French

Explore the debates, contradictions, and extraordinary creativity that characterise contemporary France and the French-speaking world.

Study French at Scotland’s oldest university and gain the communication, cultural, and analytical skills that global employers value.

Develop advanced language ability, explore global French-language culture, and open doors to careers in journalism, government, security, marketing, and more.

Excel with St Andrews

The School of Modern Languages at St Andrews is consistently rated among the best in the UK. St Andrews is 1st in the UK for French in the Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026 and 1st in Scotland and 2nd in the UK for French in the Complete University Guide 2026.

Supportive, small-group learning

At St Andrews, core language modules develop your French language competence and confidence.

• French is open to students who have studied French at SQA Higher, GCE A-Level, or equivalent.

• Small-group tutorials allow students to work with tutors to practise speaking, reading, and writing French. Language tutorials typically have 10 to 14 students.

• Advanced modules in later years help all students establish a sound knowledge and use of French.

Global and multi-media approach

You will explore global French-language literature and culture alongside your language studies. Optional cultural studies modules span the Middle Ages to the present day across a variety of media and disciplines. Recent optional modules include:

• Bodies and Words in Libertine Literature

• Saint-Domingue: Theatre and Society in a Caribbean Slave Colony

• African Francophone Fiction

• Francophone Screen Cultures: Shaping French Identities

• Contemporary French Poetry

• Recent Women's Writing in French

Integrated year abroad option and study abroad placements

You can combine your French studies with time abroad to further develop linguistic skills, intercultural knowledge, and self-confidence. Options include:

• Working for a year in a French-speaking country.

• A shorter period studying at a partner institution in France, Switzerland, Canada, or the USA.

Study French with other languages or subjects

You can take French as a single-subject honours degree or combine it with another subject that best reflects your academic interests and career plans.

• You can take French with one or two other languages or Comparative Literature as part of a double- or triple-languages honours degree.

• Many students combine French with another subject such as Art History, History, International Relations, or Management as part of a joint honours degree.