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European Studies (German pathway) with a year abroad BA

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Overview

The European Studies (German pathway) BA is an interdepartmental course that allows you to study Modern Europe from a German perspective. You will study the politics, history, language and contemporary culture of Germany, preparing you for the third year where you will be taught and examined at a German institution. Our current partner is the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

Key benefits

  • No prior knowledge of German is required for the ab initio version of this pathway, you will learn the language from scratch. 
  • Taught by research-active, multi-national team of academics with the opportunity to specialise in particular fields or politics, government and nation.
  • Your third-year will be spent studying abroad providing you with excellent opportunities to engage in German culture and society.
  • Opportunities to take part in a broad range of extra-curricular events, from lectures by visiting speakers to the student-organised annual ‘European Week’ where you will debate contemporary issues.
  • You will develop analytical and presentational skills valued by employers, opening up career opportunities in politics, diplomacy, administrations, business and journalism.
  • Enjoy an unrivalled range of contacts with cultural institutes, libraries, international firms and government agencies.

Key information

UCAS code RR82

Duration Four years

Study mode Full-time

Course type Single honours

Further details

Awarding institution King's College London

Faculty Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy

Department Department of European & International Studies

Locations

 

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European Studies BA

In the heart of London

Hear from staff and students about studying the French, German and Spanish pathways of European Studies here at King's.

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Course detail

Description

The European Studies (German pathway) BA degree course is split between European Studies modules and German-specific modules. You will study a range of required modules that will include European politics, political economy, political thought, contemporary history, culture, economics, law, alongside of which you will focus on German politics, history, language and contemporary culture.

This degree is a four-year study course that is composed of optional and required modules totalling 450 credits. Each year, you will take modules totalling 120 credits, apart from your third year where you will take modules totaling 90 credits. Your third year of study will be in Germany, developing your modern language skills and deepening your understanding of German culture and attitudes towards Europe. 

Teaching

We use lectures, seminars and group tutorials to deliver most of the modules on the course. You will also be expected to undertake a significant amount of independent study with about 15% of your week in scheduled learning and teaching activities and 85% spent in guided independent study. You will be assigned a personal tutor who will provide support and guidance for your studies.

Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.

Assessment

The primary methods of assessment for this course are coursework, assessed essays, written examinations and individual and group presentations. Your oral exam in your third year will be taken once you return to King’s College London following your study abroad year.

Location

The Strand Campus, where most of the teaching takes place, is located in the heart of London adjacent to the Thames and close to Covent Garden. No other place in the United Kingdom can compete with London with regards to the opportunities on offer for the study of modern Europe. The library and research facilities available, as well as the range of contacts with cultural institutes, libraries, international firms, journalists, clubs and government agencies, far outstrip anything available elsewhere. Foreign language film showings, exhibitions, political talks and other cultural events take place continually.

Year 3 is spent at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. 

Other related course

Structure

Year 1

Courses are divided into modules. You will normally take modules totalling  450 credits.

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide upto-date, innovative and relevant courses of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates

Required Modules

You are required to take the following modules:

  • The Making of Modern Europe (30 credits)
  • An Introduction to German Politics (15 credits)
  • Milestones of German History (15 credits)

You are also required to take one of the following language modules based on German language ability:

  • Introductory German (for ab initio) (30 credits)
  • German Core Language Module I (for non-native speakers) (30 credits)
  • Translation from & into German I (for native speakers) (15 credits)
Optional Modules

In addition, you are required to take one module from a range of ‘Europe’ optional modules that may typically include:

  • Introduction to Politics (30 credits)
  • Introduction to International Economics (30 credits)
  • Politics and Society in Britain, 1780-1945 (30 credits) [Department of History]
  • European Law (30 credits) [The Dickson Poon School of Law]
  • The Causes of War (30 credits) [Department of War Studies]
  • Principles of Economics (15 credits) [King’s Business School]
  • States & Market (15 credits) [King’s Russia Institute]

Native speakers also take one of the following German modules:

  • Medieval Germany: Language, Literature & Society (15 credits)
  • One Hundred & Twenty Years of German Cinema (15 credits)

Year 2

Required Modules

You are required to take the following modules:

  • The Integration of the European Union (30 credits)
  • Politics, Economy & Culture in Cold War Germany (15 credits)

In addition, you are required to take one of the following language modules based on your German language ability:

  • Intermediate German (for ab initio) (30 credits)
  • German Core Language II (for non-native speakers) (30 credits)
  • Translation from & into German II (for native speakers) (15 credits)
Optional Modules

