Modern Languages

Course combinations

• Czech (with Slovak)
• French
• German
• Modern Greek
• Italian
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Russian
• Spanish

About the course

Studying Modern Languages provides both practical training in written and spoken language and an extensive introduction to literature and thought written in European languages.

As well as learning to write and speak the language(s) fluently, you can study a broad range of literature, or focus your studies on any period from the medieval to the present day.

A wide range of other options allow you to explore subjects including linguistics, philology, film or gender studies or (in French, German and Spanish) advanced translation.

Modern Languages have been taught in Oxford since 1724. The faculty is one of the largest in the country, with a total intake of more than 250 students a year (including joint courses).

Undergraduate students have access to the Taylor Institution Library, the biggest research library in Britain devoted to modern languages, and the University’s central library the Bodleian, as well as many online resources. The University’s well-equipped Language Centre has resources specifically tailored to the needs of Modern Language students.

Language is at the centre of the Oxford course, making up around 50% of both first-year and final examinations. The course aims to teach spoken fluency in colloquial and more formal situations, as well as the ability to write essays in the foreign language, and the ability to translate into and out of the foreign language with accuracy and sensitivity to a range of vocabulary, styles and registers. You will also develop your reading skills to a high level.

The study of literature gives you an understanding of other cultures that cannot be acquired solely through learning the language. It leads you into areas such as:

• gender studies
• popular culture
• theatre
• aesthetics
• anthropology
• art history
• ethics
• history
• philosophy
• politics
• psychology and theology

These areas of study develop your skills as a critical reader, writer and thinker.

International opportunities

Modern Languages students spend a compulsory year abroad, usually in the third year. Opportunities for the year abroad include (but aren't restricted to):

• working as a paid language assistant in a school;
• undertaking an internship;
• and/or studying at a University.

These opportunities all provide valuable experiences for improving language competence.

The University is working with European partners to maintain the opportunities available to its students post-Brexit. University exchanges, language assistantships and work placements will continue to be available as opportunities for your year abroad. Read the latest information.

In certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to a course’s requirements for international study. Students who consider that they may be affected are asked to contact their department for advice.

Funding during the year abroad

Some year abroad activities provide a salary, and other year-abroad funding is available from a variety of sources. Actual costs (such as course fees) and living costs will vary depending on the destination and the activity undertaken.

Some of the costs relating to year abroad activity may be subject to variation as arrangements relating to the UK’s departure from the EU are progressed. Visit the dedicated Oxford and the EU page for the latest information. You will need to pay for living costs during the year abroad, including accommodation and travel expenses, and there may be costs relating to visa or Covid-testing requirements for travel.

UK students from lower-income households with means-tested assessments will remain eligible for Oxford’s generous bursary provision. Travel grants may be available through your college and/or the Faculty.

For students who experience particular difficulties related to their year abroad, some hardship funds are also available from the Faculty. For UK students with a shortfall in their finances, the University’s Student Support Fund may provide additional assistance. 

College choice

Please view our guidance on choosing a college, and which language combinations are available at each college.

'I really have genuinely enjoyed all my modules. People worry about the fact that the modern languages course is so literature heavy and assume that it might become repetitive with so many literary modules. But it doesn't. Each of my literature modules have been so different, raised different questions, shed light on different areas of history and politics. I also love the tutorial system - it's definitely what makes the Oxbridge system so unique I think. You can push ideas as far as they will go and, although there is pressure with there being so few of you and the tutor, it makes you think and argue in a completely different way.' Rosanna	'I study French and Portuguese, which is a very niche combination (I'm one of two students in my year group doing it). It involves doing lots of different things and has lots of variety, which I really enjoy, and it is very satisfying to start making connections between the different aspects of culture, literature and language as I have got to know them better.' Olivia	'I loved the Modern Languages course at Oxford. I felt like I was constantly being 'pushed' (maybe not the right word) intellectually and was always invited to think and study widely. I think this impulse to push myself to learn is something I've taken with me into the jobs I have done since I graduated. As part of my degree I lived and worked in France and Brazil: my experiences in these two countries have hugely shaped my interests and movements post-graduation. It was the main reason that I went back to live in Brazil after leaving Oxford and the main reason that I wanted to work in Modern Languages education upon my return to the UK in 2015.' Sarah

Unistats information

Discover Uni course data provides applicants with Unistats statistics about undergraduate life at Oxford for a particular undergraduate course.

