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English & Modern Languages (French, German, Portuguese or Spanish) with a year abroad BA

UCAS code: R904

Key information

Course type:
Joint honours
Delivery mode:
Campus
Study mode:
Full time
Required A-level:
AAB
Full entry requirements, including contextual requirements
Duration:
Four years
Application status:
Open
Start date:
September 2025
Application deadline:
31 January 2025
Apply via UCAS

At King’s we offer you a lively and intellectually stimulating home in the heart of London where you will be taught by leading experts. Our Department of English prides itself not only on the range and diversity of the modules we offer - from medieval literature to modern poetry and women’s writing - but also on the diversity of our approaches, from contemporary literary theory to close textual examination and historical scholarship. In Modern Languages, you will attain a high level of proficiency in speaking, writing and reading the language of your degree, whilst developing your knowledge and critical understanding of its culture and society. Students can take this course either with an A-level (or equivalent) in the degree language, or as a beginner, following a specially-designed language course (known as ‘ab initio’ – ‘from the start’), and our cultural curriculum is innovative and diverse, covering a range of modules in literature, from the medieval period to the contemporary, cultural studies, film studies, politics and history. You will spend the third year of your four-year degree studying, teaching or working in a French-, German-, Portuguese- or Spanish-speaking country, putting your language learning into practice. For more about the department of English and the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, follow the departmental contact links.

Key benefits

  • One of the oldest English departments in the country, with an enduring international reputation for the quality of its teaching and research.
  • Our language departments are ranked 5th in the UK (QS University Rankings 2024) and offer our graduates excellent career prospects.
  • Central location offers access to Shakespeare’s Globe, the British Library, and a variety of cinemas, galleries, theatres, specialist libraries and resources, including the Goethe-Institut and Austrian Cultural Forum, the Institut français, Canning House, Camões Centre for Portuguese Language and Culture, and the Instituto Cervantes, as well as events organised by embassies and other related cultural institutions.
  • Graduates develop transferable analytical and communications skills making them highly desirable to employers across a range of sectors.
  • Broad range of specialist modules in French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, from medieval to contemporary literature as well as politics, history, cultural studies, and film. You can study French, German, Spanish or Portuguese language either post A-level (or equivalent) or with no previous knowledge of the language (ab initio).
  • The Year abroad in a French-, German-, Portuguese- or Spanish-speaking country offers the opportunity to immerse yourself in culture and society and attain language fluency. We have exchanges with a wide variety of partner universities across Europe, in Martinique and Quebec, and in Middle and South American countries such as Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil.
  • You can study French, German, Spanish or Portuguese language either post A-level (or equivalent) or with no previous knowledge of the language (ab initio).
Christina

Studying at King’s has allowed me to explore my subjects in so much more depth. Not only does the course provide a wide array of topics, such as history, philosophy and cinema, but there are countless opportunities available outside of the course, such as writing for the French and German magazines, or participating in the German play.

Christina, Modern Languages with a Year Abroad BA

Employability

By encouraging critical reflection on both the past and the present contexts of the French-, German-, Portuguese- or Spanish-speaking worlds, and the skills of criticism, interpretation and reasoning that are also fundamental to English studies, the programme broadens students’ knowledge base and strengthens their interdisciplinary profile, challenging narrow, monocultural assumptions, thus preparing students for the challenges of multicultural and global realities.

Studies of graduate employability repeatedly stress the career value of language degrees, which provide graduates with international experience and enhance cultural awareness, helping them to develop flexibility, resilience and resourcefulness. Employers value foreign language ability, not just as a specialist skill, but as a personal quality that develops relationship-building, teamwork, and the capacity to move easily in international contexts. Typical destinations of graduates from this degree include international business, the press and media, IT and technology, marketing and public relations, public administration, international development, law, finance, teaching and lecturing, interpreting, translating and others.

Employability

By encouraging critical reflection on both the past and the present contexts of the French-, German-, Portuguese- or Spanish-speaking worlds, and the skills of criticism, interpretation and reasoning that are also fundamental to English studies, the programme broadens students’ knowledge base and strengthens their interdisciplinary profile, challenging narrow, monocultural assumptions, thus preparing students for the challenges of multicultural and global realities.

Studies of graduate employability repeatedly stress the career value of language degrees, which provide graduates with international experience and enhance cultural awareness, helping them to develop flexibility, resilience and resourcefulness. Employers value foreign language ability, not just as a specialist skill, but as a personal quality that develops relationship-building, teamwork, and the capacity to move easily in international contexts. Typical destinations of graduates from this degree include international business, the press and media, IT and technology, marketing and public relations, public administration, international development, law, finance, teaching and lecturing, interpreting, translating and others.

Key information

Course type:
Joint honours
Delivery mode:
Campus
Study mode:
Full time
Required A-level:
AAB
Full entry requirements, including contextual requirements
Duration:
Four years
Application status:
Open
Start date:
September 2025
Application deadline:
31 January 2025
Apply via UCAS

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