In addition, from the following range of modules, ab initio and non-native speakers are required to take  one 15 credit module and native speakers are required to take two 15 credit modules:

  • Gender & Identity in Arthurian Romance (15 credits)
  • The Weimar Republic: Culture and Crisis (15 credits)
  • Berlin Past & Present: The Reconstruction of a Capital City (15 credits)
  • 18th Century German Thought: The Education of Humanity (15 credits)
  • The German Reformation (15 credits)
  • Society, Politics and Popular Culture in Germany since 1870 (15 credits)
  • A Year in the Life of German-Language Film (15 credits)
  • Talking Back: Voices of Protest in German Culture (15 credits)

You are also required to take 30 credits from a wide range of ‘Europe’ optional modules that may typically include:

  • International Political Economy (30 credits)
  • Foreign Policy Analysis (30 credits)
  • War & Society (30 credits) [Department of War Studies]
  • History of the European Cold War (30 credits) [Department of War Studies]
  • War in International Order (30 credits) [Department of War Studies]
  • Institutions, Identity & Society in Russia & Eurasia (15 credits) [King’s Russia Institute]
  • Microeconomics (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]
  • Politics of Central & Eastern Europe (15 credits)
  • Macroeconomics (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]
  • Political Theory of Capitalism (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]

Year 3

Required Modules

You will spend your third year of study in Germany. Our current partner institution is the Faculty of Social Science at Humboldt- Universität zu Berlin.   

Once you have returned to King’s College London following your study abroad year, you will be required to take 30 credits of Aural & Oral Exams

  •  Year Abroad Practical Language module (30 credits)
Optional Modules

You are required to take 60 credits of optional modules from the International Programme at the Faculty of Social Science at Humboldt- Universität zu Berlin.   

  • Exchange Placement Abroad module (60 credits)

Year 4

Required Modules

You are required to take one of the following language modules based on German language ability:

  • German Core Language III (for ab initio and non-native speakers) (30 credits)
  • Translation from & into German III (for native speakers) (15 credits)
Optional Modules

Additionally, you are required to take 60 credits from a wide range of “Europe” options, which may typically include:

  • European Political Thought (30 credits)
  • The Political Economy of Finance & Crisis (30 credits)
  • The EU in the International System (30 credits)
  • European Political Economy (30 credits)
  • Extended Essay (if written on a European topic) (30 credits)
  • Public Policy in Europe (15 credits)
  • Russia & the EU (15 credits) [King’s Russia Institute]

Ab initio and non-native speakers are required to take 30 credits, and native speakers are required to take 45 credits, from the following range of German optional modules which may typically include:

  • Extended Essay (if written on a German topic) (30 credits)

           or

  • Dissertation (15 credits) [German Department]

Please note that it is not possible to take both Extended Essay and Dissertation options. 

  • Contemporary German Politics (15 credits)
  • Aspects of post-1945 German Culture (15 credits)
  • Death & the Afterlife in Medieval & Modern German Literature (15 credits)
  • German Foreign Policy (15 credits)
  • Religion, Sex, Politics: German Literature of the 16th & 17th Centuries (15 credits)
  • German in Motion: Migration, Integration & Political Transformation 1945–2015 (15 credits)
  • Maximising Performance: Brecht, Boal & Big Business (15 credits)

 King’s College London reviews the modules it offers on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.

Entry requirements

 

Required grades

AAB

Please note that A-level General Studies, Critical Thinking, Thinking Skills and Global Perspectives are not accepted by King's as one of your A-levels. However, if offered the grade achieved may be taken into account when considering whether or not to accept a candidate who has just fallen short of the conditions of their offer.

Required grades

35 points overall (including TOK/EE) with three Higher Level subjects at 665

Required grades

45 Level 3 credits: 33 must be from units awarded at Distinction, with the remaining Level 3 credits at Merit

Required grades

D3 D3 M2

Combinations of Pre-U principal subjects and other qualifications (such as A-levels).

Required grades

Further information below

If you are taking the new RQF BTEC Nationals (2016), you will not be required to fulfil the module requirement stipulated above - you will only need to get the right overall grade. If you are taking the QCF BTEC Nationals (2010), you must achieve both the required overall grade and the specified module grades. If you are unsure which BTEC you are studying, your teacher or school/college counsellor should be able to tell you.

