Modern Languages and Music

This Joint Honours course will provide you with a solid grounding in the practical and theoretical study of Music, and give you the opportunity to gain fluency in the language of your choice - French, German, Italian or Spanish.

Whether you start at beginners’, advanced or native-speaker level, you will study the core language components for the language you have chosen, gaining skills in writing, reading, speaking and listening. All our teaching is led by native speakers.

The remainder of your modern languages study will give you an opportunity to explore the literature, art, culture and history of the language area you are studying, from seventeenth-century French theatre to representations of childhood and youth in German culture, and from Italian fashion and design to visual arts from all the corners of the Spanish-speaking world. As a modern linguist, you will develop excellent communication and research skills, and combine lingusitic proficiency with cross-cultural perspectives.

In your third year you will have the opportunity to spend a year working, teaching or studying abroad, where you will immerse yourself in another language and culture, truly broadening your horizons in the process.

On graduation you will have language and analytical skills in a modern language together with additional knowledge of culture, society and history, culture and society that will give you a valuable competitive edge in an increasingly globalised world.

Our research staff are engaged in research at the highest level internationally; we are in the top 10 of UK Modern Language departments for research quality and the top in London (Research Assessment Exercise 2014).

Studying Music at Royal Holloway allows you to tailor your studies to your own interests and passions. Our Department of Music is among the very best in the country, ranked third in the UK for research quality (REF 2014) and the only one to hold a prestigious Regius Professorship.

You will explore themes spanning traditional, modern and world music. Through studying musical texts, practices, cultures and institutions, you will examine issues in history, sociology, ethnology, and philosophy, covering an exceptional geographical and chronological range. You will also gain practical skills in composition, music technology and performance.

You will have access to well-equipped studios and recording facilities as well as incredible performance spaces including the Windsor Auditorium, Boilerhouse Theatre, Victorian Picture Gallery and College Chapel.

Our well connected department means you have the opportunity to make valuable music industry contacts. Our staff are connected with musical networks such Wigmore Hall, the BBC Proms, Royal Opera House.

In the event of a no-deal Brexit, we will commit to providing 2019 and 2020 entry students with a subsidy equivalent to current Erasmus+ funding (where this would have previously been funded by the Erasmus+ scheme). To find out more visit the Erasmus+ page.

Choose beginners’, advanced or native-speaker level French, German, Spanish or Italian.

The opportunity to take music modules that reflect your language study.

Spend your year abroad improving your fluency.

Research a special study thesis combining your music and language skills.

Choral, organ, orchestral and music scholarships.