Language Studies Degrees 2013
Our language degrees give you the opportunity to combine your interest in foreign languages with a strong professional orientation.You will gain insights into different languages and their varied socio-cultural contexts, and develop the linguistic and intercultural skills needed in a world of growing globalisation.
Degree programmes
Entry requirements
Minimum entry requirements
- A-level grades AAB
We do not include General Studies or Critical Thinking in our offers.
Conditional offers from Surrey will be made in grades or marks, and not listed in points from the UCAS tariff.
Required subjects
GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade C or above (or equivalent).
Grade B in the language at A-level, or equivalent, is required. Please contact us for the requirements for ab initio Spanish.
English language requirements
Non-native speakers of English will normally be required to have IELTS 6.5 or above, with a minimum of 6.0 in each component (or equivalent).
Please note that the University of Surrey offers English language programmes and is also an IELTS Test Centre.
Other suitable qualifications
Cambridge Pre-U
M1, M1, M1
European Baccalaureate
75%
International Baccalaureate
35 points
BTEC (QCF Level 3) Extended Diploma
DDD
In addition, we accept a wide range of qualifications, including other Level 3 QCF Level 3 qualifications, Scottish qualifications, the Irish Leaving Certificate, Access Diplomas and foundation courses. Other qualifications will be considered on an individual basis.
It is important to check whether the qualifications you are taking are suitable for your chosen degree. If you are uncertain whether your qualification meets our entry requirements, please contact us.
If you are an international student and you don’t meet the entry requirements to this degree, we offer the International Foundation Year.
Selection process
Offers are made in terms of grades. We invite suitable candidates to visit the University to find out more about the programme and to meet staff and students.
Tuition fees
UK/EU students
Tuition fees are currently set at £9,000 per year for UK/EU undergraduates starting in 2012.
The tuition charge will be accompanied by a generous financial support package, underlining our continued commitment to widening access for those students who come from low income households.
Overseas students
The fee for students classed as overseas for fees purposes is £12,130.
The University will assess your fee status. If you are unsure whether you are likely to be considered a home, EU or overseas student for fees purposes, the UKCISA website offers more information.
Professional Training Year Fees
Programmes marked with an asterisk (*) in the table above include a professional training year.
Currently fees of £1,050 (based on an inflation assumption of 2.5%) are charged for the Professional Training Year. Fees will not have to be paid up front for those students who decide to take up the Government’s loan for higher education fees. The Professional Training year is a key factor in the high employability rates achieved by students with Surrey degrees.
Our degrees
We put great emphasis on practical language use and provide you with the study skills that you require to become an independent language learner. We offer you the opportunity to spend a year abroad on study placement or on a paid work placement. Over many years we have developed a network of professional contacts in Europe and beyond. Our experienced placement team will assist you in choosing a placement that will help you to make the most of this year, linguistically, culturally and personally.
We believe that language learning should be about contemporary language as a means of communication and a means of access to other cultures and societies. Our programmes place great emphasis on the modern world of work and communication, focusing on language for academic and professional contexts.
We also recognise the need to understand how languages and societies have developed, and therefore we offer a range of modules designed to enhance knowledge and understanding of the history, politics, culture and society of the countries where our languages are spoken.
We teach in the target language from the outset and use state-of-the-art language-learning facilities. Our programmes are fully integrated and the different elements of your degree, including the placement period, complement each other. By the end of your degree, you will have developed the linguistic competence and confidence to excel in the professional and academic world.
BA French and Spanish/French and German/ German and Spanish
These joint degrees enable you to study two languages to a very high level. French and German can only be taken post A-level; Spanish can be post A-level or ab initio. The two languages have equal weighting throughout the programme, and you can expect to attain the same high level of proficiency in both, as well as gain great insight into the cultures and societies of the countries where these languages are spoken.
During your placement year, you can divide your time equally between the two languages. As on all other programmes, our placement team will work closely with you to ensure that the combination of placements will enable you to make the most of this year.
