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 makes them extremely sought after in the job market.

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Overview

The course information on this page is for 2024 entry. Details for 2025 entry will be published in March 2024.

Modern and Medieval Languages (MML) at Cambridge

The Cambridge course is hugely flexible and offers a broad and multifaceted approach to the study of language and culture. You can pursue your interests in many areas – from Italian Renaissance art to contemporary Brazilian cinema and 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.

We are a large and diverse Faculty which consists of six sections, whose members are internationally renowned experts in their fields. In the Guardian University Guide 2023, Cambridge came third for modern languages and linguistics.

Languages available

You study two of:

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.

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, 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.

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 for an investment bank in Frankfurt
studied International Relations at St Petersburg State University
interned with a Barcelona law firm
interned with an international fashion brand in Paris
taught English as a British Council assistant in Mexico

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.

Course costs

Tuition fees

Information on tuition fee rates for MML is available on the tuition fees page.

Additional course costs

Optional costs include the purchase of some books (for example, language text books or literary texts for close study, the cost of which will vary) and photocopying and printing. In the Faculty, use of the printers costs 5p per A4 sheet in black and white, and 20p per A4 sheet in colour. All required reading is held in libraries or available through them online. Some Colleges provide grants for the purchase of books. Further details can be found on the Faculty website.

Please also see the information about tuition fees during the year abroad.

Changing course

Students on other courses may be able to change to MML after either Part IA or Part IB, providing they have the necessary language skills.

To be able to change course, you need the agreement of your College that any change is in your educational interests, and you must have the necessary background in the subject to which you wish to change – in some cases you may be required to undertake some catch-up work or take up the new course from the start/an earlier year. If you think you may wish to change course, we encourage you to contact a College admissions office for advice. You should also consider if/how changing course may affect any financial support arrangements.

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.

Course outline

Teaching is made up of lectures, seminars, language classes, intensive oral work in small groups, and supervisions. For your language classes, you receive individual feedback from your teachers, outlining how you can improve further. 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 translation or research project 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)

You study two languages, at least one at post-A Level/IB Higher Level standard. You will be asked to indicate which languages you are interested in studying as part of the application process. The choice isn’t final, and some students change their mind before (or after) they start.

The main emphasis in Year 1 is on developing your language skills by studying a wide variety of authentic texts, radio programmes and video clips, as well as through a variety of teaching 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 (extended research project), 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 five further 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, politics, film etc in one or two of your languages.

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

For further information about studying Modern and Medieval Languages at the University of Cambridge see the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics website.

Entry requirements

Entry Requirements

This page details the standard entry requirements for this course. Check the document below for any variations between Colleges (some may ask for an A* in a particular subject for example):

PDF icon MML entry requirements by College for 2024 entry

Typical offers require

A Level: A*AA
IB: 40-42 points, with 776 at Higher Level
Other qualifications: See Entrance requirements.

Subject requirements

All Colleges require: A Level/IB Higher Level in at least one of the languages you want to study

See Entrance requirements and Choosing your post-16 subjects for additional guidance and conditions of entry.

Admission assessment

All applicants for MML are required to take a written assessment if shortlisted for interview. You will not need to register in advance for this assessment and the Colleges will provide details directly to you.

Check the College Admissions Assessments page for more information and example papers.

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

Further details and sample papers can be found on the Faculty website.

Submitted work

Applicants to all Colleges are required to submit two pieces of written work prior to interview. These should be recent examples of writing completed for school, one of which should be in one of the languages you intend to study at University.

All undergraduate admissions decisions are the responsibility of the Cambridge Colleges. Please contact the relevant College admissions office if you have any queries.

Typical Modern and Medieval Languages entrants (A Level and IB)

For 2017, 2018 and 2019 entry, the majority of entrants from an A Level background achieved at least grades A*A*A (72% of entrants). These successful applicants typically took two languages (65%), with the remaining 35% taking one language. Other common subjects were English (Language, Language & Literature, or Literature, 42%), History (27%) and Mathematics (32%). For the same period, the majority of IB entrants achieved at least 43 points overall and/or grades 777 at Higher Level.

This information is intended to give you a sense of the academic standard of our typical A Level entrants. We welcome applicants from a range of qualification backgrounds.

Resources

Find out more about Modern and Medieval Languages at Cambridge

Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics - Explore Modern and Medieval Languages in more detail on the faculty website.

The Course - Find out more about the MML course at Cambridge.

Key Facts - Some key pieces of information about the MML degree.

How to Apply - Information on making an application to MML.

FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions about making an application to study MML.

Careers - Possible destinations for graduates in Languages.

Multikultura - MML Faculty's site for GCSE and sixth-form students of French, German and Spanish. Exercises to improve your language skills and your cultural knowledge.

Language Resource Centre - Language-learning resources offered by the University of Cambridge Language Centre.

HE+ Resources - For 6th Form students who want to further their interest in Modern Languages.

French

French Papers - Information on the French papers available in the MML degree.

Preparing to study French - A useful summary of what you need to know to be able to study French at Cambridge, including suggested reading.

Grammar Requirements - Information on the French grammar you'll need to know if you want to study French at Cambridge.

Facilities - Information about the facilities available to students of French.

French Resources - A helpful list of online resources that may be of interest to potential students of French.

German

German Section - Explore German in more detail on the section website.

German Resources - Information about the facilities and resources available to students of German.

Italian

Italian Section - Explore Italian in more detail on the section website.

Italian Resources - Information about the facilities and resources available to students of Italian.

Spanish and Portuguese

Spanish and Portuguese Section - Explore Spanish and Portuguese in more detail on the section website.

Tripos Papers in Spanish and Portuguese - Information on the Spanish papers available in the MML degree.

Portuguese On-Line - A helpful list of online resources that may be of interest to potential students of Portuguese.

Spanish and Catalan On-Line - A helpful list of online resources that may be of interest to potential students of Spanish.

Slavonic Studies

Slavonic Studies Section - Explore Russian in more detail on the section website.

Resources in Russian - A helpful list of resources that may be of interest to potential students of Russian.

Resources in Ukrainian - A helpful list of resources that may be of interest to potential students of Ukrainian.

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Contextual information

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