No 6789
Wednesday 18 June 2025
Vol clv No 38
pp. 649–666
The General Board begs leave to report to the University as follows:
1. The General Board proposes that a new Tripos in Linguistics and Modern Languages be introduced from October 2027.
2. The proposal has been developed by the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics. It has the support of the Faculty Board of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics, the Council of the School of Arts and Humanities, the Senior Tutors’ Committee, the Undergraduate Admissions Committee, the Admissions Forum, the Planning and Resources Committee, the Resource Management Committee, and the General Board’s Education Committee.
3. The Linguistics and Modern Languages Tripos will be a four‑year undergraduate course which will integrate the scientific study of language as a central element of human cognition with the study of a specific language, its social context, history and culture. The Tripos shall consist of three parts: Part Ia, Part Ib, and Part II. Students will spend a year abroad after successful completion of Part Ib before returning in their fourth year for Part II. A student who successfully completes the course will be eligible for the Bachelor of Arts degree. Full details are set out in the regulations attached as Annex I to this Report.
4. The Linguistics and Modern Languages Tripos will be governed by the Faculty Board of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics, with its administration being undertaken within the Faculty. Examinations and assessment for each Part will be overseen by a Board of Examiners.
5. The Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics currently offers three B.A. (Hons) undergraduate courses: in Modern and Medieval Languages (MML), History and Modern Languages (HML), and Linguistics. The lack of a dedicated undergraduate degree in Linguistics and Modern Languages is a conspicuous absence in comparison with many other UK universities. The introduction of the new Tripos will address this and diversify the Faculty’s offering, increasing attractiveness to potential applicants.
6. The interdisciplinary nature of the Linguistics and Modern Languages Tripos aligns with the aims of the School of Arts and Humanities Curriculum Review and fits with plans for growth and an expansion of provision of Tripos courses.
7. The first cohort of students will be admitted to Part Ia of the Linguistics and Modern Languages Tripos in academic year 2027–28. The projected initial intake is 16 students.
8. The Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics has engaged with the Senior Tutors’ Education Committee, the Senior Tutors’ Committee, the Admissions Forum, the Undergraduate Admissions Committee and the Education Space Programme on how the Linguistics and Modern Languages Tripos fits in with the future size and shape of the collegiate University. Overall numbers are within the planned student numbers for the School of Arts and Humanities. The projected numbers are small for any one College. As the new degree is composed of elements of the existing Linguistics Tripos and the Modern and Medieval Languages (MML) Tripos, Directors of Studies in MML and/or Linguistics will act as subject specialists for admissions and provide direction for the studies of admitted students.
9. All teaching will be provided by the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics (MMLL), using current resources to deliver the existing papers which comprise the new degree. Further administrative and teaching resource has been planned for.
10. The introduction of the Linguistics and Modern Languages Tripos is not anticipated to adversely affect the level and quality of demand and provision for other Cambridge Triposes, including those currently offered in MMLL. In fulfilling a demand for a dedicated Tripos combining Linguistics with Modern Languages, the Faculty anticipates attracting applicants who would otherwise be lost to competitor institutions that offer such programmes.
11. The Linguistics and Modern Languages Tripos combines strengths among existing Cambridge Triposes while fostering cross-disciplinary learning and collaboration opportunities. It will provide students with the tools and methodologies, drawn from arts and humanities (MML) as well as social sciences and natural language processing/machine learning (Linguistics), to address the current and future challenges faced by human societies.
There are a number of reasons for introducing this Tripos:
(a)The Linguistics and Modern Languages Tripos fulfils a need at Cambridge for a dedicated degree that combines these disciplines, in equal proportion. Feedback from prospective applicants and current students has long highlighted this gap in current provision, contrasted with many competitor institutions who do offer such a combination. Applicant data reveals that prospective students often apply for such courses when applying to Cambridge; the aim is to achieve parity of provision with other institutions by diversifying the University’s offering with the introduction of a degree combining Linguistics with Modern Languages.