BA French/German/Spanish and Translation
These programmes offer the option of focusing on one foreign language and translation. The translation pathway includes applied translation which will give you plenty of practical translation experience and insight into working across languages. You will also study various aspects of translation and interpreting, including subtitling, interpreting and computerassisted translation.
Ab initio Spanish is not available on this programme as you will need advanced language skills in order to do applied translation from the outset.
In your third year you will have the option of dividing your time between a study placement and a professional placement, or spending all the time in one or more professional placements where you can use your language and translation skills.
BA English Literature and English for International Communication/French/ German/Spanish
These programmes combine the study of English Literature with the study of a foreign language or English for International Communication. As in all our language programmes, you will be able to develop your language skills in order to be able to communicate in a range of professional contexts, and enhance your knowledge and understanding of the relevant culture and society.
The English Literature element of the degree is taught in English, in an innovative and interdisciplinary way, and covers a range of literary themes, genres and theories. The foreign language component is taught almost exclusively in the target language and provides high level language training, as well as an understanding of the cultures and societies of the countries where the language is spoken. The two elements of this programme complement each other and give you unique insights into language, literature and culture.
You will spend your third year on placement in a country where the language is spoken. Our Professional Training team will work with you to help you make the most of this year: you will have the opportunity to study English Literature in one of our partner institutions across Europe, work in one of the many companies with which we have links, or opt for a combination of work and study.
BA English for International Communication and French/ German/Spanish
These degrees are aimed at international students who have English as a second language and wish to excel in an international environment by combining the study of English with the study of another foreign language. The two languages have equal weighting throughout the programme, and you will attain a high level of proficiency in both and gain great insight into the cultures and societies of the countries where these languages are spoken.
In your third year, you will be given the opportunity to combine a work placement in an English-speaking environment with a study or work placement in one of the countries where the other language is spoken, thus providing you with the linguistic skills and experience that employers value. You may also choose to spend the whole year in a French, German or Spanish-speaking environment.
Programme content
Programme overview
All our four-year programmes give you the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge and an appreciation of the societies and cultures in which your target languages are spoken. Your third-year work or study placements will enable you to put your language skills into practice and experience a different way of life.
At the end of the programme, you will have a high level of linguistic and cultural competence and will be well prepared for the professional world.
In year 1 you will study language modules, developing the full range of language skills in an academic, professional and international context. If you have chosen ab initio Spanish, you will study the language intensively, using modern multimedia techniques. Depending on your programme choice, you will also attend introductory modules covering relevant aspects of translation, culture and society, and history.
In addition to language and culture-specific modules, all students take the module Skills for Language Specialists, taught in English. This allows a deeper understanding of essential themes in language study and of your own foreign language acquisition.
In year 2 you will build on the language modules studied in year 1, enhance your linguistic skills and deepen your understanding of the target countries’ cultures, and political and economic systems. All students take the module Introduction to Intercultural Communication. This module, taught in English with tutorials in the foreign languages, will enable you to understand many of the issues that you will be facing whilst on placement, and provide you with the research skills to write your dissertation in year 3.
There is also an optional non-language-specific module, Languages in Education, which offers an insight into the teaching profession while allowing you to participate in the National Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme.
In your third year, you will be given the opportunity to practise and develop your linguistic, intercultural and transferable skills while working and/or studying abroad. Our placements are organised by the placement team to fit your needs. Where you go, and how many placements you do, depends on your degree programme. Whether you do a study or work placement depends on your interests and skills. The majority of our students spend their third year working abroad, gaining valuable international work experience.
The modules in years 1 and 2 prepare you for this experience, and the team will advise and support you in your choice of placement combination and throughout your time abroad.
In year 3 you will combine the knowledge, skills and experience you have acquired during the previous years and whilst on placement. In your final year, you will specialise in a research topic of your choice and write a dissertation in your target language.
