BA Modern Languages (German and Italian) (For students entering from September 2024 onwards)

Programme overview

Entry requirements

Entry Requirements are available on the Course Search entry

Programme specification

The information on this page is accurate for students entering the programme from September 2024. For students who entered the programme before September 2024, you can find the details of your programme:

BA Modern Languages (German and Italian)

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

(For students entering from September 2024 onwards)

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

At Level 1, students must study 120 credits. Students are required to take a minimum of 40 credits in German and a minimum of 40 credits in Italian. Overall, students must take 100 credits across their two subjects.

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

Compulsory Modules

All students will be required to study the following compulsory module:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
ITAL1025	Exploring Italy: Introduction to Italian Culture and Society	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Optional Modules

Route A (German)

Students with prior knowledge of German (B1 of the CEFR) will be required to study the following modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
GERM1010	German Language Awareness and Skills	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)	PFP
GERM1140	Exploring German-Speaking Cultures, Histories and Societies	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Route B (German)

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

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
GERM1020	Beginners German (A1 of the CEFR)	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
GERM1021	Pre-Intermediate German Language (A2/B1 of the CEFR)	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)	PFP
GERM1145	Exploring German-Speaking Cultures, Histories and Societies for Beginners	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Route A (Italian)

Students with prior knowledge of Italian (B1 of the CEFR) will be required to study the following module:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
ITAL1015	Intermediate Italian (B1 of the CEFR)	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)	PFP

Route B (Italian)

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

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
ITAL1030	Beginners Italian (A1 of the CEFR)	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ITAL1032	Lower Intermediate Italian (A2+ of the CEFR)	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)	PFP

Route A (German)

Students with prior knowledge of German (taking GERM1010) may study the following optional module:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
GERM1200	20th Century German History	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Route A (Italian)

Students with prior knowledge of Italian (taking ITAL1015) may take up to 20 credits from the following list of optional modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
ITAL1034	Art and Literature in Medieval and Renaissance Italy: An Introduction	10	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ITAL1040	Italy from Fascism to the Present	10	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

All students may study up to 20 credits from the following optional modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
MODL1050	Introduction to Audio-Visual Culture	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL1060	Language: Structure and Sound	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
MODL1070	World Histories	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL1090	Intercultural Competence: Theory and Application	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL1100	Politics, Culture and Society	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL1150	Worlds of Literature	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL1401	Discourse, Culture and Identity	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Discovery Modules

All students may choose to take up to 20 credits of discovery modules.

Year 2

(For students entering from September 2024 onwards)

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

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

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

Optional Modules

Route A (German)

Students who took GERM1010 in year 1 will be required to study the following module:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
GERM2010	German Language Skills in Context	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)	PFP

Route B (German)

Students who took GERM1020 and GERM1021 in year 1 will be required to study the following module:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
GERM2020	German Language Skills (B1/B2 of the CEFR)	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)	PFP

Route A (Italian)

Students who took ITAL1015 in year 1 will be required to study the following module:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
ITAL2028	Advanced Italian (B2 of the CEFR)	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)	PFP

Route B (Italian)

Students who took ITAL1032 and ITAL1035 in year 1 will be required to study the following module:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
ITAL2027	Upper Intermediate Italian (B1/B2 of the CEFR)	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)	PFP

Route A/B (German)

Students taking EITHER GERM2010 OR GERM2020 are required to study a minimum of 20 credits and may study up to 40 credits of the following optional modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
FILM2030	Introduction to German Cinema	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
GERM2080	Translating German-Speaking Cultures: The German Language in Intercultural Relations	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
GERM2082	Dealing with difficult pasts: German memory cultures	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
GERM2083	Language and Society in the German-speaking world	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Route A/B (Italian)

Students taking EITHER ITAL2028 OR ITAL2027 are required to study a minimum of 20 credits and may study up to 40 credits of the following optional modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
FILM2202	Screening Italy: Neorealist cinema to Netflix	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
ITAL2025	Linguistic Variety in Modern Italy	20	Not running in 202526
ITAL2500	Modern Italian Identities Across Cultures	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL2045	From Inferno to the world. Reading Dante’s Divine Comedy in a global context	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

All students may study up to 20 credits from the following optional modules: 

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
MODL2001	Linguists into Schools	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL2003	Global Queer Politics and Cultures	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL2015	Black Europe	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL2070	Reception, Transmission and Translation: The Global Circulation of Literature	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL2075	Global Environmental Humanities	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL2250	Digital Communications Across Cultures	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Discovery Modules

All students may choose to take 20 credits of discovery modules.

Year 3

(For students entering from September 2024 onwards)

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

Compulsory Modules

Candidates will be required to study the following compulsory residence abroad module

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
MODL9500	LCS Year Abroad	120	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)	PFP

Optional Modules

Year 4

(For students entering from September 2024 onwards)

[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 German 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 German OR Italian)

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

Compulsory Modules

All students will be required to study the following compulsory modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
GERM3010	Advanced German Language in Contemporary Discourses	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)	PFP
ITAL3010	Italian Language 3	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)	PFP
MODL3050	Final Year Project	40	Semesters 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 list of optional modules.

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

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
FILM3026	Contemporary German Cinema	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
GERM3092	Advanced Translation from German into English	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
GERM3240	Cultures of protest and resistance: challenging state and society in German-speaking cultures	20	Not running in 202526
MODL3200	Representing the Holocaust: Transgression and the Taboo	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)

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

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

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
ITAL3200	‘Femminismi’. Theories and practices of gender in the Italian context	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ITAL3400	Made in Italy. Italian for Business	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

All students may study 20 credits from the following list of optional modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
MODL3410	Contemporary World Literature	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL3600	Material Cultures and Cultures of Consumption	20	Not running in 202526
MODL3610	Adventures of the Imagination: Crime and the Fantastic Across Continents	20	Not running in 202526
MODL3620	Decolonial Approaches	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
MODL3630	Social Movements across Cultures	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL3650	Minoritised Languages, Dialects and Cultures from Past to Present	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL3800	Linguists into Schools	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Discovery Modules

All students may choose to take 20 credits of discovery modules.

Last updated: 21/07/2025 17:00:45

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