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Combine in-depth study of French language and culture with learning how language itself works.
Your first year introduces you to various aspects of French studies, and you’ll move your spoken and written language to a new level. You’ll learn the foundations of linguistics, focusing on both the nature of language (its structure and how it connects to thought and to sound) and its use (how it varies from person to person and situation to situation).
You could find yourself recording dialect speakers, working out the rules of an endangered language or learning how to write down a sneeze.
The programme is flexible, with a wide choice of modules in each subject. You can study French literature, art, thought and society; and specialist areas of linguistics from sociolinguistics to grammatical theory to the philosophy of language. No prior knowledge of French language is required.
You’ll spend your third year studying or working in France or a French-speaking country, immersing yourself in its language and society.
Register your interest
Please note that all modules are subject to change.
You have three options for how to spend your year abroad:
Our French-speaking partner institutions are:
You'll receive approximately eight to 10 hours of weekly contact time, in the form of lectures, seminars and language classes.
You will spend up to five hours per week in language classes – in small groups of no more than 20 for classroom or language lab teaching, and no more than 10 for oral and aural work.
For every hour spent in class, you'll complete a further two to three hours of independent study.
Assessment typically includes a combination of research diaries, poster presentations, class tests and exams. In your final year, you will do a research project, working on real data, using cutting-edge theoretical ideas, which will bring together everything you have learned.
The School offers excellent on-campus resources to aid your studies, including:
If you’re interested in learning another language, you can sign up for a course at Queen Mary’s Language Centre, where you can choose from Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), German, Japanese, Bengali, Catalan, Italian or Spanish.
Alternative offers may be made to applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification.
For further information please visit: qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/entry/epq
Our standard contextual offer: BCC at A-Level.
Our enhanced contextual offer: CCC at A-Level.
More information on our contextual offer criteria can be found on our contextualised admissions page.
Please note that General Studies and Critical Thinking are excluded from any A-Level offer and cannot be considered.
We accept a wide range of European and international qualifications in addition to A-levels, the International Baccalaureate and BTEC qualifications. Please visit International Admissions for full details.
If your qualifications are not accepted for direct entry onto this degree, consider applying for a foundation programme.
Find out more about our English language entry requirements, including the types of test we accept and the scores needed for entry to the programme.
You may also be able to meet the English language requirement for your programme by joining a summer pre-sessional programme before starting your degree.
See our general undergraduate entry requirements.
UK students accepted onto this course are eligible to apply for tuition fee and maintenance loans from Student Finance England or other government bodies.
Queen Mary offers a generous package of scholarships and bursaries, which currently benefits around 50 per cent of our undergraduates.
Scholarships are available for home, EU and international students. Specific funding is also available for students from the local area. International students may be eligible for a fee reduction. We offer means-tested funding, as well as subject-specific funding for many degrees.
Find out what scholarships and bursaries are available to you.
We offer specialist support on all financial and welfare issues through our Advice and Counselling Service, which you can access as soon as you have applied for a place at Queen Mary.
Take a look at our Student Advice Guides which cover ways to finance your degree, including:
Fluency in French is an advantage on the job market, whether in the UK, in Europe or internationally.
Studying linguistics will give you a highly desirable collection of skills: analytical ability, research skills, precision and numeracy. A knowledge of linguistics is also particularly useful for teaching languages.
Some graduates apply their degree knowledge directly, entering careers such as journalism, interpreting and education. Others transfer skills gained during study into the arts, finance, business or IT.
Recent graduates who combined a modern language with linguistics have been hired by:
The School runs regular careers events, including opportunities for current students to meet alumni.
The Queen Mary careers team can also offer:
Learn more about career support and development at Queen Mary.
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The School of the Arts combines innovation, discovery and excellence in education and research in Drama, Film, Modern Languages, English & Comparative Literature, Creative Writing, Linguistics and Liberal Arts. We rank in the top 100 worldwide for Arts and Humanities (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024)
With our commitment to social justice, inclusivity and social mobility, our collaborations with external organisations, prominent writers and performers, and our facilities that support both academic and practice-based learning, an education in the School of the Arts equips our students with critical thinking and practical skills, unleashes their imagination and enables them to reach the levels of excellence needed in today’s industries.
We regularly host prominent writers and performers and collaborate with leading organisations such as the V&A, the Barbican, the Live Art Development Agency and Shakespeare’s Globe.
We are renowned for the depth and impact of research - which leads our teaching. We rank 1st for drama and in the top 10 for film in the UK for the quality of our research (REF2021). Our multilingual community brings together brilliant minds from across the world to share a wealth of expertise combining research excellence with an unrivalled commitment to social justice and social mobility.