At this high level of linguistic competency, you will be able to choose from a range of options, covering topics such as the arts, sociolinguistics and professional communication, all of which are designed to cover varied academic and professional interests and to prepare you for your future career.
Programme structure
Year 1 (FHEQ Level 4)
Language:
- Skills for Language Specialists
- Written and Spoken Language for Academic and Professional Contexts
- Cultures and Societies (of countries concerned)
- Intensive Language Learning (ab initio Spanish)
Translation:
- Introduction to Translation and Interpreting Studies
- Text Analysis and Translation Resources
- Applied Translation (into English)
English Literature:
- Genres and Contemporary Writing
- Theories of Reading
Year 2 (FHEQ Level 5)
Language:
- Introduction to Intercultural Communication
- Advanced Written and Spoken Language for Academic and Professional Contexts
- Range of options, including: Politics and Economics (of countries concerned); Introduction to Sociolinguistics; Languages in Education
Translation:
- Introduction to Computer-assisted Translation
- Introduction to Audiovisual Translation
- Translation Quality Assurance
- Applied Translation (into and out of chosen languages)
English Literature:
- Contemporary Literature in a Global Context
- Range of options, including: Cultures and Contexts of Text Design*; Adaptations;English Poetry after 1900
Year 3 (FHEQ Level 6)
Language:
- Dissertation and Advanced Oral Skills
- Range of options for each language, including: Multicultural Societies; The Arts; Professional Communication; Languages in Business Contexts
Translation:
- Interpreting (into and out of chosen languages)
- Applied Translation (advanced level)
- Translation of Persuasive Texts
English Literature:
- Dissertation and Research Skills
- Range of options, including: Creative Writing and Professional Practice*; Global Diversity in Language and Communication; Creative Identities; Gothic to Goth
* Creative Writing modules
Professional training
The year abroad is an integral part of our programmes. You will spend the third year of your degree in the countries of the languages you study, working in a new exciting environment, studying at some of the most renowned continental universities, learning more about others and about yourself. You will normally spend about 46 weeks on placement. Placements can be arranged for one or two countries, depending on programme requirements and your interests.
We have an experienced placement team that helps you to obtain the placements most suitable for your degree. Our placement co-ordinators have kept contacts with foreign companies for many years, and are establishing new ones all the time. The choice of destinations is wide, with placement providers in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Argentina and Peru.
We have links with internationally renowned companies and institutions such as EDF, Johnson and Johnson, Lloyds Banking Group, Eurosport, Hilton Hotels, Volkswagen, Mazda Motor Europe, Ernst & Young and the German Academic Exchange Service. If you opt for a study placement, you can choose from a number of universities with which we have bilateral Erasmus agreements. These include universities in Paris, Lyon, Heidelberg, Munich, Freiburg, Alicante, Castellón, Madrid and Aarhus.
Preparation starts in the first year when you learn about the cultures and societies related to your chosen languages and practise CV writing and presentation techniques. In the second year, placement preparation intensifies, with a series of workshops and seminars especially developed by the placement team, accompanied by individual meetings with the placement co-ordinators of your chosen languages. In these meetings, you will identify the placements best suited to ensure your academic, professional and personal development.
In the case of work placements, your placement co-ordinator will help you with the application process, from CV writing and interview practice in the target language through to signing the contract.
Throughout the second year, you will attend a series of workshops focusing on a specific aspect of your year abroad. The topics covered are skills development and on-placement online support, as well as intercultural communication, business culture, financial matters and accommodation, and other relevant aspects of daily life in a foreign country covered in country-specific workshops.
You will be invited to presentations given by final-year students returning from their placements to hear first-hand accounts and to find out more about what it is like to live in a particular country, town or city.
Once abroad, your placement co-ordinators will be available for you if you need help or advice. They will keep in regular contact with you and will also visit you on your placements, up to three times during your whole year abroad. These visits serve to discuss your progress, to address any issues that may have arisen and to advise you on how best to prepare for your final year at university.
