Study location	United Kingdom, Colchester Campus
Type	Bachelor courses, full-time
Nominal duration	5 years
Study language	English
Awards	BA
Course code	QR49

Tuition fee	To be confirmed

Entry qualification	High school / secondary education (or higher) The entry qualification documents are accepted in any language

Language requirements	English Accepted proof of proficiency: Cambridge English, IELTS, TOEFL or other equivalent IELTS: 5.5 TOEFL (IBT): 76 CAE: B2 with 52+ CAE (from Jan 15): 169+

Other requirements	At least 1 reference(s) must be provided.

More information	Expenses, accommodation, working etc. essex.ac.uk/..tercourse=UG00249&subgroup=2

Overview

Our BA Literature and Modern Languages (including foundation year) is open to Home, EU and international students. It will be suitable for you if your academic qualifications do not yet meet our entrance requirements for the three-year version of this course and you want a programme that increases your subject knowledge as well as improves your academic skills.

This four-year course includes a foundation year (Year Zero), followed by a further three years of study. During your Year Zero, you study four academic subjects relevant to your chosen course as well as a compulsory academic skills module.

You are an Essex student from day one, a member of our global community based at the most internationally diverse campus university in the UK.

After successful completion of Year Zero in our International Academy, you progress to complete your course with the Department of Language and Linguistics. Beginning with an overview of literary works in your first year, from the Bard to the present day, the literature component of this course offers a great deal of flexibility for you to concentrate on the areas of the subject that interest you. You are able to explore topics such as:

- Modernist cityscapes in literature
- Translating novels for the screen
- Writing of the U.S. South
- Victorian literary realism

You also study up to two of the languages offered at Essex: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Mandarin Chinese, completing at least one language to Mastery level. Each of these languages is widely used in the business world, and can take you to a level of near-fluency, and so many of our graduates go on to develop successful global careers with international firms looking for language specialists.

We also offer a month-long summer course with fees paid for by us if you start a language from scratch via the intensive route.

Programme structure

Year 0

An Introduction to the History of the United Kingdom During the Twentieth Century
Major Writers in English Literature
Political and Social Theory From Plato to the Present Day
Western Philosophy: Fundamental Questions, Major Thinkers
Academic Skills

Year 1

Close Reading Skills
Literature: Origins and Transformations
Introduction to United States Literature
Intensive Initial Spanish (Double Module) (optional)
Careers and Employability Skills for Languages and Linguistics

Year 2

Early Modern Literature (optional)
Versions of Modernity
Approaches to Text (optional)
Advanced Spanish (optional)
Careers and Employability Skills for Languages and Linguistics

Final year

Proficiency Level Spanish (optional)
Mastery Level Spanish (optional)
The Story and Myth of the West (optional)
Understanding and Writing Science Fiction (optional)
Romanticism: Poetry and Prose (optional)

Career opportunities

Being an Essex modern languages graduate places you in a very advantageous position. You will be able to speak and write fluently, or to a very competent standard, in up to four languages. Language skills are in scarce supply and can be used in almost any job.

Our graduates become teachers, translators, administrators and journalists. Their valued language skills have enabled them to work in diverse fields including banking, entertainment, media, education and tourism, as well as for a host of UK and international companies. In particular, a degree in modern languages lends itself to a career in education, translation, interpretation, trade, PR, communications, immigration or diplomacy.