Key facts

• Typical offer conditions - A*AA - A*A*A at A-Level / IB 42-43 with 776 in Higher Levels
• Required subjects - Language A-Level if applying for a post A-Level language eg French
• Admissions tests - TBC
• Interviews - two subject based
• Written work - two submitted essays (TBC)
• Average offers made - TBC

The subject at Selwyn

Selwyn has a long tradition of welcoming students doing Linguistics, whether in the Linguistics Tripos or as part of the Modern Languages Tripos. Selwyn is one of the few colleges to have an internal Director of Studies in Linguistics.

Selwyn's teaching officers also range across all the principal languages of the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos.  Students studying languages at Selwyn are assisted in their studies by a wide range of travel grants.

The College is extremely close to the Linguistics Department and the library of the Modern and Medieval Languages Department.

The Teaching Fellows

Selwyn's Fellow in Linguistics is Dr Kirsty McDougall, who has research interests in experimental and forensic phonetics.  Another Selwyn Fellow with research interests in Linguistics is Dr Rupert Thompson (Classics Faculty) who teaches linguistics students choosing papers in classical linguistics.

In MML, Dr Edmund Birch (French) is a specialist in nineteenth-century French culture; Dr Bryan Cameron (Spanish) is a specialist in modern Spanish culture, with research interests in in the nineteenth-century novel, film studies and social protest movements.  Dott. Claudia Domenici (Italian) has scholarship interests in language teaching methodology and the interaction of language, Dr Elena Filimonova (Russian) has research interests in Russian linguistics and linguistic typology; and Dr Charlotte Woodford (German) has published an early modern, nineteenth-century and twentieth-century German literature, with special focus on women's writing and the novel.  The College also has its own language teachers in French, German and Russian.

Qualities we are looking for

Modern Languages can be studied either from scratch (except French) or post qualification.

For most students, linguistics is a new subject that they have not studied formerly before.  Some may have developed an interest in language from doing English Language A-Level, while for others the initial stimulus may have come from learning a foreign language or experiencing different dialects and languages in their everyday lives.

We are looking for students who can show an intellectual curiosity about language and the science of communication, and an ability to think about language in a logical and precise manner.  A-Level subjects that could serve as a good preparation include among others English language or literature, classics, a foreign language, maths, psychology or a science.

Successful candidates are likely to have shown evidence of intellectual independence, for instance, through independent reading in relevant areas.

Subject requirements

A language A-Level is required if you wish to study a post A-Level language (for example this is always required for French).  However, no language A-Level is required for Linguistics combined with an ab-initio language.

Admissions Assessment

Students who are invited for interview in LML are also asked to take a written assessment.  Details TBC.

All candidates are asked to submit two pieces of written work (TBC).

Interviews

Candidates will have two interviews, one in linguistics and one with a subject specialist in their chosen language.  The linguistics interviews aim to test your ability to think creatively and logically about language and its structure, and to establish your motivation for the subject and degree of engagement with it.

Languages interviews: all interviews will include a test of your spoken language, except in the case of a language you wish to start at University.  The interviewers will also be looking for motivation and an active interest in the culture and history of the language-speaking area.

Within the interviews will be included some questions which will give a fuller sense of your aptitude for your chosen course, the maturity of your approach towards academic work, and your linguistic and other interests.

March 2026