Politics and Language

Combining politics with a modern language opens up both a wider frame of analysis and a more direct engagement with the world than either discipline alone can provide. Understanding political systems, international relations, and governance is deepened enormously when you can access primary sources, follow public debate, and communicate directly in the language of the societies you are studying. The combination prepares you to engage with politics as a genuinely global phenomenon rather than one filtered through translation and cultural distance.

At Birkbeck College, this three-year full-time programme allows you to pursue advanced study in one language chosen from French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Korean, or Mandarin Chinese, alongside a rigorous engagement with political theory, comparative government, international relations, and the cultural contexts that shape political life. You will develop real competence in your chosen language, building reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills to a level that enables you to engage with academic and public discourse in that language. At the same time, you will study political ideas and institutions from a range of theoretical perspectives, examining how power is organised and contested in contemporary societies across the world.

Birkbeck's distinctive offering as an evening university means the programme is designed for students who combine study with other commitments, making it accessible to a wider range of learners.

Graduates are well-placed for careers in diplomacy, the civil service, international organisations, journalism, translation and interpreting, education, and the charity sector. The combination of language competence and political knowledge is particularly valued in roles that require cross-cultural communication and international expertise. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in international relations, area studies, politics, or translation.