(b)The proposed Tripos will enable students to develop a deep understanding of the multifaceted and central status of language in literature and culture, human cognition and communication, language education and policy, health and well‑being, and information technology. This understanding will be indispensable for graduates looking for a career in language learning, teaching, assessment and training, data-mining in social media in other languages, communications, as educators in the multicultural and multilingual parts of UK, and as health professionals and those caring for neurodivergent individuals.
The cross-fertilisation of these disciplines will be at the forefront of addressing the challenges of the future, in which unprecedented technological advances will need to connect to and align with human understanding, culture and values.
(c)Applications to language degrees have declined across the sector, with the sharpest declines seen in single-language degrees, while degrees combining the study of a language with an arts or humanities subject have stayed relatively stable. By introducing the Linguistics and Modern Languages Tripos the aim is to address this decline and stabilise numbers across the Faculty’s Triposes.
12. The programme outcomes have been informed by Quality Assurance Agency subject benchmarking information for Languages, Cultures and Societies, and Linguistics.
13. The curriculum for the Linguistics and Modern Languages Tripos combines elements of the existing Linguistics Tripos and the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos, with papers drawn from each. Students offer foundational papers in Linguistics alongside either an ab initio language or post-A‑Level language at Part Ia, continuing their language studies alongside a choice of MML and Linguistics papers at Part Ib. The third year is spent abroad, during which students complete a Year Abroad Project. In Part II, students continue to study their chosen language alongside a choice of MML and Linguistics papers and also offer a dissertation.
14. The General Board recommends that a Linguistics and Modern Languages Tripos be established with effect from 1 October 2027, with regulations as set out in Annex I of this Report.
Deborah Prentice, Vice‑Chancellor
Katie Clarke
Tim Harper
Ella McPherson
Nigel Peake
Richard Penty
Alan Short
Jon Simons
Emily So
Pieter van Houten
Jocelyn Wyburd
1. The Linguistics and Modern Languages Tripos shall consist of three Parts: Part Ia, Part Ib, and Part II. A separate class-list shall be published for each Part.
2. The Faculty Board of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics shall nominate a Chair of Examiners and such number of Examiners and Assessors as it shall deem sufficient to conduct the examination for each Part of the Tripos. There shall be at least one Examiner for Modern Languages and at least one Examiner for Linguistics. Assessors may be summoned to meetings of the Examiners for the purpose of consultation and advice, but they shall not be entitled to vote.
3. The Faculty Board may from time to time make supplementary regulations defining all or any of the subjects of and specified texts for examination, and may modify, alter or withdraw such supplementary regulations as it sees fit, due care being taken that sufficient notice is given of any changes.
4. Before the end of the Easter Term each year, the Faculty Board shall give notice of the variable subjects for the examinations to be held in the academic year next following; provided that the Board shall have the power of subsequently issuing amendments if it has due reason for doing so and if it is satisfied that no student’s preparation for the examination is adversely affected. The Board shall have power when it gives notice of variable subjects to announce any restriction on the combination of papers that a candidate may offer.
5. For each Part of the Tripos a separate meeting of the Examiners shall be held, at which the respective class-list shall be drawn-up. In each class-list the names of candidates who deserve honours shall be placed in three classes, of which the second shall be divided into two divisions. The names in the first and third classes, and in each division of the second class, shall be arranged in alphabetical order. A mark of distinction may be awarded to any candidate placed in the first class whose work is of special excellence.
6. No candidate shall offer in any Part of the Tripos a paper that they have previously offered in another Part of the Tripos or in any another University examination.
7. Modern Languages Examinations shall be held in the following languages: French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
8. The following may present themselves as candidates for honours in Part Ia:
(a)a student who has not obtained honours in another Honours examination, provided that they have kept one term and that three complete terms have not passed after their first term of residence;
(b)a student who has obtained honours in another Honours examination, in the year after so obtaining honours, provided that they have kept four terms and that nine complete terms have not passed after their first term of residence.
