European and Middle Eastern Languages
 | UCAS code | See combinations |  | Duration | 4 years with year abroad (BA) |
 | Entrance requirements | AAA |  | Subject requirements | A modern language (depending on course choice) |
 | Admissions test(s) | | Written work | Two pieces | |
 | Admissions statistics* | Interviewed: 90% |  | Contact | +44 (0) 1865 270750 |
Subject requirements: Essential Recommended Helpful – may be useful on course
The European and Middle Eastern Languages (EMEL) course enables students to combine papers in one of the languages taught in the Faculty of Modern Languages with papers in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian or Turkish, providing opportunities to take advantage of the cultural links which exist between a number of European and Middle Eastern languages. For example, appropriate combinations might well be French and Arabic, German and Turkish, or Hebrew and Russian, but even some of the less obvious pairings would provide similar cultural and historical linkage. For example, Spanish and Turkish would be an interesting combination for the history of Sephardi Judaism, while Persian and Portuguese are important for the study of early colonial expansion.
Through its long-standing traditions and connections Oxford has outstanding resources for the study of Middle Eastern and modern European languages. The Bodleian Library and Taylor Institution Library have an extensive collection of books and manuscripts. The Taylor Institution is one of the biggest research and lending libraries devoted to modern European languages in the world. Associated with the University is the Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, which houses the Leopold Muller Library with more than 35,000 volumes in Hebrew and more than 7,000 volumes in Western languages.
International opportunities
You will normally spend your second year on an approved course of study in the Middle East. There are arrangements in place with partner universities to help you make the most of your time abroad. You are strongly advised to spend the adjacent summers in a country where the European language of your choice is spoken.
Staś, who studied Russian with Arabic, says: ‘Aside from the intensive language tuition, our time in Jordan was filled with visits to natural and historical wonders – the Dead Sea, Jerash, Wadi Rum, and Petra. By the end of our year we had reached an advanced level of Arabic and fully immersed ourselves in contemporary Jordanian culture. For my Russian, I spent the first summer in Russia, partly on a language course at Perm University in the Urals. The following summer I worked as an intern in a great little translation firm. Saint Petersburg is Russia’s coolest city, and my language quickly improved.’
In certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to a course’s requirements for international study. Students who consider that they may be affected are asked to contact their department for advice.
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| “The most important thing that studying at Oxford did for me was to provide me with the confidence to assert my opinions and the ability to substantiate my arguments. Having to defend your essays to someone a lot more knowledgeable within the tutorial system is a sure-fire way to build your self-assurance!” JACK | “One day you might be studying literature, the next day you might be studying philosophy. You can also look at history - languages are a vehicle for the exploration of many different fields.” SHAAHIN |
A typical week
Your work will be divided between language classes, lectures and tutorials (one or two a week). In the first year, the emphasis will be on intensive learning of the Middle Eastern language. Throughout your course, you will prepare essays for your weekly tutorials and classes, some of which will take place in the Faculties of Oriental Studies and Medieval and Modern Languages, while others will be held in your college.
Tutorials are usually up to four students and a tutor. Seminar and language class sizes may vary depending on the options you choose or the language you are studying, but there would usually be no more than around 20 students and would often be much smaller. Most tutorials, classes, and lectures are delivered by staff who are tutors in their subject. Many are world-leading experts with years of experience in teaching and research. Some teaching may also be delivered by postgraduate students who are usually studying at doctorate level. To find out more about how our teaching year is structured, visit our Academic Year page.
Course structure
| YEAR 1 | |
COURSES
| ASSESSMENT First University examinations: five written papers; plus oral/aural examination (Arabic only) |
| YEAR 2 | |
YEAR ABROAD
| ASSESSMENT Qualifying examination at the end of Year 2 (Middle Eastern language only) |
| YEARS 3 AND 4 | |
COURSES
| ASSESSMENT Final University examinations: nine written papers are taken including a bridging extended essay; oral exam (both languages, but not Hebrew on the Middle Eastern side) |
The options listed above are illustrative and may change. More information about current options is available on the Oriental Studies website. | |
The content and format of this course may change in some circumstances. Read further information about potential course changes.
Academic requirements
| A-levels: | AAA |
| Advanced Highers: | AA/AAB |
| IB: | 38 (including core points) with 666 at HL |
| Or any other equivalent (see other UK qualifications, and international qualifications) | |
Wherever possible, your grades are considered in the context in which they have been achieved. (See further information on how we use contextual data.)
Subject requirements
| Essential: | You would usually be expected to have the European language to A-level, or another academic equivalent. We would not normally expect you to have any knowledge of the Middle Eastern language before starting the course. |
If, and only if, you have chosen to take any science A-levels, we expect you to take and pass the practical component in addition to meeting any overall grade requirement.
If English is not your first language you may also need to meet our English language requirements.
Applying
All candidates must follow the application procedure as shown in applying to Oxford. The information below gives specific details for students applying for this course.
