Stockholm university

Romance Languages

Within the field of Romance Languages, you can study courses in literature and linguistics at advanced level in Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian. In addition to courses in the language of your choice, you will study courses with students from the other languages. This creates a dynamic and inspiring environment.

Subject description

Romance languages is a group of related languages that originate from Latin. These languages are among the most spoken languages in the world. Many countries where these languages are spoken have an exciting and rich history and they continue to play an important role in global culture and politics.

All courses in French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish at the advanced level are part of the field of education for Romance languages. Some courses are common to all languages while others deepen your understanding of a Romance language of your choice. You can find information about courses at the undergraduate level under the headings of the different languages.

Studies in Romance languages involve a deepening of knowledge, skills and abilities acquired from first-cycle education in French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish. The studies prepare you for professional activities and for further studies at PhD level. You gain in-depth insights into current research and developmental work, and in-depth knowledge of theory and methodology.

Courses within Romance languages are specialized either in literature or in linguistics. If you choose to study linguistics, you will learn about the development and variation of the different languages; what they have in common, but also what separates them. If you choose to focus on literature, you will learn about how the various Romance literatures have developed in different parts of the world and how these literatures relate to each other from a comparative perspective. These insights will then be applied and deepened within the selected language. Teaching is in English and in the selected language.

Studying languages not only increases your understanding of other cultures, but also helps you to better understand your own culture and broaden your perspectives on the world and the human being. After studies at advanced level you can obtain a master's degree with specializations in one of the four languages with either a linguistic or literary orientation.

The courses we offer can be combined with courses from other departments, and the master’s programme that we take part in offers a vibrant international environment where you will meet fellow students from different language departments and different countries.

Career opportunities

Studying Romance languages opens doors to a large labor market. Intercultural competence and language skills are highly valued by employers engaged in the global market. The studies will provide you with a wide range of skills and analytical tools promoting your ability to think and reflect independently and creatively.

After studying Romance languages, you could become a project manager, investigator or consultant, especially within a market that is focused on countries where the Romance languages are spoken. Your expertise will be particularly suitable for the cultural sector such as museums, libraries and publishers. You can also work with interpretation and translation.

Courses and programmes

  • PhD studies

    We offer postgraduate education in Romance languages with a general focus, as well as an education specialized in French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The studies are focused or on literature or on linguistics.

Degree

Research

Within the field of Romance languages, research is conducted in literature and linguistics. Within the field of literature we have researchers specializing in many different areas while research in linguistics focuses on discourse analysis, translation studies, multilingualism and language acquisition, language history and sociolinguistics, to name a few examples.