“In an increasingly interconnected world, an in-depth knowledge of modern languages, their cultures and societies, is more important than ever. At Bristol we offer our students a wide range of language combinations taught by expert teachers and world-leading scholars with the latest facilities.”
Professor Robert Vilain, Head of the School of Modern Languages
The School of Modern Languages demonstrates an overwhelming passion for foreign languages and cultures, offering undergraduate and postgraduate courses in French; German; Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies (including Catalan); Italian; Russian and Czech. Degrees are flexible and multidisciplinary, catering to the interests of the individual. This gives students the opportunity to deepen their existing linguistic knowledge, or to take on a new language while studying a wide range of topics on literature, society, civilisation and culture. In all cases, a language degree at Bristol involves much more than just learning a language.
The school is recognised for its friendly, close-knit community, with a long-established reputation for innovative teaching and excellent research, and attracts high calibre staff and students to each of its five departments. Learning extends well beyond the classroom, through cultural weeks, seminars and extra-curricular activities. The school offers a well-organised and extremely varied Year Abroad programme for third year undergraduates, with students travelling as far afield as Haiti, Argentina, Mexico, French Guiana, or Kazakhstan. Combined with access to cutting-edge facilities such as the new Multimedia Centre and the Graduate School of Arts and Humanities, this makes the School of Modern Languages one of the leading centres for language studies in the UK.
School of Modern Languages with Senate House in the background
High quality and innovative teaching is a top priority for the school. In 2012, we have won two University Teaching Awards. Catherine O’Rawe was awarded for her work on Italian cinema, while Elena McNeilly and Andrea Zhok (pictured) received the e-Learning prize for their pioneering contribution to teaching translation.
