Modern and Medieval Languages

In Modern and Medieval Languages (MML), you can expect to become proficient in (at least!) two languages between French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, and Russian. You’ll also become an expert in the literature, film, and history that has been produced in that language which, for languages like Spanish and French, means also outside of Europe! The MML degree aims to give you a key to the outside world. From reading a medieval manuscript to watching a neo-realist film to developing your skills in historical linguistics, you can pretty much specialise in anything you want. 

The course is four years long. In the first year (Part IA), you take up the study of two languages, one of which can be ab initio (from scratch), along with two courses in the literature and culture of your chosen languages of study. From the second year (Part 1B), you can start specialising in the literature/film/culture of your choosing and take comparative papers across different languages. The crowning jewel of the MML course is certainly your Year Abroad (third year). You can go anywhere your target languages are spoken to study in university or work and soak up the culture! In the fourth and final year, you can further specialise still, with almost complete freedom over the papers that will make up your year. You can also pick up another language along the way!

For more information about the course and its modules, visit the University website.

Candidates for MML who are invited to interview will sit a centralised language admissions assessment. Candidates do not need to register for this but will be registered by their colleges automatically. The assessment is conducted online.

Further information about the assessment can be found here.

You will need to submit 2 pieces of written work before your interview. These should be recent examples of writing completed for school, one of which should be in one of the languages you intend to study at University.

Our interviews are first and foremost conversations.

Before each interview, you will be given a passage (in the original foreign language if you are interviewing for a post-A Level language, or in English if you are interviewing for an ab initio language), which we will ask you to read and think about and which we will discuss together with you. We understand that the passages may contain words you are unfamiliar with.

There’s no need to worry about this! We are more interested in seeing how you respond to words and concepts you may not be familiar with. We will also draw inspiration from your own personal statement to talk about what interests you about the languages and cultures that you wish to study, whether you have read any books (in the original or in translation) or watched any films that have stuck with you. If you are interviewing for a post-A Level language, part of this conversation will also happen in the foreign language.

Great MML applicants are intellectually curious. What draws you to the languages and cultures that you wish to study at University? What have you read or watched beyond the school curriculum that has piqued your interest? How have you explored the culture of your target languages? A novel, film, series, or a graphic novel are all different ways to familiarise yourself with the cultures of the languages you are interested in studying!

Great MML applicants also demonstrate critical skills. Say, for example, you enjoyed a novel you have read recently. What about it was interesting to you? Did the writer employ any narrative devices that impacted your reading experience? Or say you watched a series you found thrilling. Did the soundtrack amplify the action on screen?

It’s important to highlight that we do not expect you to have travelled to countries where the languages you wish to study are spoken. We also do not expect you to have had any experiences speaking with native speakers of these languages. Great MML applicants are able to demonstrate that they have taken steps to engage with their target languages in any way that is accessible to them. If you are applying for an ab initio language, we do not expect you to have taken language classes in your own time; rather, what is important is that you have begun exploring it using the resources available to you.

Be intellectually curious, be yourself, and show us what you love and why about the literature, media, culture of your target language.

You can find our more about MML by visiting the University website and the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics website. If you are interested in exploring the different subjects you can study alongside MML, you can read more about History and Modern Languages, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, and Classics at King’s.

King’s also runs Open Days and the World of Words Residential, in collaboration with Christ’s College, for students who attend UK state schools in Y12/S5/Y13 NI. Students will find out more about life at the University of Cambridge and explore a variety of academic sessions themed around languages, literatures, and cultures.