Bulgarian and East European Studies

Bulgarian and East European studies is a degree that gives you linguistic fluency in Bulgarian alongside a deep and broad understanding of one of the world's most consequential, complex, and underrepresented regions. Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Baltic states, the Caucasus, and Central Asia cover an enormous diversity of peoples, languages, histories, and political systems, and the study of this region has never been more relevant to understanding international affairs, security, culture, and geopolitics.

At University College London, you will study at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, one of the largest departments in the UK dedicated to the study of this region. You will develop fluency in Bulgarian, encompassing reading, writing, speaking, and listening, alongside the history, culture, literature, and geopolitics of the Bulgarian-speaking world and the broader East European region. SSEES is home to faculty who conduct active research across these countries, ensuring the teaching is current, contextually rich, and connected to real scholarly debates.

The programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to spend an extended period in a country where Bulgarian or another regional language is spoken, which is essential for achieving the level of fluency and cultural understanding the degree aims for. A typical entry tariff of 152 points applies.

You will develop genuine linguistic proficiency alongside a sophisticated analytical understanding of the political, cultural, and historical dynamics that have shaped Eastern Europe from the nineteenth century to the present day.

Graduates go on to careers in diplomacy, the civil service, international organisations, journalism, translation and interpreting, NGOs, international business, intelligence, and academia. The combination of rare linguistic skills and regional expertise is highly valued wherever deep knowledge of this part of the world is needed.