Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Modern Languages with History of Art and Visual Culture Study Group - Royal Holloway,University of London, UK

This course offers you the opportunity to combine study of Modern Languages (75% of the course) with History of Art and Visual Culture (25%) and to spend your third year abroad.

A degree in Modern Languages with History of Art and Visual Culture offers you the opportunity to gain valuable and highly sought-after foreign language skills while exploring the visual arts produced in different languages, places, and historical periods. The programme is taught by academics from the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures who are experts in European and world literatures and cultures and whose research is multilingual, transnational, and interdisciplinary.

As a student of Modern Languages, you will gain fluency in a language of your choice – French, German, Italian, or Spanish. Whether you start at beginners’, advanced or native-speaker levels, you will gain skills in writing, reading, speaking and listening. You will study core language components for the language you have chosen, being taught wholly or in part by native speakers. As a modern linguist, you will develop excellent communication and research skills and combine proficiency in multiple languages 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.

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 across the Spanish-speaking world. In addition to this, through History of Art and Visual Culture you can explore a world of visual cultures – from paintings to sculpture, photography to film, fashion and beyond – from the early modern era to the present day. As well as learning the histories of key trends and techniques, you will finesse the skills needed to appreciate, interpret, and analyse images and artefacts in a variety of different media across cultures. This breadth of material is combined with a focus on contexts – places, periods, and genres – to explore how key cultural shifts transform how we see, represent, and make sense of our changing world. As a result, students of HAVC develop the important analytical skills, creative thinking, cross-cultural understanding and global outlook that are valued by employers.

One of the strengths of Comparative Literature and Culture with Modern Languages at Royal Holloway is the supportive environment we create. Our student communities are close-knit and international, with students coming from a variety backgrounds and parts of the world, enhancing the programme’s global perspective. You will also be able to get involved with an array of cultural initiatives that take place on campus and make the most of Royal Holloway’s exceptional collection of Victorian Art housed in the Founder’s Picture Gallery, as well being within easy reach of London and its many events and attractions.

Studying Modern Languages with History of Art and Visual Culture will broaden your horizons, interests and passions, and give you a critical edge in a competitive global marketplace.

From time to time, we make changes to our courses to improve the student and learning experience. If we make a significant change to your chosen course, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.