9. The scheme of examination for Part Ia shall be:
(a)Paper Li. 1. Sounds and words (Paper 1 of the Linguistics Tripos)
(b)Paper Li. 2. Structures and meanings (Paper 2 of the Linguistics Tripos)
(c)Option A (ab initio) languages (German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish):
Paper A1. Introduction to the foreign language 1: Use of the foreign language
Paper A2. Introduction to the foreign language 2: Translation from the foreign language
Paper A3. Introduction to the foreign language 3: Introduction to culture/literature of the foreign language
Oral examination A
(d)Option B (post-A-level or equivalent) languages (French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish):
Paper B1. Use of the foreign language
Paper B2. Translation from the foreign language
Oral examination B
and one of the following introductory Scheduled Papers from the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos relating to the language concerned:
Paper Fr. 1. Introduction to French literature, linguistics, film and thought
Paper Ge. 1. Introduction to German studies
Paper It. 1. Italian texts and contexts
Paper Sl. 1. Introduction to Russian culture
Paper Sp. 1. Introduction to the language, literatures and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world
10. A candidate for Part Ia shall offer:
(a)the papers indicated in Regulation 9(a) and (b); and
(b)either the papers indicated in Regulation 9(c) (provided that Papers A1, A2, A3, and Oral examination A must be offered in one and the same language), or the papers indicated in Regulation 9(d) (provided that Papers B1, B2, Oral examination B and the Scheduled Paper option must be offered in one and the same language).
11. The following may present themselves as candidates for honours in Part Ib:
(a)a student who has obtained honours in Part Ia of the Linguistics and Modern Languages Tripos, in the year after so obtaining honours;
(b)a student who has obtained honours in Part Ia of the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos, in the year after so obtaining honours;
(c)a student who has obtained honours in another Honours Examination, in the year after so obtaining honours, provided that they have kept four terms and that nine complete terms have not passed after their first term of residence, and subject to the prior approval of the Faculty Board of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics.
12. The scheme of examination for Part Ib shall be:
(a)the papers listed in Schedule A;
(b)for languages offered under Option A (ab initio) at Part Ia (French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish):
Paper B1. Use of the foreign language
Paper B2. Translation from the foreign language
Oral examination B
(c)for languages offered under Option B (post-A-level or equivalent) at Part Ia (French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish):
Paper B3. Translation and foreign language through the media
Oral presentation B3
(d)the papers listed in Schedule B.
13. A candidate for Part Ib shall offer:
(a)(i) for a candidate who offered an Option A language in Part Ia, the papers indicated in Regulation 12(a) in the same language; or (ii) for a candidate who offered an Option B language in Part Ia, the papers indicated in Regulation 12(b) in the same language; and
(b)three other papers, including at least one paper from those indicated in Regulation 12(a) and one paper from those indicated in Regulation 12(d).
14. A candidate for Part Ib may offer, in place of one of the designated papers from Schedule B (indicated by the ‘†’ symbol) two long essays, each of not more than 3,000 words in length including footnotes but excluding bibliography. Both essays must be in answer to questions prescribed by the examiners for the paper and advertised by the division of term preceding the submission deadlines. The two essays shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Faculty Board, in accordance with detailed arrangements approved by the Board, so as to arrive not later than 12 noon on the first Friday of the Full Lent Term and Full Easter Term respectively. At the discretion of the Examiners, a candidate may be called for viva voce examination in connection with their essays.
15. The following may present themselves as candidates for honours in Part II:
(a)a student who has obtained honours in Part Ib of the Linguistics and Modern Languages Tripos or Part Ib of the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos, and has subsequently spent a period abroad in accordance with the requirements of Regulation 20, in the year next but one after last obtaining honours, provided that they have kept seven terms and that fifteen terms have not passed after their first term of residence;
(b)a student who has obtained honours in another Honours Examination may be a candidate in the year after so obtaining honours, provided that they have kept seven terms and that twelve complete terms have not passed after their first term of residence;
(c)a student who has obtained honours in Part Ib of the Linguistics and Modern Languages Tripos may, in exceptional circumstances, be a candidate for Part II in the year after so obtaining honours, by seeking special permission to do so from the Faculty Board by the division of the Lent Term preceding the year in which they wish to take Part II.
