Spanish and Persian

Spanish and Persian is a pairing that the University of Oxford's European and Middle Eastern Languages programme makes possible, and it is one of considerable intellectual interest. Spanish brings access to a vast global community of speakers across Europe, Latin America and beyond, as well as a rich literary, philosophical and historical tradition spanning the medieval to the contemporary. Persian carries the heritage of a major Islamic literary civilisation, encompassing poetry, history, philosophy and administrative prose produced across Iran, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

Together they create a degree that spans from Western Europe to the heart of Asia, developing linguistic competence in two very different language families alongside comparative cultural understanding.

At the University of Oxford this four-year full-time degree gives you rigorous training in both Spanish and Persian, developing reading, writing, speaking and listening in each language alongside engagement with the cultures, literatures and histories they carry. The programme also supports exploration of the cultural links and historical intersections between European and Middle Eastern languages, and a Spanish and Persian combination offers interesting possibilities for the study of Sephardi Jewish history and Ladino, the Judeo-Spanish language that connects the Iberian and Ottoman worlds.

Graduates from Spanish and Persian at Oxford go on to careers in academia, diplomacy, translation, publishing, journalism, international development, cultural organisations and government roles where engagement with Spanish-speaking and Persian-speaking worlds is relevant. The combination of analytical depth, linguistic range and cross-cultural awareness the degree develops is valued across all professional contexts where communication and understanding across cultures matters. Postgraduate study in Hispanic studies, Persian studies, comparative literature, linguistics or area studies is a natural continuation for those pursuing academic careers.