Linguistics and Language (French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish) with International Experience
Entry requirements
A level
UCAS Tariff
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About this course
Would you love to become a highly proficient linguist while at the same time developing an understanding of how language works? As the science of language, linguistics studies everything to do with language, including:
- how language is structured
- how it develops in children
- the ways in which it reflects society and culture
- how it defines individuals and groups
- how it changes over time.
Our BA Linguistics and Language offers you the opportunity to learn about the central ideas and concerns of contemporary linguistics at one of the world’s top research-intensive universities. On this linguistics degree, you will also have the opportunity to reach near-native standard in one language - French, German, Italian or Spanish - or upper-intermediate or advanced level in Japanese, depending on your level of entry, while practising skills such as translating, summary writing and delivering written and oral presentations.
You can also choose to study the cultures associated with French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish, and we offer a range of cross-cultural modules which will allow you to explore specific themes across a variety of language-speaking areas.
If you opt for the Foundation Year route, this will fully prepare you for undergraduate study. It is ideal if you are returning to study after a gap, or if you have not previously studied the relevant subjects, or if you didn't achieve the grades you need for a place on your chosen undergraduate degree.
On the four-year full-time International Experience route, you will normally spend your third year at a partner institution to allow you to develop your language skills and your knowledge of the culture.
**Highlights**
- Applied linguistics has been taught at Birkbeck since 1965, so you will be taught by experienced specialists from a centre of teaching and research excellence.
- Ours is a community of scholars with shared interests in interdisciplinary topics and cross-cultural research. Our affiliated research centres, the Centre for French, Francophone and Comparative Studies (CFFCS) and the Centre for Iberian and Latin American Visual Studies (CILAVS), provide an important platform for this exchange.
- If you choose the four-year full-time International Experience route, you will have the opportunity to spend a year at a partner institution.
**Careers and employability**
Graduates can pursue career paths in publishing, education, policy-making or language education. Possible professions include:
- translator
- English as a Foreign Language teacher
- publishing copy editor/proofreader
- civil service fast-streamer
- editorial assistant.
We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.
Modules
For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.
Assessment methods
Assessment varies and includes coursework, written examinations, oral examinations and listening comprehension.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
Birkbeck, University of London
School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Linguistics
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Others in language and area studies
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
We don't have more detailed stats to show you in relation to this subject area at this university but read about typical employment outcomes and prospects for graduates of this subject below.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Linguistics
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£22k
£24k
£28k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Others in language and area studies
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£18k
£25k
£32k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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