The Student Room Group

languages undergraduate degree

I want to study modern foreign languages at uni, preferably continuing Spanish and then perhaps a new language such as Mandarin or Japanese. does anyone know any good unis for languages in the UK and Europe? I have an average point score of 8.7 in my GCSE's and i have just started studying politics economics and Spanish for Alevel. I can also speak French and German, but don't study these anymore. If anyone could help I would really appreciate it!
Original post by hanalei24
I want to study modern foreign languages at uni, preferably continuing Spanish and then perhaps a new language such as Mandarin or Japanese. does anyone know any good unis for languages in the UK and Europe? I have an average point score of 8.7 in my GCSE's and i have just started studying politics economics and Spanish for Alevel. I can also speak French and German, but don't study these anymore. If anyone could help I would really appreciate it!

I'd note that East Asian languages like Japanese and Chinese (Mandarin) are less commonly available as joint honours courses due to often necessitating quite intensive study to master the language as they are very different structurally from European languages that language degree students more often have experience with. Also often the unis strongest for those languages may not necessarily be the strongest for European languages and vice versa.

Oxford and Cambridge are very strong for both European and Asian (and Middle Eastern) languages in most cases, although generally you can't study an Asian and a European language together at those as I understand. SOAS is very, very strong for Asian (and Middle Eastern and African) languages, but does not offer European languages. UCL is quite strong for European languages I understand, but has limited offerings for Asian languages and I would not consider those a strength.

One uni I'm aware of which I know has strengths in both European and at least some Asian languages (Japanese in this case) is Edinburgh, which does also allow you to combine the study of both. So that may well be worth looking into :smile: I believe Leeds also has strengths in both Asian and European languages so that may be another one to explore if you want to combine the two.

Note that universities do not "average" your GCSE "grade point average" like that. They will look at the overall grade profile if they assess GCSEs much (which most don't put a great emphasis on anyway). Note that most universities require a pass of 5 or above in English language and maths at GCSE (as these are literacy/numeracy targets).

Something to note - a former TSR user who did a degree at Edinburgh in French and Japanese (also started with Spanish but dropped it earlier in the course) noted that for languages like Japanese, due to the difficulty in both learning and teaching it, you really want to go to unis with a demonstrated track record of success in the area. They would also likely be a uni with a dedicated (East) Asian studies department, rather than one just offering arbitrary language modules through a language centre with no other research and teaching around the region and language/texts.
Reply 2
Original post by artful_lounger
I'd note that East Asian languages like Japanese and Chinese (Mandarin) are less commonly available as joint honours courses due to often necessitating quite intensive study to master the language as they are very different structurally from European languages that language degree students more often have experience with. Also often the unis strongest for those languages may not necessarily be the strongest for European languages and vice versa.
Oxford and Cambridge are very strong for both European and Asian (and Middle Eastern) languages in most cases, although generally you can't study an Asian and a European language together at those as I understand. SOAS is very, very strong for Asian (and Middle Eastern and African) languages, but does not offer European languages. UCL is quite strong for European languages I understand, but has limited offerings for Asian languages and I would not consider those a strength.
One uni I'm aware of which I know has strengths in both European and at least some Asian languages (Japanese in this case) is Edinburgh, which does also allow you to combine the study of both. So that may well be worth looking into :smile: I believe Leeds also has strengths in both Asian and European languages so that may be another one to explore if you want to combine the two.
Note that universities do not "average" your GCSE "grade point average" like that. They will look at the overall grade profile if they assess GCSEs much (which most don't put a great emphasis on anyway). Note that most universities require a pass of 5 or above in English language and maths at GCSE (as these are literacy/numeracy targets).
Something to note - a former TSR user who did a degree at Edinburgh in French and Japanese (also started with Spanish but dropped it earlier in the course) noted that for languages like Japanese, due to the difficulty in both learning and teaching it, you really want to go to unis with a demonstrated track record of success in the area. They would also likely be a uni with a dedicated (East) Asian studies department, rather than one just offering arbitrary language modules through a language centre with no other research and teaching around the region and language/texts.


omgggg thank you so much! this was super useful

Quick Reply