English and French

English and French is a degree for readers who are also linguists, combining two of the great literary and intellectual traditions of European culture. English literature spans centuries and continents, asking you to engage closely with texts across genres, periods and cultural contexts, and to think carefully about the ideas, values and historical forces that have shaped the written word. French adds a parallel tradition of comparable richness, from the poetry of the troubadours to the Enlightenment philosophes, from nineteenth-century realism to twentieth-century existentialism and the contemporary novel, as well as the language required to engage with it on its own terms.

At the University of St Andrews this four-year full-time programme develops close reading and analytical skills alongside genuine linguistic competence. You will build fluency and accuracy in French through sustained language study while also engaging with French-language literature and culture, placing works in their historical and intellectual contexts and reading them with the same interpretive attention you bring to texts in English. A year abroad is built into the programme, giving you the opportunity to live and study in a French-speaking environment, which is transformative both linguistically and personally.

The combination develops an unusual range of capabilities: interpretive precision, historical and cultural awareness, linguistic facility, the ability to move between traditions, and the skill to communicate in both languages at a high level. These are genuinely valuable in a wide range of careers.

Graduates from English and French programmes typically move into publishing, journalism, teaching, translation and interpreting, cultural organisations, international business, the civil service, law, broadcasting and the arts. The linguistic and analytical skills developed are transferable to almost any professional context that requires careful communication. Postgraduate study in literary studies, linguistics, translation, French, or education is a natural continuation for those who wish to deepen their expertise.