Studying Linguistics and Modern Languages at Cambridge
- UCAS Code: Q1R8
- Minimum offer: A*AA
- Essential subjects: None if you want to study a modern language from scratch.
- Useful subjects: Languages, English (literature or language), History, Mathematics
This new course represents an exciting blend of our existing Linguistics and Modern and Medieval Languages triposes. It gives you the opportunity to study a modern language alongside studying linguistics. The Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics (MMLL) is a world-leading centre for the study of languages and linguistics across a broad range of different languages and cultures. The Faculty’s facilities and resources include an extensive faculty library, a Psycholinguistics/Neurolinguistics laboratory, a Language Technology Laboratory, Phonetics Laboratory, Media Centre and access to the University’s Language Centre. You will be taught by academics who are active researchers and leaders in their respective fields. They publish books and scholarly articles and write and speak regularly for the wider public and media.
The Linguistics and Modern Languages course (tripos) is a four-year degree programme, where the first two years are spent in Cambridge, with the third year studying abroad and the fourth year back in Cambridge.
What can I do with a degree in Linguistics and Modern Languages?
Studying Linguistics and Modern Languages furnishes you with a wide range of skills which are highly sought after by employers in a wide range of professions.
Being familiar with a range of languages is a huge advantage in careers where you need to learn unfamiliar languages quickly. LML graduates will have a range of job opportunities available to them, which could include the diplomatic service, speech therapy, language teaching, translation and interpreting, data science and forensic investigating.
For more information, please visit the University Careers Service website.
Studying Linguistics and Modern Languages at St Edmund’s College
As a highly international College, you will constantly hear other languages being spoken at St Edmund’s. You will have the opportunity to meet and interact with students from all across the world, exploring other cultures and backgrounds. We have a small, close-knit community of students studying MML, Linguistics and related postgraduate courses.
You are taught in a mix of college-based small group supervisions and Faculty lectures and classes.
The college offers several spaces where you can study and work on your essays including the Paul Luzio Library building, the Norfolk library, study desks in the Mount Pleasant Halls Common room, the comfortable couches of the CR, in Edspresso, our café, or the benches in our lovely apple orchards!
We also have six study rooms (2 in the Luzio building, 2 in Norfolk building, and 1 in Mount Pleasant Halls), where college supervisions typically take place, and which can also be booked by students for their private study time or group projects.
Our college also has an extremely supportive Wellbeing Department, which is happy to lend an ear and provide support should a student feel anxious or overwhelmed with the academic year.
How To Apply
Applications for all courses are made through UCAS. There are 2 deadlines for mature students applying for this course:
- 15 October 2026 (6pm UK time)
- 13 January 2027 (6pm UK time)
The January round is particularly suited to those applicants taking one-year courses who may not have covered enough of the course content to apply in October, but are able to make a competitive application by January. In most other cases, it is best to apply in October.
As a mature College, we recognise that our applicants come to us from a diverse range of educational backgrounds and may have studied a long time ago. However, we would expect evidence of formal study within the last two or three years as evidence of an ability to cope with the challenging academic nature of a Cambridge course.
Requirements
Written work
Admissions Assessment
Interviews
Deferred entry
What is a typical Term’s work?
This is a four-year course, split into three Parts: Part IA (first year), Part IB (second year), and Part II (years 3 and 4). The first year courses are intended to introduce you to studying the literature, culture and history of your chosen languages as well as introducing you to the study of linguistics.
Teaching is delivered through a variety of formats, including lectures, faculty classes of up to 15 students, seminars and small-group supervisions of between 2 and 6 students. For your supervisions, you will write essays or prepare other materials, on which you will receive constructive feedback and further guidance.
Alongside preparing for your weekly supervision, which remains the centrepiece of the Cambridge experience, you will attend a number of lectures each week.
In the first year of the course, you will usually have between 12 and 14 hours of teaching each week.
People
- Dr Theresa Biberauer, Director of Studies in Linguistics
- Dr Emmanuela Davey, Director of Studies in Modern and Medieval Languages