Spanish Studies and Modern Languages

Description

Our BA Spanish Studies and Modern Languages allows you to study two or three languages, with two modules in Spanish taken each year, which must be studied to mastery level. Additionally, your year abroad must be spent in a country where Spanish is spoken.

Why study Spanish when the entire world speaks English? There is a vibrant and significant global Spanish-speaking population out there! Spanish is the official language of Spain, the whole of Latin America with the exception of Brazil where various bodies would like to make it compulsory, New Mexico (together with American English), Equatorial Guinea (together with French) and Western Sahara (together with Arabic). It is the second language in the United States and there are many smaller Spanish-speaking communities spread all over the world. Spanish will open the door to all the above cultures and to the increasing cohort of countries where Spanish is taught as a second language like the Middle East, Greece and China. It is a fact then that Spanish constitutes an invaluable personal and professional asset, more especially so because it has become an important economic factor in the business world.

Our four-year BA Spanish Studies and Modern Languages enables you to deepen your study of the language by selecting from two to three modules in the language per year. Our course has a flexible syllabus designed to allow you to choose what interests you most. You study Spanish as the major language and can choose two or three other options according to your interests and career aspirations. We offer core modules at all six different levels recognised in the Common European Framework and we also offer a range of thematic modules (on contemporary cinema, culture, society and art), and project or dissertation based modules, all of which are designed to increase your cultural awareness and/or professional skills.

Spanish can be learnt from scratch starting with an Intensive module, which is combined with a summer vacation course in Spain, enabling you to reach level B2 (advanced) in a year.

Your third year is spent either in Spain or Latin America where you can travel as a student or an assistant and which will give you the chance to enjoy the famously warm and welcoming Spanish-speaking cultural environment. We have exchanges with many universities and work with the British Council to place students as assistants abroad.

The main objective of our course is to equip you with a solid knowledge of the Spanish language (both spoken and written) and intercultural competence, and a set of skills that could be equally used in further study, employment and lifelong learning. Your fluency and accuracy in Spanish will enable you to communicate and express yourself appropriately and with an awareness of stylistic and social propriety. Skills in translation, interpreting and creative writing will also be developed to the highest standards.

Detailed Course Facts

• GBP 9000 Year (EEA)
• GBP 11950 Year (Non-EEA)

• English

Course Content

The special characteristics of our course are flexibility and choice. In your first, second and final years you take two compulsory modules and two optional language modules. You spend your third year abroad. There is a great deal of choice for these optional modules due to the extensive range of modules offered by our departments.
With a small number of exceptions, if you successfully complete the first year of your BA, then you are qualified to enter the second year of that course and a range of other courses: for example, if you take economics, politics, philosophy and sociology, then you have a choice of at least nine possible single or joint honours courses at the end of your first year. This means you can change your course, providing you have taken the appropriate pre-requisites and places are available.
We operate a credit framework for our awards, which is based on principles widely used across the UK university sector. Each module has a credit rating attached and our standard three-year course consists of 360 credits (120 credits in your first year, and 240 credits across your second and final years).
Please note that module information on our course finder provides a guide to course content and may be subject to review on an annual basis.

Year 1

Advanced Spanish;
Spanish Professional and Multimedia Skills; and
two language options

Year 2

Proficiency Level Spanish;
Spanish Cinema and Culture; and
two language options

Year 3

Year abroad

Year 4

Mastery Level Spanish;
Spanish Translation, Interpreting and Subtitling Skills; and
two language options

English Language Requirements

IELTS band : 6

To study at this university, you have to speak English. We advice you to

Requirements

• A-levels: ABB-BBB
• GCSE English: C
• IB: 32-30 points (we consider IB certificates at the Higher Level on a case-by-case basis)
• Achievement of the Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 6 level three credits at distinction and the remainder at merit (or above) or achievement of the Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 45 level three credits at merit (or above).
• If French or Portuguese is taken as the major language, A-level French or Portuguese/Spanish (or equivalent) is required. German, Italian and Spanish can be studied as the major language either from scratch, via our intensive route, or via our post A-level route. All languages can be studied from scratch as the minor language.
• If you are interested in studying a language for which you consider yourself to be a native speaker, please contact our Undergraduate Admissions Office.

English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 6.0 overall with minimum 5.5 in each component (or equivalent). Different requirements apply for second year entry.

Work Experience

No work experience is required.

Related Scholarships*

• Academic Excellence Scholarship

  "The Academic Excellence Scholarship can provide up to a 50 % reduction in tuition per semester. These scholarships will be renewed if the student maintains superior academic performance during each semester of their 3-year Bachelor programme. The scholarship will be directly applied to the student’s tuition fees."

• Access Bursary

  Bursary for UK students all subjects where the variable tuition fee rate is payable.

• Alumni Bursary

  Alumni Bursary for UK Undergraduate students

* The scholarships shown on this page are suggestions first and foremost. They could be offered by other organisations than University of Essex.

Funding

For up-to-date information on funding opportunities at Essex, please visit: www.essex.ac.uk/studentfinance.