Modern & Medieval Languages

Modern & Medieval Languages at Wolfson

Alongside intensive language study, the MML degree gives you a wide range of opportunities to learn about the culture, literature, cinema, history, philosophy, art and ideas of other countries, or about the nature of language itself (linguistics).

The MML course at Cambridge lasts four years, with the third year spent abroad. The main languages available for study are: French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. It is also perfectly possible to combine a European language with a classical language (e.g. classical Greek or classical Latin) or with a language from Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (such as Arabic). Studying MML will give you the opportunity to become fluent in at least two languages.

All the languages on offer in the Faculty, except for French, may be started ab initio, and a substantial proportion of students each year choose to do this. Beginners follow a different course from post A-level students in their first year and, where language papers only are concerned, in their second. The third and fourth year of the course is identical for ex-beginners and post A-level students. Starting a new language is hard work, but most students who choose this option find it very rewarding.

You can find further information about studying Modern & Medieval Languages on the University's course . Detailed information is also available on the Faculty's Prospective Undergraduates .

The Year Abroad

The third year is spent abroad, in a country in which one of your languages is spoken as a first or second language. Many students enrol in a university course given in the target language (the course may be in any subject, provided that instruction is in the language you have been studying). Others teach English as a Language Assistant at a school through the British Council. Others again opt to work abroad, as interns or in paying positions. 

Student perspective: MML at Wolfson

Both challenges and rewards abound for MML students at Cambridge. As a MML undergrad, you’ll achieve practical, near-native language competence in two disciplines whilst pursuing studies across the broadest range of language and literature options. 

I’m in the final year of studying French and Italian and this year, I’ve chosen to focus on studies related to Italy, il bel paese. I’ve been offered a plethora of papers. One of my choices, for instance, concerns visual art interpretation from early Middle Ages through to present day. 

In my first two years, I concentrated on both languages equally, studying French and Italian linguistics as well as literature related to the discovery of the Americas and the influence that had on contemporary philosophy. My year abroad was then split equally between Montpellier and Genoa where I studied university language and translation courses alongside French and Italian language students. 

Whether you come up to College as a post A-level or an ab initio entrant, you’ll stride into a dynamic world of language learning. This all happens alongside a deep immersion into elements of the culture, literature, and history of both the language and the countries in which it is spoken.

Martin Carter (final year undergraduate)