

MA Portuguese/French
About this course
Portuguese and French is a degree that brings together two Romance languages with a combined global reach of extraordinary scope. Portuguese is spoken by hundreds of millions of people across Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, and beyond, one of the most geographically dispersed of all the world's languages, carrying with it a literary tradition that ranges from the medieval Cantigas to the modernist poetry of Fernando Pessoa and the celebrated fiction of Brazil's literary renaissance. French, with its reach across Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, and into international institutions from the United Nations to the African Union, adds a second language of comparable global importance. Studying them together means you are engaging with two major world languages and the cultures, histories, and literatures they carry. At the University of Glasgow, this five-year full-time programme develops both languages to a high level, drawing on Glasgow's strong tradition in both French and Portuguese and Lusophone studies. In French you can explore the full range of what the language and culture offer, from French comics and song to travel writing, medieval France, and contemporary French history and thought, reflecting the breadth and flexibility that Glasgow's approach to language study provides. In Portuguese you will engage with the literatures, histories, and contemporary cultures of the Portuguese-speaking world across its different national contexts. The five-year duration includes a sandwich year with work placement, giving you structured professional experience before you complete your degree. The skills developed through sustained study of two major languages at this level are genuinely rare: linguistic precision in more than one language, deep cultural knowledge across multiple traditions, and the analytical and translational abilities that come from serious literary and linguistic study. Graduates pursue careers in translation and interpreting, diplomacy, international business, journalism, education, and cultural organisations. Many continue to postgraduate research or professional study.
Syllabus & Modules
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