Course summary

Birmingham’s fusion of language and culture places employability at its heart, preparing you to live and work as an engaged citizen of the world. The undergraduate study of either French, German, Spanish or Russian from beginner or advanced level alongside History is highly complementary and an exciting way to contextualise your knowledge in each discipline. Researching primary sources is a key feature of any undergraduate History degree course, and studying a language dramatically increases the range of primary sources that you will be able to access. At the University of Birmingham, language is taught through the lens of the target culture's literature, history, politics and society, and through total immersion on the Year Abroad. Why study this course? More than fluent – Choose vocational modules in areas such as Translation, Language Teaching, Legal Culture, Business and more! Talk the talk into a long list of career prospects with the help of our Careers and Employability team. Practice as a professional – Develop your skills with our state-of-the-art translation suite, Televic interpreting suite and sound proof booths to the same professional standard at the United Nations. Multicultural city – Learn and Live in a vibrant city that is culturally, ethnically and religiously diverse. Join a number of language and culture-based societies at the University of Birmingham to further enhance your skills. Present day application – We believe in history as a practical and engaged endeavour that speaks to questions of social inequality, community belonging and even climate change. As a Birmingham student you have opportunities to learn about the uses of history such as through a placement in the heritage sector on our Professional Skills module. Become a specialist – Indulge in a wide range of specialist optional modules from medieval to modern periods, over a vast geographical area, taught by our renowned academic staff. Our unusually large number of teaching staff means that you'll have a wide range of optional modules. Top 90 for Modern Languages in the QS World University Subject Rankings 2022 9th for History in the Complete University Guide 2023 8th the Department of History is ranked 8th in the country for its performance in the latest Research Excellence Framework exercise 2021 based on Grade Point Average