2025/26 Undergraduate Programme Catalogue

BA Modern Languages (Chinese and Italian)

Programme overview

Programme code
BA-ML/CH&IT
UCAS code
Duration
4 Years
Method of Attendance
Full Time
Programme manager
Maria Chiara La Sala
Contact address
m.c.lasala@leeds.ac.uk
Total credits
480
School/Unit responsible for the parenting of students and programme
School of Languages, Cultures and Societies
Examination board through which the programme will be considered

Entry requirements

Entry Requirements are available on the Course Search entry

Programme specification

On this programme, students will become highly competent in their two chosen languages while acquiring an understanding of, analysing, interpreting and engaging with the cultures and societies where these languages are spoken.

A compulsory period of residence abroad will provide students with the unique opportunity to develop language skills in a rich and varied context of use, while engaging with other cultures and societies, thereby fostering intercultural awareness and pluricultural competence, self-reliance and flexibility.

This dual-language programme offers opportunities for students at all levels to engage with the connections and contrasts between the languages they study (e.g. through ‘MODL’ modules that span multiple language areas), enabling them to deepen their critical understanding of their chosen languages. There might also be an opportunity to take discovery modules, which include modules in an additional language for students wishing to expand their linguistic repertoire.

At Level 1, students will study core language modules that are tailored to their ability alongside modules which will introduce them to the cultures and societies of the languages they are studying. They will also receive training in crucial academic skills such as critical analysis, argumentation, research and academic writing.

At Level 2 and 3 students will continue to develop their communicative proficiency and their linguistic and intercultural awareness through core language modules. They will also choose from a range of optional modules exploring various aspects of the cultures, history, politics, and social and economic structures of the countries of the languages of study. They will analyse and critically interpret a wide diversity of cultural forms, products and practice, and will learn to mediate, analyse and compare ideas and events that cross national, cultural or linguistic boundaries.

Throughout the programme, students will develop valuable interpretative, analytical and digital skills, as well as becoming confident researchers. Students will demonstrate these qualities when they undertake a Final Year Project on a topic of their choice in one of the language subjects they study.

Year 1

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable

At Level 1, students must study 120 credits. Students are required to take 60 credits of Chinese and a minimum of 40 credits of Italian.

The remaining 20 credits may be taken as an MODL module, which can count towards either of their two subjects (Chinese AND Italian), a further option with Italian, or a discovery module.

Compulsory Modules

Students will be required to study the following compulsory modules

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
EAST1110Modern China: History and Culture20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ITAL1015Intermediate Italian (B1 of the CEFR)20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)PFP
ITAL1025Exploring Italy: Introduction to Italian Culture and Society20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Optional Modules

Students with prior knowledge of Chinese, subject to a placement test, will be required to study the following modules:

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
EAST1460Intermediate Chinese (1)20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
EAST1461Intermediate Chinese (2)20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)PFP

Students with no prior knowledge of Chinese will be required to study the following modules:

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
EAST1010Basic Chinese Language 120Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
EAST1020Basic Chinese Language 220Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)PFP

Students may take up to 20 credits from the following optional modules.

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
ITAL1034Art and Literature in Medieval and Renaissance Italy: An Introduction10Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ITAL1040Italy from Fascism to the Present10Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Students may take up to 20 credits from the following set of optional modules: 

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
MODL1050Introduction to Audio-Visual Culture20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL1060Language: Structure and Sound20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
MODL1070World Histories20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL1090Intercultural Competence: Theory and Application20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL1100Politics, Culture and Society20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL1150Worlds of Literature20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL1401Discourse, Culture and Identity20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Discovery Modules

Students may choose to study 20 credits of discovery modules

Year 2

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable

Compulsory Modules

Students will be required to study the following compulsory residence abroad module.

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
MODL9500LCS Year Abroad120Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)PFP

Year 3

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable

At Level 2, students must study 120 credits. Overall, students must take 100 credits across their two subjects. Students are required to take 60 credits in Chinese and a minimum of 40 credits in Italian.

The remaining 20 credits may be taken as a MODL module, which can count towards either of their two subjects (Chinese AND Italian), a further option with Italian, or discovery modules.

