About us

About us

Welcome to the Department of European Languages and Cultures (DELC) at the University of Edinburgh.

We teach degree programmes in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish, and offer courses in Basque, Catalan, Icelandic, Nynorsk and Old Norse.

Our undergraduate MA (Hons) programmes take four years to complete, including a full year studying or working abroad in Year 3. All programmes can be taken on a single honours basis, or as a joint honours programme combining a language with one of a range of other subjects in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Most can be taken with no prior knowledge of the language. 

Our interdisciplinary postgraduate environment brings together our expertise in European languages with teaching and research in film, literature, theatre, the other arts, and translation. Programmes span a range of eras and themes, from medieval literatures to gender.

Undergraduate study

Choose from a range of four-year MA (Master of Arts) honours degrees in the study of European languages and cultures.

Multiple degree programmes are available, including single and joint honours combinations in:

  • French and Francophone Studies
  • German
  • Italian
  • Russian Studies
  • Scandinavian Studies: Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
  • Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies

Each programme includes study abroad in Year 3. 

Understanding our programme changes

The study of literatures, languages and cultures transforms lives. Our students can choose from an exceptional range of subjects and languages. They leave us as independent-minded problem-solvers, effective communicators and experts in intercultural understanding.  

To ensure our graduates remain ready for the changing demands of a complex and interdependent world, we review our degree programmes regularly. This year, we are embarking on our most adventurous reimagination of our curriculum for a generation. 


Postgraduate study

Our interdisciplinary environment brings together specialists in languages and the cultures in which they're spoken, with experts in film, literature, theatre, translation and intermediality. 

Choose from a range of:

  • taught masters programmes
  • masters by research programmes
  • doctoral study programmes (PhDs)

Beginner languages for everyone

Open Language courses in French, German, Icelandic, Italian and Spanish are free to all University of Edinburgh students. You can take one at any stage of your undergraduate or postgraduate programme. Each course lasts one semester and can be taken for 20 credits or for extra credit, depending on your other study commitments. Foundation 1 classes are suitable for complete beginners.

Find out more about Open Language courses

Subject areas

Graphic of a person with a phone and the words #3 in the UK World Top 15

QS World Rankings by Subject 2026

The University of Edinburgh is ranked 3rd in the UK for Modern Languages.

We are ranked fourth in the UK in the broader subject area of the Arts & Humanities. 

Globally, we’re in the World Top 15: Arts and Humanities (9) and Modern Languages (12).

The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings are based on research citations and the results of major global surveys of employers and academics.

They are International Ranking Expert Group (IREG) approved.

DELC Creative

DELC Creative is a space for everyone in European Languages and Cultures to come together, practise our languages, and do something creative.

The latest edition of Babble, our creative writing magazine, was launched on 2 April 2026.

Issue 16 is on the theme of Sensations.

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