Modern Languages (French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish)
Entry requirements
A level
We welcome applications from students on Access to Higher Education Diplomas.
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About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
Would you love to develop your understanding of the cultures and values that lie at the heart of different countries and become a highly proficient linguist in the process?
Our BA Modern Languages gives you the opportunity to specialise in one or two languages from a choice of French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish.
If you choose to study one language, you will normally enter with at least AS- or A-level (or equivalent) in that language (except Japanese, which allows beginner-level entry), and your eventual degree title will be one of the following to reflect this specialisation*:
- BA French Studies
- BA German Studies
- BA Japanese Studies
- BA Spanish and Latin American Studies
If you decide to take two languages, you can study one from beginners’ level and the other one from A-level or equivalent level, which will allow you to raise your language skills to near-native standard in at least one of the two languages. Your eventual degree title will name both languages, for example, BA French and Spanish.
Whichever language or languages you choose, you will develop your cultural understanding through modules exploring literature, film, popular culture, visual art or linguistics. Cross-cultural modules will also allow you to analyse comparative themes across a variety of linguistic and cultural contexts.
At the same time, you will also master transferable skills such as summary and essay writing, oral presentations and written reports, critical and logical thinking, and translating.
If you choose the four-year full-time BA Modern Languages with International Experience (**https://digital.ucas.com/coursedisplay/courses/1b967cd0-e61d-451c-ad04-057714d25a28?academicYearId=2023**) you will normally spend your third year abroad at a partner institution to allow you to develop your language skills and knowledge of the culture further.
If you opt for the Foundation Year route (**https://digital.ucas.com/coursedisplay/courses/d2708945-2037-42a7-aa6c-455e03c3c5bf?academicYearId=2023&courseOptionId=d3735c28-4886-45d5-a995-f9dcd4da12e4**), 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.
*Please note that Italian can currently only be taken together with another language, not on its own.
**Highlights**
- You will be taught by specialists from a centre of teaching and research excellence that prides itself on research-led teaching in French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish, making it an outstanding multidisciplinary department.
- 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.
- All teaching takes place in our central London location in Bloomsbury, a stone’s throw from research libraries and all the cultural richness that London has to offer by way of theatre, museums and galleries.
- You could be studying in a building that was once home to Virginia Woolf and frequented by members of the Bloomsbury Group. The building houses our own creative hub which includes the Peltz Gallery, the Gordon Square Cinema and a theatre and performance space.
**Careers and employability**
Graduates can pursue career paths in education, publishing, or commerce and banking. Possible professions include:
- translator
- interpreter
- secondary school teacher
- broadcast journalist
- English as a Foreign Language teacher.
Modules
For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.
Assessment methods
Essays and written and oral examinations.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
Birkbeck, University of London
School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication
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