History and Modern Languages, BA (Hons)

History and Modern Languages at Cambridge

This course gives you an insight into the cultures of other countries. You'll also develop an understanding of the past and present in global contexts.

This 4-year course includes intensive study in:

• language
• culture
• film
• the history of political thought
• a wide variety of modern British, European, American and world history

Like other language students, you’ll spend your third year abroad. Studying or working in another country, you'll be able to immerse yourself in the language, culture and history around you. 

Languages you can study alongside History 

If you have no experience of a language, you’ll study it from the very beginning.

If you do have an A level or IB Higher Level in the language, it will not be new to you so you can carry on studying it at a more advanced level.

If you have no experience of the language or an A level/IB Higher Level in the language, you can study:

• History and German
• History and Italian
• History and Portuguese
• History and Russian
• History and Spanish

You can also study:

• History and French, if you have A level or IB Higher Level in the language

You can say which language you’re interested in when you complete My Cambridge Application.

Teaching and facilities

Teaching

The staff in History and Modern Languages are internationally renowned for their excellence in research and teaching. 

Facilities

You'll have access to both the Faculty of History and Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics facilities. They include:  

• the Faculty of History’s Seeley collection, with 95,000 books, periodicals, theses and an audio-visual collection 
• the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics library, with 118,000 books and 3,500 videos, and audio recordings on literature, film, history and thought of key language areas, from the Middle Ages to the present day 
• the Computer Assisted Language Learning centre, which includes a Media Centre, and phonetics lab 
• a dedicated Year Abroad Office 
• College libraries across the University, with excellent collections and online resources  

You'll also have access to the Cambridge University Library, one of the world’s oldest university libraries.

Course costs

When you go to university, you’ll need to consider two main costs – your tuition fees and your living costs (sometimes referred to as maintenance costs).

Your living costs will include costs related to your studies that are not covered by your tuition fees. There are some general study costs that will apply for all students.

Find out more about general study costs.

Other additional course costs for History and Modern Languages are detailed below. If you have any queries about these costs, please contact the Faculty.

Books and set texts

All required reading is held in University and College libraries or available online, but you may choose to buy some books, such as language text books or literary texts for close study. The costs for these books will vary but will typically be up to £50 per year.

Printing and photocopying

You may need to do some printing and photocopying. The use of the printers in the Faculty costs 5p per A4 sheet in black and white, and 20p per A4 sheet in colour.

Field trips and study abroad

• Year abroad in Year 3: you will be expected to cover daily living costs and any travel costs associated with the year abroad, at a level that would have been incurred whilst studying in Cambridge. Visit our tuition fees page to find out more about tuition fees on your year abroad. For most UK/EU students and most Year Abroad activities, the normal student loans are available to cover maintenance costs and fees. Find out more about year abroad costs on the Faculty website.
• If you choose to write an optional dissertation in a historical field in the fourth year of your degree, you may have additional costs in researching the dissertation, for example for travelling to archives. Some departmental and College funding may be available to cover these costs.

Careers and graduate options

When you graduate you’ll have advanced language skills and experience of living abroad. You'll also have other transferable skills that many employers value such as reading critically, speaking and writing with clarity, dealing with information, and working independently and with others.

Recent graduates have progressed to careers in:

• media
• PR
• law
• public administration
• consultancy
• teaching
• charity sector

This course also provides good preparation for further study in either history or modern languages.