Compulsory Modules

Students will be required to study the following compulsory modules

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
EAST2030Chinese Language Skills – 2A20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
EAST2031Chinese Language Skills – 2B20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)PFP
ITAL2028Advanced Italian (B2 of the CEFR)20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)PFP

Optional Modules

Students will be required to study 20 credits from the following optional modules

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
EAST2006China Since 197920Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
EAST2126Classical Chinese20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
EAST2148Trauma Narratives in the Contemporary Sinophone World20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
EAST2360Chinese Cinema20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
EAST2711Civil Society and the Non-Profit Sector in Contemporary China20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
EAST2712An Introduction to Cantonese20Not running in 202526
EAST2717Society, Culture and Environment in Early Modern China20Not running in 202526

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Students will be required to study a minimum of 20 credits and may study up to 40 credits of the following optional modules.

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
FILM2202Screening Italy: Neorealist cinema to Netflix20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
ITAL2025Linguistic Variety in Modern Italy20Not running in 202526
ITAL2500Modern Italian Identities Across Cultures20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL2045From Inferno to the world. Reading Dante’s Divine Comedy in a global context20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Students may study 20 credits from the following optional modules: 

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
MODL2001Linguists into Schools20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL2003Global Queer Politics and Cultures20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL2015Black Europe20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL2070Reception, Transmission and Translation: The Global Circulation of Literature20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL2075Global Environmental Humanities20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL2250Digital Communications Across Cultures20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Discovery Modules

Students may choose to take 20 credits of discovery modules

Year 4

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable

At Level 3, students must study 120 credits. Students are required to take a minimum of 40 credits in Chinese and a minimum of 40 credits in Italian. Overall, students must take 100 credits across their two subjects.

All students must take 40 credits as a Final Year Project (FYP) module, which can be taken in - and count towards - either of their two subjects (EITHER Chinese OR Italian).

The remaining 20 credits may be taken as a MODL module, which can count towards either of their two subjects (Chinese AND Italian), a further option with EITHER Chinese OR Italian, or discovery module.

Compulsory Modules

Candidates will be required to study the following compulsory modules

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
EAST3275Chinese 3: Advanced Skills20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)PFP
ITAL3010Italian Language 320Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)PFP
MODL3050Final Year Project40Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)PFP

Optional Modules

Students who take their FYP in Italian are required to take a minimum of 20 credits and may take up to 40 credits from the following lists of optional modules (from Basket 1 AND Basket 2).
Students who take their FYP in Chinese may take up to 20 credits from the following lists of optional modules (from EITHER Basket 1 OR Basket 2).

Basket 1

Advanced Chinese in Context (Social Sciences) - 20 Credits

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
EAST3015Religion in China20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
EAST3148Trauma Narratives in the Contemporary Sinophone World20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
EAST3630Advanced Chinese to English Translation20Not running in 202526

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Basket 2

Advanced Chinese in Context (Humanities) - 20 Credits

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
EAST3120Classical Chinese20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
EAST3271East Asia's Regional Political Economy20Not running in 202526
EAST3525Globalising China and the Developing World20Not running in 202526

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Students who take their FYP in Chinese are required to take a minimum of 20 credits and may take up to 40 credits from the following lists of optional modules.

Students who take their FYP in Italian may take up to 20 credits from the following lists of optional modules.

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
ITAL3200‘Femminismi’. Theories and practices of gender in the Italian context20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ITAL3400Made in Italy. Italian for Business20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Students may study 20 credits from the following optional modules: 

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
MODL3200Representing the Holocaust: Transgression and the Taboo20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
MODL3410Contemporary World Literature20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL3600Material Cultures and Cultures of Consumption20Not running in 202526
MODL3610Adventures of the Imagination: Crime and the Fantastic Across Continents20Not running in 202526
MODL3620Decolonial Approaches20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
MODL3630Social Movements across Cultures20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL3650Minoritised Languages, Dialects and Cultures from Past to Present20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL3800Linguists into Schools20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Discovery Modules

Students may choose to take 20 credits of discovery modules

Last updated: 24/07/2025 15:44:29

Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team