Russian Studies and Spanish

Russian studies and Spanish is an ambitious and genuinely international combination, connecting you to two of the world's most geographically extensive and culturally influential languages and to the literary, historical, and political traditions they carry. Russian gives you access to one of the great literary traditions, from Pushkin and Tolstoy through Dostoevsky, Chekhov, and Bulgakov, and to a country whose role in European and global history across the twentieth century and into the present is impossible to understand from the outside. Spanish connects you to a language spoken by more than 500 million people across Europe and the Americas, with a literary tradition that includes Cervantes, Lorca, Borges, and García Márquez, and contemporary relevance in politics, economics, and culture on both sides of the Atlantic.

At the University of Edinburgh, this four-year programme builds genuine proficiency in both Russian and Spanish, taking you through language study alongside literature, cultural history, film, and contemporary society in both the Russian-speaking and Spanish-speaking worlds. You will engage with the major texts and cultural moments of both traditions, develop critical skills in reading and analysis, and learn to move between languages with confidence and intelligence. Edinburgh has distinguished scholarly traditions in both Russian studies and Hispanic studies, and you will benefit from the depth of expertise available across both departments.

The combination of Russian and Spanish expertise is unusual in the UK, and graduates of this programme bring a genuinely distinctive profile to the job market. Careers accessible to graduates include diplomacy and international relations, journalism, translation and interpreting, work with international organisations, academic research, and roles in business and consultancy where knowledge of Russia, Latin America, or the Spanish-speaking world is valued. Postgraduate study in Russian and East European studies, Hispanic studies, or comparative literature is a further option for those wishing to deepen their expertise.