MA French and Italian and Persian
About this course
French, Italian and Persian is a triple language degree of exceptional cultural range, spanning two of Europe's great Romance language traditions and one of the world's oldest and most richly developed literary languages. French carries access to the literature, philosophy, cinema and political culture of France and the wider francophone world across Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. Italian encompasses a literary heritage that stretches from the medieval poetry of Dante through the Renaissance and into a contemporary culture of global influence. Persian is one of the world's great classical languages, carrying a poetic and philosophical tradition of extraordinary depth and giving access to the cultures of Iran, Afghanistan and the Persian-speaking diaspora. At the University of St Andrews you will develop high-level proficiency in French and Italian alongside Persian, engaging with the literatures, histories and cultural dimensions of all three traditions. The programme runs over four years full time, reflecting the Scottish honours degree structure, and includes a year abroad, which is an essential dimension of language learning at this level and which will be spent in French- or Italian-speaking environments to consolidate your language acquisition and deepen your cultural immersion. You will develop advanced multilingual competence alongside literary analysis, cultural history and the skills of sustained academic research and writing across multiple traditions. The range of linguistic and cultural formation that a triple language degree provides is genuinely rare and creates a distinctive graduate profile. Graduates from French, Italian and Persian programmes pursue careers in translation, international organisations, diplomacy, the foreign office, journalism, publishing, education, international business with Middle Eastern or European dimensions, and cultural institutions. Postgraduate study in any of the three languages, comparative literature, translation or area studies is also a natural route.
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