St Andrews top in UK for French studies
The University of St Andrews has been ranked 1st in in the UK for French studies by the The Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026.
The ranking reflects the excellence of language and cultural studies offered by the Department of French at the School of Modern Languages.
The Times and Sunday Times Guide profiles and ranks 133 UK universities and is regarded as one of the most comprehensive analyses of the British higher education sector. Overall, the University of St Andrews was named as the top university in Scotland and second to Durham University in the UK.
About the Department of French
The School of Modern Languages' Department of French is truly diverse in its outlook and activities.
Research and teaching engages with the broadest spectrum of French studies - encompassing francophone postcolonial studies, contemporary French and comparative literature, journalistic writings and intellectual life in France, history and science of the French long 19th century, the Enlightenment and Libertine literature, and theatre and culture of the early-modern period.
The French language is taught in St Andrews via modern, communicative methods that combine a high level of oral competence with sound grammatical accuracy. At all levels French programmes promote independent, critical thought and intellectual curiosity.
About the School of Modern Languages
The School of Modern Languages at the University of St Andrews is one of the largest and most diverse of its kind in the UK - the School offers degree programmes in eight languages as well as dynamic cross-disciplinary programmes in comparative literature and digital humanities.
The School is consistently rated among the best in the UK by major national rankings and prides itself on being a vibrant, diverse, inclusive and engaging academic community that welcomes all students wishing to pursue the study of foreign languages and cultures.
Learn more about the School of Modern Languages' undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.