Please select 'see course data' to view the full Unistats data for each of our language courses.

Please note that there may be no data available if the number of course participants is very small. 

Visit the Studying at Oxford section of this page for a more general insight into what studying here is likely to be like.

Academic requirements 

Wherever possible, your grades are considered in the context in which they have been achieved.

Read further information on how we use contextual data.

Subject requirements

There are several combinations available that allow students to begin studying a language from scratch. However, please note that it is not usually possible for students to study two languages from scratch or a language on its own from scratch.

Candidates would be expected to have competence in at least one of the languages chosen.

Applying

All candidates must follow the application procedure as shown on our Applying to Oxford page.

The following information gives specific details for students applying for this course.

UCAS codes

Single language courses

Joint language courses

Beginners' courses (B.) 

These courses allow students to study a new language from scratch, along with another language which they have already studied to A-level, or equivalent.

Admissions test

All candidates must take the Modern Languages Admissions Test (MLAT) as part of their application. 

All the information you need to arrange to take your test as well as how best to prepare can be found on your test page.

Written work

Written work in the target language

All candidates must submit one piece of marked classwork by the submission deadline; normally a few hundred words in length, written in each language which you plan to study. This should be in a language in which you will have A-level (or an equivalent standard) before university. 

This will demonstrate to interviewers how you are developing in your use of the target language(s) in work you have completed in the normal course of your A-level (or equivalent) study.

If you are applying for a language in which you will not have reached this standard before university, you do not need to submit anything in that language.

Written work in English

All candidates must also submit one piece only of marked writing in English.

The particular topic of your essay and the A-level (or equivalent) subject from which it is drawn are not important; it is intended to show how you construct an argument and express your ideas in English.

If you do not have any recent marked work written in English (for example, because of the combination of subjects you are currently studying), you may submit a specially written piece of work, such as an essay in English on one of the topics you have been studying for your language A-level (or equivalent). It may be helpful to seek guidance from your teachers in devising a suitable title. In such circumstances, it would not normally be expected for this piece to have been marked, as it will not have been done in the normal course of your studies.

As detailed in the selection criteria for Modern Languages, all submitted written work is considered in the context of the individual circumstances in which it was completed.

Examples of written work required for different subject combinations

If you are applying to study French and German, you will need to submit three pieces of written work: one in French, one in German and one in English.

If you are applying to study Spanish and beginners' Russian you will need to submit two pieces of work: one in Spanish and one in English.

Read our further guidance on the submission of written work for more information, and to download a cover sheet.

What are tutors looking for?

Tutors will be looking for a good command of the grammar of any language you have already studied at school and want to continue studying at Oxford, as well as an interest in literature and culture.

At interview, tutors will want to find out as much as possible about your intellectual interests and academic potential, so you may be asked about your reading, your interest in the culture of the relevant country, or the work you have submitted.

You may be asked questions about a short text in English or the relevant foreign language(s). You will be given the opportunity to speak in the relevant foreign language(s) which you have studied to an advanced level. As far as possible, interviewers will try to let you show your strengths, interest in the subject(s) you intend to study, and reasons for applying to Oxford. 

Visit the Modern Languages website for more detail on the selection criteria for this course.

Fees

Additional Fees and Charges Information for Modern Languages

Beginners’ Russian

Courses including beginners’ Russian are slightly different, as they are the only courses with a prescribed year abroad option. Students have to take a 7-month Russian Language Undergraduate Studies course, which currently take place in Tallinn, Estonia during their second year.

Students will not incur an additional course fee, however, they will be liable for additional administration and visa fees. For students starting their year abroad in 2025 the combined fee for these is approximately £250. 

Some funding towards year abroad placements is currently available through the Turing scheme, which provides living costs grants and enhanced support for disadvantaged students.

The University plans to bid for Turing scheme funding to support year abroad activity in future academic years.