16. The scheme of examination for Part II shall be:
(a)the papers listed in Schedule A;
(b)Translation from and into the foreign language (also serves as Paper C1 of the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos)
Oral examination C;
(c)Foreign language: Text and culture (also serves as Paper C2 of the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos)
Oral examination C;
(d)the papers listed in Schedule C;
(e)a Year Abroad Project;
(f)a dissertation.
17. A candidate for Part II shall offer:
(a)either the papers in the relevant language in Regulation 16(b), or the papers in the relevant language in Regulation 16(c);
(b)one paper from Regulation 16(a);
(c)one paper from Regulation 16(d);
(d)one paper chosen from either Regulation 16(a), (b), (c) or (d);
(e)a dissertation as indicated in Regulation 16(f) which shall be offered in accordance with the requirements of Regulation 18;
(f)a Year Abroad Project as indicated in Regulation 16(e) which shall be offered in accordance with the requirements of Regulation 19;
provided that a candidate who offered no more than three Linguistics papers in total across Parts Ia and Ib of the Tripos must offer at least two elements in Linguistics in Part II, which may include a Year Abroad Project and a dissertation in Linguistics.
The Faculty Board shall have discretion in exceptional circumstances to allow a candidate, on the application of their Tutor, to offer papers in a language which they did not offer as a language paper in Part Ia or Part Ib.
18. The following provisions shall apply to a dissertation offered under Regulation 17:
(a)Each candidate shall submit an application, including the title of the proposed dissertation, to the Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics Faculty Office so as to arrive not later than the third Friday of the Full Michaelmas Term preceding the examination. Applications submitted after that date will be considered only in the most exceptional circumstances.
(b)Each candidate shall obtain the approval of the proposed title by the Faculty Board no later than the last day of the Full Michaelmas Term preceding the examination. Once the title has been approved, no change shall be made to it without the further approval of the Faculty Board. A candidate may submit a revised title so as to reach the Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics Faculty Office not later than the second Friday of the Full Lent Term; titles submitted after that date will be considered only in the most exceptional circumstances.
(c)A dissertation shall be not less than 10,000 words in length, inclusive of notes, but exclusive of the bibliography and any appendices, and shall be submitted in accordance with detailed guidelines issued by the Faculty Board. Candidates will be required to declare that the dissertation is their own original work and that it does not contain material already used to any substantial extent for a comparable purpose.
(d)A dissertation shall be submitted to the Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics Faculty Office, in accordance with arrangements approved by the Faculty Board, so as to arrive not later than the Monday of the last week of the Full Lent Term in which the examination is to be held.
(e)A dissertation shall either (i) be written in English, except that quotations from primary sources must be in the language of the original; or (ii) if the Faculty Board so agrees, be written in a language in which a candidate has been examined in Parts Ia or Ib of the Linguistics and Modern Languages Tripos.
(f)At the discretion of the Examiners, a candidate may be called for viva voce examination on their dissertation and on the general field of knowledge within which it falls.
19. A Year Abroad Project offered under Regulation 17 shall be submitted in accordance with the provisions set out below:
(a)A candidate shall give notice to the Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics Faculty Office of the subject of the proposed project and the general area within which it will fall by a date announced by the Faculty Board, which shall be not later than the third Friday of the Full Easter Term in the year next but one preceding the examination. If, after giving such notice, a candidate subsequently wishes to revise their choice of subject and to offer a project on a subject that falls within a general area different from that notified, they must seek the permission of the Faculty Board not later than the division of the Full Lent Term in the year next preceding the examination. After giving notice as required above, a candidate shall submit the proposed title of the project to the Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics Faculty Office, in accordance with instructions issued by the Faculty Board.
(b)A Year Abroad Project shall either (i) be written in English, except that quotations from primary sources must be in the language of the original; or (ii) if the Faculty Board so agrees, be written in a language in which a candidate has been examined in Parts Ia or Ib of the Linguistics and Modern Languages Tripos.
