Modern and Medieval Languages

Cambridge offers exceptional opportunities to study the languages and cultures of most European (and many non-European) countries. Our students acquire advanced linguistic and critical skills, as well as intercultural sensitivity, which places them among the most sought-after graduates on the job market.

Modern and Medieval Languages (MML) at Cambridge

The Cambridge course is uniquely flexible and interdisciplinary. You can pursue your interests in many areas – from Italian Renaissance art to contemporary Brazilian cinema, medieval German folk tales to socialist realism in Stalin’s Russia. MML also includes options in linguistics, such as the historical and cognitive dimensions of the languages you’re studying.

All our students study two languages, one of which can be learnt from scratch (the exceptions being French and Latin, for which A Level/IB Higher Level standard is required). No matter what your proficiency when you arrive, you leave with near native-speaker competence in at least one of your languages. Most of our language classes are run by native speakers.

Our Faculty is one of the largest in the country. It consists of six departments, whose members are internationally renowned experts in their fields. In the Guardian University Guide 2016, Cambridge came top for modern languages and linguistics. 

Languages available

You study two languages for at least the first two years of the course. You can choose from:

• French
• German
• Italian
• Portuguese
• Russian
• Spanish

Alternatively, you can combine any of these with either Classical Latin (if you’re taking it at A Level/IB Higher Level) or Classical Greek (which can be studied post-A Level or from scratch).

If you wish to combine one of these modern European languages with Arabic, Hebrew or Persian, you can do so by applying for the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies degree course.

It is also possible to combine one of these modern European languages with History –  see History and Modern Languages course.

Facilities and resources

Our students make use of the very well-stocked Faculty library, the Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) Facility, and the Media Centre (which has all the equipment for film studies), as well as bespoke language teaching and learning materials at the Language Centre. 

A year in...

MML students spend their third year abroad in one of three ways: they attend a foreign university, become an English-speaking assistant at a school, or do an internship with a firm. In the past, some have:

• worked at a lifestyle TV channel in Paris
• studied history at the Humboldt University in Berlin
• taught English as a British Council assistant in Buenos Aires
• conducted an orchestra in St Petersburg

You can tailor your year abroad to suit your own interests and later career goals, providing you spend at least eight months abroad and are constantly immersed in one of the foreign languages you’re studying.

If you wish you can split the year between two countries, spending at least three months in each - see the Faculty website for information about the year abroad.

Careers

Fluency in a foreign language, an understanding of foreign cultures, analytical and research skills are all in great demand on the job market. Employers – even those who aren’t primarily interested in languages – particularly value the experience, independence and cross-cultural awareness our graduates have gained during their year abroad.

Most graduates use their languages in their work, and all build on the many skills developed during their degree. Our graduates find an array of different jobs open to them. Recent destinations include the BBC World Service, international law firms, UNICEF, and KPMG.

For a small number, the degree is more directly vocational: they become professional linguists (language teachers, translators or interpreters), usually after further specialised training. Further information on what our graduates go on to do is available on the Faculty website.

Want to study more than two languages?

In the second and fourth years, it may be possible to take an introductory course in a language and culture you haven’t studied before. The languages offered are subject to availability but may include Catalan, Dutch, modern Greek, Polish, Portuguese and Ukrainian.

Another possibility (open to any member of the University) is to take a one-year course at the University Language Centre to obtain a further language qualification. Courses are available in basic Arabic and Mandarin; and in basic, intermediate and advanced French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish.

Diploma and certificate courses may be available through the Faculty. Please visit the Faculty website or contact the Faculty Office for more information.

Teaching is made up of lectures, seminars, language classes, intensive oral work in small groups, and supervisions. For your supervisions, you prepare written work which you then discuss with a specialist in the field. In your first year, you can generally expect around 12-14 hours of teaching each week.

You’re assessed at the end of each year, primarily through written and oral examinations, and the submission of an extended research project (usually a dissertation) at the end of Year 3. You may also offer a second dissertation instead of one of the Part II written examination papers.

Year 1 (Part IA)

Developing your language skills

You study two languages, at least one at post-A Level/IB Higher Level standard. You should indicate which languages you’re interested in studying in your Supplementary Application Questionnaire (SAQ). The choice isn’t final, and many students change their mind before (or after) they start.

The main emphasis in Year 1 is on developing your language skills, taught by a range of methods including Faculty classes of up to 15 students, and supervisions in groups of two or three. You also take an introductory paper in which you explore three or more of the following topics:

• literature
• linguistics
• history
• thought
• film
• art

Year 2 (Part IB)

In your second year, you take five papers in total. You continue intensive language study with the aim of acquiring native or near-native fluency in both languages, and choose from a wide range of papers covering topics such as:

• literature
• history
• linguistics
• film
• thought
• art
• an introduction to a language and culture you haven’t studied before

You have the option to replace one exam with coursework in the second year.

Years 3 and 4 (Part II)

Specialisation and options

Year 3

In the third year, you spend at least eight months abroad, during which time you prepare a project that counts as one sixth of your final mark. This can be a dissertation, a translation project or a linguistics project.

Just before the fourth year starts, you take an oral examination back in Cambridge.

Year 4

You take six papers and are free to specialise in one language, to combine options from two or more languages, to take comparative options and/or to take up to two options from certain other courses (eg English, History).

You do advanced language work and focus on topics such as literature, linguistics, thought, history, film etc in one or two of your languages.

There are also a number of comparative papers on offer which allows you to combine the study of both of your languages. These currently include papers on European film, the body, and the linguistics of the Germanic, Romance, and Slavonic language families. Many students replace one of their written papers with a further dissertation (currently 8,000-10,000 words).

• All applicants to the University of Cambridge must submit an application to UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) by the relevant deadline.
• The Attestat o (polnom) Srednem Obshchem Obrazovanii (Certificate of Secondary Education) is not considered to be suitable preparation for a competitive application to the University of Cambridge. We strongly recommend that you undertake further study if you wish to apply for an undergraduate degree. Examples of the qualifications that would be considered suitable for admission to Cambridge are A Levels, the International Baccalaureate (IB), five or more Advanced Placement (AP) courses, or possibly the first year of an undergraduate degree at a university outside the UK. We recommend that you contact the College that you wish to apply to directly for further advice and guidance.
• IELTS – normally a minimum overall grade of 7.5, usually with 7.0 or above in each element.
• Cambridge English: Advanced – grade A or B.
• Cambridge English: Proficiency – grade A, B or C.

Admission assessment

All applicants for MML are required to take a written assessment at interview, if interviewed.

Assessment format

• Discursive response in Foreign Language (40 minutes)
• Discursive response in English (20 minutes)

 Modern and Medieval Languages Admissions Assessment Specification
 Modern and Medieval Languages Admissions Assessment 2016

You do not need to register or be registered in advance for the assessment at interview – the Colleges provide details of arrangements in the letters inviting applicants to interview.

Applicants wishing to combine a modern European language with Classical Latin or Classical Greek will have their classical language assessed during the interview, in addition to the MML written assessment.

Please note that your performance in the assessment(s) at interview will not be considered in isolation, but will be taken into account alongside the other elements of your application.

• Cambridge Commonwealth, European and International Trust

Your living expenses may be higher than for a Home student (eg if you stay in Cambridge/the UK during vacations). The minimum resources needed in Cambridge for the year (excluding tuition and College fees) are estimated to be approximately £10,080 in 2017-18 and £10,310 in 2018-19, depending on lifestyle (you should allow for increases in future years).