History and Modern Languages

The joint degree in History and Modern Languages combines the best of both subjects. It offers the opportunity to develop near native-speaker skills in a foreign language while studying a range of papers relating to the culture and history of the relevant language area.

Students will also develop analytical skills in History through a wide range of topics in British or European History, World History, and the History of Political Thought. There will be opportunities to work with historical sources in foreign languages. As is the case for other language students, those who take this course will spend their third year studying or working abroad, thereby immersing themselves in the language, culture, history and politics of a foreign country.

The languages available for study are: German, Italian, Russian and Spanish from scratch or post A-level/equivalent; Portuguese from scratch; and French post A-level/equivalent.

Both Cambridge Faculties are regarded worldwide as leaders in their respective fields. The Faculty of History is one of the largest in the United Kingdom and is consistently ranked among the best in research and teaching assessments. It has internationally recognised experts in dozens of different fields of study. The Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics is one of the largest in the United Kingdom and also consistently rated as one of the best. It offers an unrivalled range of courses taught by leading scholars. The library resources in Cambridge, which support teaching and research in both Faculties, are world-class; the University also has extensive collections of films in all relevant languages. At Magdalene, students will especially benefit from the award-winning New Library.

Magdalene has flourishing communities of historians and linguists, of which students reading History and Modern Languages are a full part. As well as the College Lecturers (listed under 'Teaching Staff' below), there are a large number of Research and other Fellows in both History and in Modern and Medieval Languages. These include Professor Nicholas Boyle (Emeritus Professor of German), Professor Eamon Duffy (Emeritus Professor of the History of Christianity), Dr Annja Neumann (Senior Research Fellow in German) and Professor James Raven (specialist on the history of the book). For more information, you may check the History and Modern Languages pages of the College website.

We welcome applications for any of the possible combinations.

At Magdalene, we are fortunate to be able to support our students financially on their Year Abroad through the Carne Fund. A student’s Director of Studies and Tutor will be ready to advise.

More details of the course and the optional papers available can be found on the University’s Undergraduate Study pages and the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics website.

To get the latest information on culture, politics and language learning, as well as the Year Abroad please visit the The Cambridge Language Collective online newspaper. 

The best preparation for applying to Magdalene, and for interview, is to read as widely as you can. For History and Modern Languages this can be in History, literature, current affairs and any other cultural ‘outputs’. There are no ‘set texts’ that we prescribe, but try and extend your reading around what you may have studied at school, and look beyond it to other periods, places and genres.  Follow your own interests and develop them. An enthusiasm for the subject is vital to studying at university, and, when you apply for a place, reading is the best way of demonstrating this. There is excellent advice on how to go about this on both Faculties’ websites: the Faculty of History Virtual Classroom, and Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics.

We are looking for the most academically promising candidates (those able and willing to think for themselves, and well-motivated towards our course), whatever the languages they propose to study, and there is no quota for any language.

All Colleges require A-level/IB Higher Level in History and the relevant language, if this language is to be studied post A-level. For languages taken up from scratch, we expect to see an interest in the culture where the language is spoken and an aptitude for language learning. This may, for example, be a strong performance in one or more foreign languages at GCSE or AS-level.

Minimum offer

A-level: A*AA (with the A* not necessarily in a specific subject) 

IB: 41-42 points overall, with 7,7,6 at Higher Level.

Other qualifications: Check which other qualifications we accept 

Candidates will normally have two interviews of around 20-25 minutes each.

The interview process aims to assess your intellectual ability, potential, and commitment to the subject.

We also usually ask for two samples of written work (such as school essays) to be submitted with the application. At least one should be on a historical subject. If you are applying for a post A-level language, one piece of written work should be in the language you intend to study.

Candidates invited for interview will need to take a written assessment. The assessment for History and Modern Languages is a Cambridge College-registered assessment. This means you will not need to register for this assessment in advance and the College will provide details directly to you.

This is the same assessment as that taken by applicants for MML.

More information is available on the Interviews, Written Work and Assessments page.