Portuguese/Greek

Portuguese and Greek is a combination that brings together one of the world's most widely spoken modern languages with the classical language of ancient Greece, creating an unusual but intellectually rich programme that spans the contemporary world and the ancient Mediterranean. Portuguese is spoken natively by over 250 million people across Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, and other nations, making it the sixth most widely spoken language in the world and one with significant literary and cultural traditions. Ancient Greek opens access to one of the great intellectual and artistic legacies of human history, from Homer and the tragedians through the historians, philosophers, and orators of the classical period, as the current description reflects.

At the University of Glasgow, this five-year full-time programme develops both subjects with genuine depth. In your Greek studies, you will work with the language in its ancient forms, developing the ability to read Homer, Athenian tragedy and comedy, the orators and historians, and philosophers such as Plato in the original, alongside study of Greek political and social history, religion, philosophy, and art. This requires a significant commitment to language learning but rewards it with access to texts that no translation fully captures.

In Portuguese, you will develop contemporary linguistic proficiency alongside engagement with the literary and cultural traditions of the Portuguese-speaking world in both European and Brazilian contexts.

The programme includes a sandwich year and work placement, providing professional experience in a relevant context, which might include work in a Portuguese-speaking country, a cultural organisation, an educational setting, or another environment where your language skills and humanities training are applicable.

Graduates from Portuguese and Greek programmes pursue careers in classics teaching and research, translation and interpreting, cultural heritage, international organisations with Portuguese-speaking members, journalism, publishing, education, and the diplomatic service. Postgraduate study in classics, Greek studies, or Portuguese supports those with research or specialist career ambitions.