(c)A Year Abroad Project may take two forms. If in the form of a dissertation, it shall normally be of not more than 8,000 words in length. If in the form of a translation project, it shall normally be of not more than 7,000 words in length.
(d)The word limits specified above include notes and appendices but exclude bibliography. Each candidate will be required to sign a declaration that the project is their own work, unaided except as may be specified in the declaration, and that it does not contain material that has already been used to any substantial extent for a comparable purpose.
(e)At the discretion of the Examiners, a candidate may be called for viva voce examination on the subject of their Year Abroad Project.
20. (a) A candidate proposing to study abroad shall apply to the Faculty Board for the approval of their plans. The application shall be submitted through the Year Abroad Office to the Secretary of the Faculty Board so as to arrive not later than the seventh Friday of the Full Lent Term in the academic year next preceding that which the candidate proposes to spend abroad, and shall indicate the country or countries that the student intends to visit and the way in which they will be occupied while abroad. If a student subsequently changes their plans, they must inform the Secretary of the Faculty Board and seek permission afresh.
(b) No student shall be a candidate for Part II under Regulation 15(a) unless evidence has been produced to the Secretary of the Faculty Board of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics that during the academic year next before the year of the examination they have spent a period studying abroad under conditions approved by the Faculty Board in a country or countries relevant to the papers to be offered in examination. Such evidence will normally consist of a certificate from a university or employer confirming dates of attendance. Every student shall submit a report on their year abroad in the manner prescribed by the Faculty Board. Students shall keep the Secretary of the Faculty Board informed of their address abroad at all times.
Li. 4. Linguistic variation and change (Paper 4 of the Linguistics Tripos)[1]
Li. 6. Phonetics (Paper 6 of the Linguistics Tripos)
Li. 7. Phonology and morphology (Paper 7 of the Linguistics Tripos)
Li. 8. Morphology (Paper 8 of the Linguistics Tripos)
Li. 9. Syntax (Paper 9 of the Linguistics Tripos)
Li. 10.Semantics and pragmatics (Paper 10 of the Linguistics Tripos)
Li. 11.Historical linguistics (Paper 11 of the Linguistics Tripos)
Li. 12.History of ideas on language (Paper 12 of the Linguistics Tripos)
Li. 13.History of the English language (Paper 13 of the Linguistics Tripos)
Li. 14.History of the French language (Paper 14 of the Linguistics Tripos)
Li. 15.First and second language acquisition (Paper 15 of the Linguistics Tripos)
Li. 16.Psychology of language processing and learning (Paper 16 of the Linguistics Tripos)
Li. 17.Language typology and cognition (Paper 17 of the Linguistics Tripos)
Li. 18.Computational linguistics (Paper 18 of the Linguistics Tripos)
[1] This paper is only available at Part Ib.
Fr. 2. Structures and varieties of French
Fr. 3. Love, violence, and power in France, 1100–1500†
Fr. 4. Rethinking the human: French literature, thought, and culture, 1500–1700†
Fr. 5. Revolutions in writing, 1700–1900†
Fr. 6. Innovation and upheaval: Deformation and reformulation in the 20th and 21st centuries†
Ge. 2.German history and thought since 1750†
Ge. 3.Introduction to German literary texts
Ge. 4.The making of German culture†
Ge. 5.Modern German culture I, 1750 to 1914†
Ge. 6.Modern German culture II†
Ge. 7.German: A linguistic introduction†
It. 2. Structure and varieties of Italian†
It. 3. Italian cinema†
It. 4. Autobiography and self-representation in Italian culture†
It. 5. Italian identities: Place, language, and culture
Pg. 2.Introduction to Lusophone literature†
Pg. 3.Introduction to the language, literatures, and cultures of the Portuguese-speaking countries
Pg. 4.Lusophone culture, history and politics†
Sl. 2. The history and culture of early Rus
Sl. 3. The making of Ukraine: History and culture of early modernity
Sl. 4. Russian culture from the Golden Age to the Silver Age†
Sl. 5. Russian and Soviet culture from 1900
Sl. 6. Russian culture after 1953†
Sl. 7. Soviet and Russian cinema
Sl. 8. The history of the Russian language
Sl. 9. Introduction to the language, literature, and culture of Ukraine
Sl. 11.Topics in nineteenth-century Slavonic literature and culture
Sl. 12.Topics in Slavonic studies
Sl. 13.Introduction to the language, literature, and culture of Poland
Sl. 14.Russian culture from 1895 to the death of Stalin†
Sl. 15.Russian culture from Perestroika to the present
Sp. 2. Introduction to Hispanic texts†
Sp. 3. Medieval Iberia, early modern Spain, and Latin America†
Sp. 4. Modern Spanish culture and history†
Sp. 5. Latin-American culture and history†
Sp. 6. Introduction to Catalan language and culture
Sp. 7. Spanish and Latin-American early modern literature and culture
Sp. 8. Spanish cinema and television
Sp. 9. Modern literature and culture in Spain
Sp. 10.Modern Catalan literature and culture
Sp. 11.The Ibero-Romance languages
Sp. 12.Latin-American culture
Sp. 13.Contemporary Latin-American culture
Sp. 14.Frontiers: Medieval Spanish literature and culture
CS. 1.The Romance languages
CS. 6.European film†
[2] Papers marked with a dagger (†) may be replaced by two long essays under Regulation 14.
Fr. 7. Topics in medieval studies to be specified by the Faculty Board from time to time
Fr. 8. Wondrous forms in the age of Montaigne
Fr. 9. Reason, experience, and authority: French literature, thought, and history, 1594–1700
Fr. 10.Enlightenment and its limits
Fr. 11.Power and desire in nineteenth-century French culture
Fr. 12.Ethics and experience: Literature, thought, and visual culture of the French-speaking world (1900 to the present)
Fr. 13.The French language: variation and change
Fr. 14.A special topic in French studies (A) to be specified by the Faculty Board from time to time
Fr. 15.A special topic in French studies (B) to be specified by the Faculty Board from time to time
Fr. 16.A special topic in French studies (C) to be specified by the Faculty Board from time to time
Ge. 8. History of the German language
Ge. 9. The making of German culture
Ge. 10.German literature, thought and history from 1700 to 1832
Ge. 11.The modern German historical imagination
Ge. 12.Revolutions in German literature, thought and history from 1830 to 1945
Ge. 13.Memory and identity in German-speaking Europe since 1945
Ge. 14.A special topic in German studies to be specified by the Faculty Board from time to time
It. 6. Modern Italian culture
It. 7. Dante and the culture of his age
It. 8. Italian literature, thought, and culture, 1500–1650
It. 9. Text and image
It. 10.The language of Italy
Pg. 3.Introduction to the language, literatures, and cultures of the Portuguese-speaking countries
Pg. 4.Lusophone culture, history and politics
Pg. 5.Literature and culture of Portugal and Brazil from 1595
Sl. 2. The history and culture of early Rus
Sl. 3. The making of Ukraine: History and culture of early modernity
Sl. 4. Russian culture from the Golden Age to the Silver Age
Sl. 5. Russian and Soviet culture from 1900
Sl. 6. Russian culture after 1953
Sl. 7. Soviet and Russian cinema
Sl. 8. The history of the Russian language
Sl. 9. Introduction to the language, literature, and culture of Ukraine
Sl. 10.Studies in twentieth-century Ukrainian literature and film
Sl. 11.Topics in nineteenth-century Slavonic literature and culture
Sl. 12.Topics in Slavonic studies
Sl. 13.Introduction to the language, literature, and culture of Poland
Sl. 14.Russian culture from 1895 to the death of Stalin
Sl. 15.Russian culture from Perestroika to the present
CS 1.The Romance languages
CS 2.The Germanic languages
CS 3.The Slavonic languages
CS 4.A special subject in comparative literature (i)
CS 5.The body
CS 6.European film
CS 7.Cinema and the political