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. International businesses need employees who not only speak another language but also understand the history, politics and culture of the region. For this course you can study French, German, Italian or Spanish at advanced level if you have studied the language at A Level. Alongside this, you may choose to study a second language at advanced or beginner level. Languages from beginner level include the ones mentioned above, alongside Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese. It is possible to study two beginners languages without taking an advanced language as long as one of the beginner languages is French / Spanish. Your third year abroad also offers the opportunity to undertake work placement/s in the country where your language/s are spoken. One third of your degree course studies will be based in the country’s first dedicated business school. We have strong links with local, national and global businesses such as Deloitte, KPMG, PwC and Ernst & Young. As a result, this undergraduate degree course retains a strong practical focus as well as exploring theoretical aspects. Find out more about your chosen combination. Why study this course? Practice as a professional - Develop your skills with our state-of-the-art Interpreting Suite with Televic interpreting desks and sound proof booths at the same professional standard as the United Nations. More than fluent – Choose vocational modules in areas such as Translation, Language Teaching, Legal Culture, Business and more; leading into a wide range of career prospects with the help of our Careers and Employability team. Superb employability rates - Our strong links with industry mean that rigorous undergraduate academic study is combined with a real practical focus, leading to excellent job opportunities for our students. By choosing undergraduate Modern Languages, you are entering an excellent field with almost limitless opportunities and benefits. In addition, the Department’s ‘Modern Languages Professionals Week’ in the first year features workshops and talks from former students who are using their languages for a 21st century global workplace in business, the not-for-profit sector, the arts, translation and interpreting, and education. Travel opportunities - This undergraduate degree course is four years in length, and you will spend your third year abroad studying, teaching and/or working abroad before returning to Birmingham for your final year. Strong reputation - You will study at one of the handful of business schools in the UK that holds the prestigious ‘triple-crown’ accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS). 90th for Modern Languages in the QS World Rankings by Subject (2022) 4th most targeted university by the top UK employers (High Fliers Research 2022)