Admissions tests
| Test: | OLAT and MLAT |
| Test date: | 30 October 2019 |
| Registration deadline: | 6pm 15 October 2019 |
All candidates must take the Modern Languages Admissions Tests (MLAT) and the Oriental Languages Aptitude Test (OLAT) as part of their application. Separate registration for these tests is required and it is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure that they are registered. We strongly recommend making arrangements in plenty of time before the deadline. Everything you need to know, including guidance on registration and preparation, can be found on the MLAT and OLAT pages.
Written work
| Description: | For the European language, candidates must submit the same written work as for Modern Languages. No written work is required for the Middle Eastern language. |
| Submission deadline: | 10 November 2019 |
Please see the general page on written work to download the cover sheet.
What are tutors looking for?
Tutors will be looking for a good command of the grammar of any language you have already studied at school or college and want to continue studying at Oxford, in addition to an interest in its literature and culture. At interview, tutors will want to find out as much as possible about your intellectual interests and academic potential, so you may be asked about your reading, your interest in the cultures of the relevant countries, or the work you have submitted. You may be asked questions about a short passage in English or the relevant foreign language.
You will be given the opportunity to speak in the relevant foreign language which you have studied to an advanced level. As far as possible, interviewers will try to let you show your strengths, interest in the subject(s) you intend to study, and reasons for applying to Oxford.
For more detail on the selection criteria for this course, please see the Modern Languages and Oriental Studies websites.
Careers
Oxford graduates in these subjects regularly go into highly competitive areas such as the law, finance, commerce, management consultancy, accountancy, the media, advertising, the Foreign Office and the arts. Recent European and Middle Eastern Languages graduates include a Foreign Office diplomat, a translator at the UN and a journalist at a foreign news channel.
Oxford University is committed to recruiting the best and brightest students from all backgrounds. We offer a generous package of financial support to Home/EU students from lower-income households. (UK nationals living in the UK are usually Home students.)
Latest information for UK and EU undergraduates who will begin their course in 2020 can be found here. Further information for EU students starting in 2020 is available here.
The fees and funding information below relates to those who will start at Oxford in 2020.
Fees
These annual fees are for full-time students who begin this undergraduate course here in 2020.
Fee status | Annual Course fees |
| Home/EU | £9,250 |
| Islands (Channel Islands & Isle of Man) | £9,250 |
| Overseas | £27,285 |
For more information please refer to our course fees page. Fees will usually increase annually. For details, please see our guidance on likely increases to fees and charges.
EU applicants should refer to our dedicated webpage for details of the implications of the UK’s plans to leave the European Union.
Living costs
Living costs at Oxford might be less than you’d expect, as our world-class resources and college provision can help keep costs down.
Living costs for the academic year starting in 2020 are estimated to be between £1,135 and £1,650 for each month you are in Oxford. Our academic year is made up of three eight-week terms, so you would not usually need to be in Oxford for much more than six months of the year but may wish to budget over a nine-month period to ensure you also have sufficient funds during the holidays to meet essential costs. For further details please visit our living costs webpage.
Financial support
Home/EU | A tuition fee loan is available from the UK government to cover course fees in full for Home (UK)/EU students undertaking their first undergraduate degree*, so you don’t need to pay your course fees up front. In 2020 Oxford is offering one of the most generous bursary packages of any UK university to UK and EU students with a family income of around £42,875 or less, with additional opportunities available to UK students from households with incomes of £27,500 or less. This support is available in addition to the government living costs support. See further details. |
Islands | Islands students are entitled to different support to that of students from the rest of the UK. Please refer the links below for information on the support to you available from your funding agency: |
Overseas | Please refer to the "Other Scholarships" section of our Oxford Bursaries and Scholarships page. |
*If you have studied at undergraduate level before and completed your course, you will be classed as an Equivalent or Lower Qualification student (ELQ) and won’t be eligible to receive government or Oxford funding
Additional Fees and Charges Information for European and Middle Eastern Languages
During the year abroad, students pay significantly reduced fees. For students who started an undergraduate course from 2019, who are going on their year abroad in 2020, the course fees are:
- Home/EU/Islands students: £1,385 for the year.
- International students: £8,750 for the year.
We recommend that students begin to research their year abroad options – including the financial implications – as early as possible in the second year of the course. There is plenty of support, information and advice to help you. You may choose to work or study during your year abroad, or you may do both. Students undertake a range of activities while on their year abroad, some activities may receive a salary and thus - depending on individual choices - it is possible for the year abroad to be cost neutral. Actual costs (such as course fees) and living costs will vary depending on the destination and the activity undertaken.
