers have thought and worked for centuries. The combination is demanding but produces graduates with a genuinely unusual breadth of cultural and linguistic competence.

Graduates of this combination enter careers in diplomacy, international organisations, translation and interpreting, publishing, journalism, academia, education, arts administration, and cultural organisations, where the combination of French, Italian, and classical learning opens doors that no single discipline could. Teaching in modern languages and classical subjects at secondary and university level is a well-established direction. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in comparative literature, translation, classical studies, or modern languages, and St Andrews' reputation in these fields supports competitive applications.