The  Modern and Medieval Languages (MML) course (Tripos) lasts four years. MML can also be combined with History (HML), AMES (Asian and Middle Eastern Languages) and with Classics (either Classical Latin or Classical Greek, including beginning Latin from scratch).

On the MML course, everyone studies two languages for the first two years, one of which can be started from scratch (ab initio). Whether you choose to continue two A-level languages, or to begin a new one (such as German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian or Spanish), the course is designed to bring you to the same standard in both languages by the end of the second year. Trinity actively supports this process of intensive language acquisition by giving students additional opportunities and financial assistance to enhance and consolidate skills through targeted residencies abroad outside of term.

The first year of MML concentrates primarily on developing your language skills, while the focus in the second and fourth years is increasingly on intellectual and cultural content. A large number of options are on offer covering literature, history, philosophy, , as well as film and visual culture studies, , and theoretical, historical, and socio-linguistics. Those with a strong interest in theoretical linguistics may wish to consider switching to the Linguistics Tripos at some stage. From your second year, it is also possible to opt for introductory courses in Catalan, Portuguese, Greek and Ukrainian.

The third year is spent abroad – studying, teaching, working or volunteering. At Trinity we help students to plan their year abroad by hosting a social and networking event every year to bring second year students together with students from several other colleges who have returned from their year abroad. Over the years, our students have used their year abroad to explore the well-known and the less-travelled places of the world, from celebrated capitals to smaller centres, from Europe and Central Asia to Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean. A majority of our finalists will achieve near native fluency in written and spoken language and will have acquired the knowledge, adaptability and plural perspective that make the Trinity modern linguist an informed, effective and highly-qualified citizen of our contemporary world.

The MML teaching staff at Trinity brings together in one college an unusually wide-range of expertise in French, German, Russian and Spanish Studies, with a spectrum of interests and specialisms that inform teaching from the first through to the final year. This range and depth of coverage allows them to work closely with students over a wide range of  language and  culture papers and to support students’ academic progress and maintain fruitful contact during their time here in Cambridge. Each student has a Director of Studies who works with them to develop their full academic potential, and can arrange teaching in areas not represented in college. We also support study in Italian and Portuguese through established partnerships with specialists in other colleges and there are lectors who provide both formal and informal oral tuition and Junior Research Fellows who complement our teaching provision. A distinctive aspect of the Trinity MML teaching group is the worldwide scope of its interests, encouraging a comparative approach to global languages. All members of the MML teaching staff are research active, publishing widely and promoting events that enhance the MML student’s cultural understanding with film sessions, invited speakers, performances, exhibitions and symposia. There are ample opportunities to participate in such events and to collaborate in their organization or to initiate new projects. The college offers excellent facilities including the well-equipped Winstanley Lecture Theatre that is regularly used for international film festivals and other gatherings.

Trinity’s staff in MML at present are:

• Anita Bunyan (19th century German literature and history and contemporary German-language Jewish writing);
• Mark Chinca (medieval German literature);
• Emma Claussen (French and Francophone literature and intellectual history)
• Carlos Fonseca (Latin American literature and culture);
• Jean Khalfa (French and Francophone literature and philosophy); and
• Emma Widdis (19th and 20th century Russian literature and cinema).

We aim to develop intellectual potential, and promote independent critical thinking in a stimulating and well-resourced learning environment.

Trinity College is proud of the consistent success of its graduates in securing meaningful employment and rewarding careers. Students in MML have gone on to successful careers in journalism, diplomacy, the civil service, broadcasting, film production, banking and financial services, publishing, education and graduate research, translation, law, academia, international development and politics.

We welcome applications from a broad range of schools and backgrounds. We are looking for intellectual aspiration, individuality and proven dedication so that we can help to develop outstanding potential as well as academic achievement.

Applicants for places at Trinity are interviewed by specialists in the languages that the candidate hopes to study at Cambridge. Interviews are reasonably informal and are designed to identify strengths rather than weaknesses. The purpose is to assess your motivation, reasoning ability and developing intellectual and cultural interests. Some independent reading and exploration of the cultures you intend to study may therefore help your application.

The content of the interview will depend on the level to which you have previously studied each language but the interviewers will always aim to test a broad range of skills, including linguistic competence, powers of literary analysis, and general intellectual and cultural awareness.

The typical conditional offer is A*AA in subjects that include at least one foreign language. The number of offers we make depends on the strength of the applications but we aim to admit in the range of 6-9 students each year.

For further information, please consult the website of the Modern and Medieval Languages Faculty:

• Faculty of Modern & Medieval Languages and Linguistics