Upon successful completion of your year abroad, you will have improved your language skills and found out more about the people whose languages and cultures you study, and you will also have gained more life experience, independence and self-confidence. This will help you to focus your studies and career planning, and you will have acquired the skills that employers value.
Career opportunities
Graduate prospects
Graduates over the last few years entered employment in organisations such as:
- BAE Systems
- Banque PSA Finance
- BMW
- BT
- Crédit Lyonnais
- Electricité de France
- German Embassy
- Goldman Sachs
- JP Morgan
- LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy)
- L’Oréal
- Rolls-Royce
- Siemens
Career opportunities
Graduates of our Department do exceptionally well in the employment market as a result of their academic excellence and their experience abroad. Our students’ proficiency in languages, combined with their significant understanding of intercultural processes and socio-political contexts, gives them a distinct advantage in an increasingly competitive international employment market.
Our emphasis on transferable skills such as presentation and research techniques, and communication across linguistic and cultural boundaries, ensures that our graduate profile fits the expectations of prospective employers.
Language graduates from the University of Surrey have gone into a wide range of careers. Some examples of companies in which our graduates have found employment in recent years include: Electricité de France; Bouygues UK; Crédit Lyonnais; Eurosport; Goldman Sachs; BMW; Siemens; Mazda Motor Europe; BAE Systems; BT; Eurotexte (translation company); L’Oréal; LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy); JP Morgan.
Many students go on to further study across Europe. Examples include: MSc in Development Studies at SOAS; ESCPEAP (Madrid/Berlin); MBA European Business, University of Reutlingen, Germany; MBA International Marketing, Sorbonne, Paris; MA European Studies, Cambridge/Sorbonne; PGCE/CAPES.
Our own Department offers a broad range of postgraduate degree programmes in Translation Studies. Graduates of our internationally recognised programmes are well prepared for the professional market, as well as for further research. We are proud that the MA Translation programme has been selected to join the European Commission’s European Masters Network (EMT).
Additional information
Teaching
We are keen to support you in becoming an independent language learner and confident communicator, and place great emphasis on the teaching of study skills. The teaching style is innovative and highly engaging, in both lectures and seminars. You will be taught mostly in small groups, and almost always in the target language.
Tutors will encourage you to participate in discussions. Individual module tutors will happily discuss academic concerns and personal tutors are always ready to advise and assist you if any issues, personal or academic, should arise.
Facilities
Our language teaching facilities include digital language labs, a multimedia lab, state-of-the-art interpreting facilities, our own virtual learning environment and an e-portfolio system that will appeal to the most creative amongst you.
Between classes, you can use our Language Study Area, designed for independent language learning, in the University’s purpose-built Learning Centre, which is open 24/6 and most of Sunday during semester. Here, you can work at your own speed and concentrate on aspects of the language that are most important to you. Practice and building confidence are crucial to successful language learning.
We have a computer network of 28 PCs offering the latest in language learning technology, including specialist software to practise subtitling and audio description, and interactive programmes in 18 different languages to develop your language skills. You can read the international press and choose from a range of books and audio materials which are graded and colour-coded for easy access to your language and year. If you prefer film or video as a means of learning, you can access our media store of programmes and films and watch online, or you can watch live satellite TV from five countries, or choose a foreign film from our world cinema collection.
Assessment
We operate a modular system, and you are required to achieve 120 credits per year. You will normally be assessed throughout and at the end of each semester, which will enable you to track your progress. Most modules will be assessed through a combination of examination and coursework, which may involve essay writing, presentations, short language assignments and class tests.
The Global Graduate Award in Languages
This programme gives you the opportunity to study an additional foreign language alongside your degree programme. You can start a new language, brush up a half-forgotten one or continue a language you have learned previously. The programme is open to all Surrey students free of charge, and students from all departments across the University are brought together by their mutual interest in foreign languages and cultures.
