Modern and Medieval Languages

Perfecting your language skills is only one part of this rich and diverse course; you will discover the literature, philosophy, politics and history of the countries whose language you are studying.

Course details

Number of students per year
5-8
Typical offer
A*AA at A-Level; 41-42 points with 776 at Higher Level for the IB.
Essential subjects
A Level (or equivalent) qualification in at least one of the languages that you want to study
Useful subjects
English (literature or language), History, Mathematics

At Homerton

The linguists at Homerton are quite a crowd. We are about 30 across the four years of the course (including those who study MMLL alongside Asian & Middle Eastern Languages, Latin or History), and very diverse. Students are encouraged to set up events; we once had a wonderful film club, and we are working on Seminars organised jointly with students of History.

Our teaching staff is composed of Dr Carmen Olmedilla-Herrero, expert Spanish linguist; Dr Juliette Fontaine, PhD in Political Sciences, who teaches French language, culture and civilisation, and Olivier Tonneau, who teaches French literature and is always happy to rant about Diderot, Robespierre and the French revolution. We are a friendly, supportive and dynamic group, and find confirmation of this in the steep improvement curve of students over the year, which see us reap between two and four First Class Final Honours every year.

 

Hear from our students

"Homerton is all about a sense of belonging and regardless of who you are as a person and where you come from, you find it here! I study French & German and the college is doing a great job at supporting my academic progression - from having a Director of Studies that specialises in my subject and a tutor who checks up on my wellbeing to being able to access countless subject-focused resources in the college library - Homerton is there every step of the way, which I am extremely grateful for. Homerton completely demystifies the biases associated with the institution that Cambridge is and revolutionises education" - Lisa Levytska

At Cambridge

As a student of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics at Cambridge, you will embark on an incredibly rich journey. Besides perfecting your language skills, you will also discover the literature, philosophy, politics and history of the countries whose language you are studying. You will be able to progressively focus on your preferred topics: in the final year, students often write dissertations that read like research works. During your year abroad, you will have the opportunity to explore new environments and study original topics for your Year Abroad Project: for example, a recent submission was a memoir on “Graffiti culture in Toulouse”. In a word: the wealth, variety and flexibility of MMLL will enable you to follow your own aspirations while becoming an expert linguist.

What We Look For

We are looking for students who have the academic ability and potential to succeed on the course, as well as the necessary interest in and motivation for the subject.

In order to explore MML in more detail we would recommend the introductory reading for prospective applicants available here. For offer holders, you will find specific readings and preparation materials under each of the faculty subject pages here. You can also find the offer holder reading lists available here

You can also explore your chosen subject through the Homerton Resources page.

How To Apply

Admissions assessment: Admissions assessment details for 2025 entry (and deferred 2026 entry) will be confirmed in Spring 2024.

Written Work: Submit two recent examples of writing (an essay, for example) completed for school, one of which should be in one of the languages you intend to study at university. The pieces must be dated school work, and ideally should have been marked by a teacher.

We interview the vast majority of applicants. Applicants will have two interviews and should expect some specific questioning about both of their language choices and some further ascertaining of existing abilities in a language already taken to A-level or equivalent. Obviously for a language to be taken from scratch we are looking more for compelling interest than for knowledge.

 

Career

The Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics degree offers exceptional opportunities to study the languages and cultures of most European (and many non-European) countries. Our students acquire advanced linguistic and critical skills, as well as intercultural sensitivity, which places them among the most sought-after graduates on the job market.

 

Director of Studies

Other Teaching Staff

Juliette Fontaine

Carmen Olmedilla Herrero