MA Modern Languages (French and Persian) and English
About this course
Combining French, Persian and English in a single degree is an intellectually ambitious choice that opens onto three literary and cultural worlds of extraordinary richness and global significance. French gives you access to one of the great European languages and to Francophone literature, culture and intellectual life extending far beyond France itself, from West Africa and the Caribbean to Canada and the Pacific. Persian, one of the oldest continuously spoken languages in the world, carries a literary tradition of extraordinary depth and beauty, from classical poetry to contemporary fiction, and connects you to the cultures of Iran, Afghanistan and the Persian-speaking diaspora. English studied in a modern languages degree takes on comparative dimensions, examined alongside other traditions rather than in isolation. At the University of St Andrews this four-year MA (Hons) programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to develop linguistic fluency in French and Persian in an immersive context. You will build high-level language skills alongside engagement with the literatures, histories and cultures of the Francophone and Persian-speaking worlds, learning to read complex texts in the original and to analyse them with critical rigour. The combination of three languages trains you in close reading, comparative cultural analysis and the precise construction of argument, developing an intellectual range that very few degree combinations can match. Graduates with this combination of languages are genuinely distinctive in the graduate labour market. International organisations, diplomatic services, translation and interpreting, journalism with a Middle Eastern or Francophone focus, cultural institutions, publishing, education and academic research are among the most relevant career paths. The depth of cultural understanding that comes from serious study of Persian alongside French makes graduates of this combination well suited for roles connecting the Anglophone world with both Francophone and Iranian cultural and political contexts. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in literature, linguistics, area studies or related fields.
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