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Undergraduate

We respond to the crucial importance of languages, literature and cross-cultural comparison in knowing and engaging with the world, building skills that set our graduates on the path to successful and varied careers. We are ranked 5th in the UK for Modern Languages (QS World Rankings, 2026).

Studying Modern Languages with us means you not only become fluent in another language – French, German, Portuguese, or Spanish – but that you also study literature and other aspects of the cultures, histories and societies associated with that language around the globe. All our Modern Languages students spend a year abroad during their degree, whether in Europe, Martinique, Quebec, or South America – and many of the photos on this website are selected from entries to our Year Abroad photography competition.

Our languages degrees give you the chance to try new subjects and diversify your learning. If there's a language you want to learn for the first time, you can study it fom scratch (ab initio) as part of your undergraduate degree, as well as having the option to study two language areas or combine your studies with Management, History, Global Media, Philosophy or English.

Studying Comparative Literature with us means you’ll be exploring literature spanning 10 languages, 5 continents and over 2,500 years with topics stretching from Europe to the Americas, Australia, India, the Middle East, and north and sub-Saharan Africa. Our course is a genuinely comparative programme, where you learn from staff engaged in research to do with the discipline of Comparative Literature – something which sets King's apart. You explore literature beyond the borders of one country or cultural group, and the interactions between literature and other forms of human expression, including the arts, the sciences and cultural artefacts of all kinds.

UCAS Code: Q200
Duration: Three years

Study the similarities and differences between literature written in 10 different languages, produced across 5 continents and spanning 2,500 years.

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UCAS Code: Q2P3
Duration: Three years

Study BA Comparative Literature with Film Studies degree at King's College London.

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UCAS Code: R904
Duration: Four years

Study English and a Modern Language (French, German, Portuguese or Spanish) with a year abroad at King's College London.

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UCAS Code: R903
Duration: Four years

History and Modern Languages (French, German, Portuguese, Spanish) BA with a year abroad.

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UCAS Code: LP99
Duration: Three years full-time (a modern languages major is four years, with the third year spent abroad)

Study Liberal Arts BA at King's College London and take one of 13 majors from across arts, social sciences and humanities.

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UCAS Code: R902
Duration: Four years

Management and a Modern Language (French, German, Portuguese and Spanish) with a year abroad BA

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UCAS Code: R900
Duration: Four years

Unlock the world with a Modern Languages BA. Become fluent in your chosen language(s), develop your intercultural competence, graduate with transferable skills.

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UCAS Code: R901
Duration: Four years

Study Philosophy & Modern Languages (French, German, Portuguese or Spanish) with a year abroad BA.

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Career Paths

Career Paths

Hear from alumni on what they went on to do after graduating from the Department.

What is Comparative Literature?

Comparative Literature might not be a term you've heard before – so what does it mean? At King's, a Comparative Literature course gives you the chance to explore literature from around the world, comparing texts to see how they interact with each other across languages and borders.

Jumana (Comparative Literature BA) explains what the course covers, the skills it's given her, and why she's enjoyed her studies at King's.

Flick through our vibrant student magazines

Our students run four magazines filled with poetry, political commentary, literary analysis, photography, art and more to showcase their writing and critique skills and build up a portfolio of published work ready for employment.

Jargon – Comparative Literature- Sobremesa – Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan- Des Nouvelles, Héloïse? – French- Königspost – German

DLLC student magazines feature (martina pala)

King's students win London-wide prizes for academic success

Valeria Berghinz (Comparative Literature MA) won the Jethro Blithell Prize, given to the best performance on a master’s programme in Modern Languages with engagement in the study of German.

Aldo Ruggiero (Philosophy & Modern Languages (German) with a Year Abroad) received the Alice Emily Bithell Prize for the best performance in German Studies at undergraduate level. He graduated with First Class Honours and a Distinction in Oral German.

bithell prizes feature

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