BA/MML (R800)
Is MML for you?
A languages degree at Cambridge might be for you if you:
- enjoy and have an aptitude for learning languages – and want to obtain a high level of fluency.
- are motivated, and not daunted, by the idea that as immensely rewarding as language-learning is, the pursuit of fluency and idiomatic expression is also an on-going, never-ending project…
- are interested in exploring and understanding the past and present of countries where your languages are spoken, through the study of their culture, literature and history.
- have a love of languages and curiosity about language and culture that go hand in hand: your knowledge of languages will give you a special, unrivalled tool for exploring the history and culture of another country, be that through literature and film; through news and media; through exploring the history of the language’s change and structure; through conversations with new friends made on your Year Abroad.
If you have the kind of interests and curiosity described above, and if you are on course to achieve top grades in your forthcoming exams, you should definitely consider applying. You are likely to be a serious candidate.
Why study at Cambridge?
In recent years, Cambridge has consistently been rated top of league tables for Modern Languages and Linguistics. A recent National Student Survey places Cambridge MML at the top for Overall Student Satisfaction, with a rate of 99%. This is one of the highest scores in the University of Cambridge, itself the highest-ranked institution of the Russell Group.
The Modern and Medieval Languages degree 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.
Course Overview
The Modern and Medieval Languages course at Cambridge is exceptionally flexible and wide-ranging in scope, offering opportunities to study in depth the culture, history, literature, philosophy, art and film relating to the languages we teach, as well as topics in linguistics that explore the specific languages you are learning and the properties which all languages share.
In each year of your degree, you will follow courses (‘papers’) of two kinds:
- language papers that focus on employing and extending your active language skills
- your choice of ‘scheduled papers’ that focus on the culture, history, literature, philosophy, art and film culture of the languages you are learning and/or on linguistics. These papers are generally organized by period, theme, or medium.
The degree requires the study of two languages, at least for the first two years. One of these may be a classical language (Latin or Greek).
The First Year
In your first year you will study your two languages in more or less equal proportions. There are written and oral exams at the end of the year.
For ab initio learners, the language course will move at a fast pace to equip you with grammar and vocabulary to allow you to converse, express ideas, and encounter literary texts already by the end of your first term. For your A-Level standard language, classes and homework assignments will develop your command of the written and spoken language and your skills of translation.
For each of your two languages, you will also study a year-long introductory course to the culture of that language. These courses are designed to introduce you to the study of literature, culture, history of your chosen languages and to expose you to a range of subjects and materials, including an introduction to linguistics. For example, you might find yourself sampling works from medieval times to the present; reading poetry, prose, drama; viewing films, paintings, propaganda posters; studying topics in philosophy or history, phonetics or syntax. It doesn’t matter what A-Levels you took: these courses will introduce you to the study of literature, history, art, linguistics, philosophy regardless of your background and prior experience.
The Second Year
Language work continues in your ab initio and A-Level languages. You now have a lot of freedom and flexibility to make selections from the Faculty’s range of scheduled papers for Part IB, focusing on the periods and topics that are most interesting to you. You will continue to develop your analytical skills: throughout the year you will approach texts, films and images with a deepening understanding of their historical and cultural context and learn more about critical and theoretical approaches to textual and cultural analysis.
As well as papers in literature, culture and history, there are papers relating to the history and structure of the languages you are learning. You can also pick papers from the Linguistics Tripos. In other words, if your main interest is linguistics, you can begin to focus primarily or exclusively on that now alongside your language work.
In the second year you also have the opportunity to add a third language, if you wish. You can, subject to availability, choose to take an introductory course in a language and culture you haven’t studied before. The languages currently on offer are Catalan, Dutch, Modern Greek, Polish, Portuguese and Ukrainian. Note that we cannot guarantee that places on these courses will be available to all students.
There are written exams again at the end of the year, but if you prefer coursework, you also have the option (in some papers) to offer two Long Essays written during in the year instead of the final exam.
The Year Abroad
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 in employment (which may be paid or unpaid). In the past, students 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 Aries; and completed an internship with Radio Vaticana.
You have great freedom and flexibility (and support from the Faculty) in making your plans: you can tailor your third 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 any one country and a total of at least eight months abroad. The Faculty offers advice and resources to help you make your plans, and remains a point of contact for support while you are away.
You will also complete a 7,000-8,000 word independent research or translation project during this year on a topic of your choice, with guidance from a supervisor in Cambridge. This is the Year Abroad Project. Examples of recent projects include:
- Collective memory and the urban space: 'sitios de memoria' in post-dictatorship Buenos Aires
- Disciple and Dissident: Exploring the identity of Christian dissidents in the Soviet Union
- Hip-hop as a Mode of Expression in the Russia-Ukraine conflict
- A translation of extracts from 'Paris' by Émile Zola with introduction and translator's notes
- More than Contact: an analysis of the influence of German on the development of West Slavic languages
- The image of the witch in early modern Italy
- Christian images of Muslims in medieval French and Spanish sources
- Quantifying noun-noun compounds with regressive order in contemporary French
- The New German Question: Defining European leadership since 1989/90
Find out more about the Year Abroad
The Fourth Year
Returning from your Year Abroad, you can choose from a very wide selection of options in your final year. For the final year language papers, most students choose to specialize in one language (even though you may still have obtained a high degree of fluency in two during your year abroad). However, it is also possible to continue with both languages.
In your fourth year you also have the option to ‘borrow’ papers from other Faculties, including History and English, and to bring your work in multiple language areas together by choosing from the Faculty’s comparative papers. You can also elect to replace one written exam with an Optional Dissertation, another piece of extended independent research on a topic of your choice that you work on throughout the year with guidance from a supervisor.
By the fourth year, every student’s course of study is unique. You will have the opportunity to follow and develop your own interests, in your scheduled paper work as well as if you elect to write an optional dissertation.
See the course entry in the prospectus
For more information about Modern and Medieval Languages at individual Cambridge Colleges, follow the links below:
