Degree benefits

• No previous knowledge of Dutch is required, as you will receive intensive language training in the first two years if you start the subject from scratch. You may also start as a more advanced speaker of Dutch.
• You can go on summer language courses after the first year and will spend the third year of study in Holland or Flanders (the northern part of Belgium), benefiting from the extensive contacts the department has with Dutch and Belgian universities including Amsterdam, Utrecht, Leiden and Antwerp.
• You will study in a small, friendly department that has a high staff:student ratio, which is unusual in higher education.
• You will have access to the most comprehensive Dutch Library in the English-speaking world, including our collection of Dutch and Belgian films and documentaries on DVD and multimedia learning resources.

Careers

• A substantial number of our graduates use their language skills in a variety of contexts, such as public relations (often for multinational companies, many of which have Dutch origins), insurance, banking, political and cultural institutions, or in teaching and translating. Some graduates go on to Master's or PhD programmes.
• There is significant and growing demand for Dutch-speaking graduates, despite the recession, as evidenced by regular requests from employers to the department. In the English-speaking context, a university graduate with a good command of Dutch is rare indeed, giving the graduate in Dutch a major asset.
• Belgium and the Netherlands belong to the world's most advanced manufacturing and trading areas and are among Britain's largest trading partners, housing the headquarters of numerous multinational companies and the political heart of the European Union and NATO. Dutch has 23 million speakers worldwide and Afrikaans, closely related to Dutch, has some 17 million.