You will need to pay for living costs during the year abroad, including accommodation and travel expenses. Subject to the UK continuing to be eligible to participate in the Erasmus Programme or equivalent framework after leaving the EU, students taking part in Erasmus (or equivalent) study exchanges will not need to pay tuition fees to other institutions. However, if you decide to study outside this framework you will be liable to pay tuition fees to the relevant institution. For more information about the Erasmus+ programme at Oxford, please visit ox.ac.uk/erasmus
You may receive salary payments or grants to offset some or all of these costs. Also, if you receive government funding for the rest of your course, you will still be entitled to government support during your year abroad. Hardship funds are available from the Faculty of Medieval & Modern Languages for students who can demonstrate particular difficulties related to their year abroad. These are awarded through a termly application process.
| Courses with Arabic | UCAS codes |
| Czech and Arabic | RT7Q |
| French and Arabic | RT16 |
| German and Arabic | RT26 |
| Italian and Arabic | RT36 |
| Modern Greek and Arabic | QT76 |
| Portuguese and Arabic | RT56 |
| Russian and Arabic | RT76 |
| Spanish and Arabic | RT46 |
| Courses with Hebrew | UCAS codes |
| Czech and Hebrew | RQ7K |
| French and Hebrew | RQ14 |
| German and Hebrew | RQ24 |
| Italian and Hebrew | RQ34 |
| Modern Greek and Hebrew | QQ74 |
| Portuguese and Hebrew | RQ54 |
| Russian and Hebrew | RQ74 |
| Spanish and Hebrew | RQK4 |
| Courses with Persian | UCAS codes |
| Czech and Persian | RTT6 |
| French and Persian | RTC6 |
| German and Persian | RT2P |
| Italian and Persian | RTH6 |
| Modern Greek and Persian | QT7P |
| Portuguese and Persian | RTM6 |
| Russian and Persian | RT7P |
| Spanish and Persian | RT4P |
| Courses with Turkish | UCAS codes |
| Czech and Turkish | RTRP |
| French and Turkish | RT1P |
| German and Turkish | RT2Q |
| Italian and Turkish | RT3P |
| Modern Greek and Turkish | QT7Q |
| Portuguese and Turkish | RT5P |
| Russian and Turkish | RTR6 |
| Spanish and Turkish | RTK6 |
Contextual information
The Key Information Sets provides applicants with statistics about undergraduate life at Oxford. But there is so much more to an Oxford degree that the numbers can’t convey.
The Oxford tutorial
College tutorials are central to teaching at Oxford. Typically, they take place in your college and are led by your academic tutor(s) who teach as well as do their own research. Students will also receive teaching in a variety of other ways, depending on the course. This will include lectures and classes, and may include laboratory work and fieldwork. However, tutorials offer a level of personalised attention from academic experts unavailable at most universities.
During tutorials (normally lasting an hour), college subject tutors will give you and one or two tutorial partners feedback on prepared work and cover a topic in depth. The other student(s) in your college tutorials will be from your year group, doing the same course as you and will normally be at your college. Such regular and rigorous academic discussion develops and facilitates learning in a way that isn’t possible through lectures alone. Tutorials also allow for close progress monitoring so tutors can quickly provide additional support if necessary.
Read more about tutorials and an Oxford education
College life
Our colleges are at the heart of Oxford’s reputation as one of the best universities in the world.
- At Oxford, everyone is a member of a college as well as their subject department(s) and the University. Students therefore have both the benefits of belonging to a large, renowned institution and to a small and friendly academic community. Each college or hall is made up of academic and support staff, and students. Colleges provide a safe, supportive environment leaving you free to focus on your studies, enjoy time with friends and make the most of the huge variety of opportunities.
- Each college has a unique character, but generally their facilities are similar. Each one, large or small, will have the following essential facilities:
- Porters’ lodge (a staffed entrance and reception)
- Dining hall
- Lending library (often open 24/7 in term time)
- Student accommodation
- Tutors’ teaching rooms
- Chapel and/or music rooms
- Laundry
- Green spaces
- Common room (known as the JCR).
- All first year students are offered college accommodation either on the main site of their college or in a nearby college annexe. This means that your neighbours will also be ‘freshers’ and new to life at Oxford. This accommodation is guaranteed, so you don’t need to worry about finding somewhere to live after accepting a place here, all of this is organised for you before you arrive.
- All colleges offer at least one further year of accommodation and some offer it for the entire duration of your degree. You may choose to take up the option to live in your college for the whole of your time at Oxford, or you might decide to arrange your own accommodation after your first year – perhaps because you want to live with friends from other colleges.
- While college academic tutors primarily support your academic development, you can also ask their advice on other things. Lots of other college staff including welfare officers help students settle in and are available to offer guidance on practical or health matters. Current students also actively support students in earlier years, sometimes as part of a college ‘family’ or as peer supporters trained by the University’s Counselling Service.
COURSE COMBINATIONS
| Arabic | Hebrew | Persian | Turkish | |
| Czech | RT7Q | RQ7K | RTT6 | RTRP |
| French | RT16 | RQ14 | RTC6 | RT1P |
| German | RT26 | RQ24 | RT2P | RT2Q |
| Modern Greek | QT76 | QQ74 | QT7P | QT7Q |
| Italian | RT36 | RQ34 | RTH6 | RT3P |
| Portuguese | RT56 | RQ54 | RTM6 | RT5P |
| Russian | RT76 | RQ74 | RT7P | RTR6 |
| Spanish | RT46 | RQK4 | RT4P | RTK6 |
FIND OUT MORE
Online:
In person:
- Modern Languages Open Day
4 May 2019 (booking required)
- Oriental Studies Open Day
4 May 2019 (booking required)
Accelerated language learning
Start a Middle Eastern language from scratch and within a year you’ll be studying full authentic texts.
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Students interested in this course might also like to consider other Modern Languages courses or Oriental Studies courses.