All language modules are accredited for undergraduate students. While these credits do not count towards your degree, they are recorded on your transcript as the Global Graduate Award in Languages. You may opt for a language module in each year of your undergraduate studies.
We offer nine languages at different levels: Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
The teaching is communicative and student-centred. Special emphasis is placed on listening and speaking skills, and the programme materials are authentic and related to real-life contexts. We have a team of about 30 dedicated and experienced tutors, all of whom are native speakers or of native-speaker qualification.
This programme comprises one two-hour session per week for 19 weeks over two semesters.
Why Surrey?
Language Studies degrees 2013 at Surrey
- Times Good University Guide 2013 ranks Surrey eighth, The Complete University Guide 2013 ranks Surrey thirteenth nationally for its language programmes. The Guardian University Guide 2013 ranks Surrey fifteenth
- A range of attractive and innovative degree combinations
- A focus on professional and transferable skills, with a strong emphasis on language fluency, culture and communication
- Tailor-made work placements abroad, organised and closely supported by an expert placement team
- State-of-the-art facilities in a brand new building at the heart of the campus
- Excellent preparation for a variety of high-end careers, with a track record of graduate employment in translation and international business
- Excellent staff–student ratio and individual support by a dedicated team
- Expertise in the latest technology, including translation and interpreting software
- Stimulating classes taught in the target language
My year abroad was a fantastic and unforgettable experience and I felt that I really grew as a person.
Emily Knowles
BA French and Spanish
The high-quality teaching and choice of modules at the University of Surrey, along with my placement year and the contact I’ve had with people from a diverse range of backgrounds, means studying at Surrey has been a really well-rounded experience that will set me up well for the future.
During my placement year I worked in the International Relations department of EDF in Paris for eleven months, and then spent two months in Peru working for Nexos Voluntarios, a local NGO. I found that both experiences helped me to develop my professional skills and have provided me with a wealth of responsibilities and tasks to talk about during interview and to put on my CV. My year abroad was a fantastic and unforgettable experience and I felt that I really grew as a person. The realities of living and working in different countries gave me a real sense of responsibility and maturity, and I now feel much more prepared to look for work once I graduate.
The University was really good at helping me to prepare for the year, with lecturers allowing me to send them my CV and cover letter to check through and staging mock interviews to calm my nerves before the real thing.
I also took Spanish from scratch when I joined the University and I am now leaving with a high level of the language, despite the fact that I have only been learning it for three years. Since the European job market is so competitive at the moment, having an extra European language under my belt will be really beneficial.
With helpful and dedicated tutors, a great learning environment, a professional training year and a flexible, modern choice of modules, Surrey is a great choice for any budding linguist.
Lauren Steer
BA Languages with Translation*
The first time I visited the University on an Open Day, I was impressed with the campus and the information about the course and I immediately knew it was the place I wanted to study.
I like that my programme structure is flexible and I can choose which modules I want to take. The staff have always been very helpful and understanding if I have encountered problems and the teaching is relaxed and flexible.
The new Library & Learning Centre is very modern and has plenty of room to study individually or in groups. It’s also open long hours, which is always helpful if you’ve got a deadline.
I was impressed with the University of Surrey’s wide range of contacts when it came to a Professional Training year and I managed to secure placements at the Investitionsbank Schleswig-Holstein and Ernst & Young in Germany. After my placement year, my language skills, as well as my self-confidence, had really improved. I felt really supported on my placement – I received three visits from a tutor and could email them for guidance or advice whenever I needed to.
I would definitely recommend Surrey to anyone wishing to study languages as I have gained a lot from my time here. With helpful and dedicated tutors, a great learning environment, a professional training year and a flexible, modern choice of modules, Surrey is a great choice for any budding linguist.
* This programme is now entitled BA German and Translation.
Recommended next steps
Related subjects
Other degrees you may be interested in:
- International Politics with/and Languages
(German, French, Spanish or English for International Communication)