Required grades

Further information below

If you are taking the new RQF BTEC Nationals (2016), you will not be required to fulfil the module requirement stipulated above - you will only need to get the right overall grade. If you are taking the QCF BTEC Nationals (2010), you must achieve both the required overall grade and the specified module grades. If you are unsure which BTEC you are studying, your teacher or school/college counsellor should be able to tell you.

Required grades

Further information below

If you are taking the new RQF BTEC Nationals (2016), you will not be required to fulfil the module requirement stipulated above - you will only need to get the right overall grade. If you are taking the QCF BTEC Nationals (2010), you must achieve both the required overall grade and the specified module grades. If you are unsure which BTEC you are studying, your teacher or school/college counsellor should be able to tell you.

Required grades

80% overall

Required grades

Visit our admissions webpages to view our international entry requirements and English language entry requirements.

Required subjects

German (except for candidates for the ab initio German pathway)

Preferred subjects

A language, English or History

Further information and other requirements

 

A-Level 

AAB 

German ab initio pathway: AAB

Standard pathway: As above, but note that German is required at Grade B.

Alternatively, if you meet these grade requirements, but do not have academic study of German, the TestDaF Level 3 (TDN3, all four components) or the Goethe-Institute B2 certificate will be accepted as evidence of proficiency in German.

Please note that A-level General Studies, Critical Thinking, Thinking Skills and Global Perspectives are not accepted by King's as one of your A levels. However, if offered the grade achieved may be taken into account when considering whether or not to accept a candidate who has just fallen short of the conditions of their offer.

Access to HE Diploma 

D: 33 credits

M: 12 credits

P: 0 credits

German ab initio pathway: Access to Humanities (or similar) Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits: 33 must be from units awarded at Distinction, with the remaining Level 3 credits at Merit.

Standard pathway: As above, but note that applicants will also need to have studied A Level German at Grade B (or equivalent).

Alternatively, if you meet these grade requirements, but do not have academic study of German, the TestDaF Level 3 (TDN3, all four components) or the Goethe-Institute B2 certificate will be accepted as evidence of proficiency in German.

Cambridge Pre-U

D3 D3 M2

German ab initio pathway: Three Pre-U Principal subjects at D3 D3 M2

Standard pathway: As above, but note that German is required as a Principal Subject at Grade M2.

Alternatively, if you meet these grade requirements, but do not have academic study of German, the TestDaF Level 3 (TDN3, all four components) or the Goethe-Institute B2 certificate will be accepted as evidence of proficiency in German.

Combinations of Pre-U principal subjects and other qualifications (such as A-levels) considered.

BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (QCF from 2010)

 

German ab initio pathway: DDM with eleven Distinctions and two A levels at grades AB 

or

or DDM with ten Distinctions and two A levels at grades AA.

Standard pathway: As above, but note that German is required at grade B.

Alternatively, if you meet these grade requirements, but do not have academic study of German, the TestDaF Level 3 (TDN3, all four components) or the Goethe-Institute B2 certificate will be accepted as evidence of proficiency in German.

BTEC Level 3 Diploma (QCF from 2010)

 

German ab initio pathway: DM with six Distinctions and two A levels at grades AB.

Standard pathway: As above, but note that German is required at grade B.

Alternatively, if you meet these grade requirements, but do not have academic study of German, the TestDaF Level 3 (TDN3, all four components) or the Goethe-Institute B2 certificate will be accepted as evidence of proficiency in German.

BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma (QCF from 2010)

 

German ab initio pathway: D with four modules at Distinction and two A levels at grades AB.

Standard pathway: As above, but note that German is required at grade B.

Alternatively, if you meet these grade requirements, but do not have academic study of German, the TestDaF Level 3 (TDN3, all four components) or the Goethe-Institute B2 certificate will be accepted as evidence of proficiency in German.

Scottish Highers & Advanced Highers

AAB at Highers

and

AB at Advanced Highers

German ab initio pathway: AAB at Higher in one sitting and AB at Advanced Higher (we do not count the Higher and Advanced Higher in the same subject).

Standard pathway: As above, but note that grade B in Advanced Higher German is required. Alternatively, if you meet these grade requirements, but do not have academic study of German, the TestDaF Level 3 (TDN3, all four components) or the Goethe-Institute B2 certificate will be accepted as evidence of proficiency in German.

Must be a combination of three Scottish Highers and two Scottish Advanced Highers. We do not count the Higher and Advanced Higher in the same subject.

International Baccalaureate

35 points

German ab initio pathway: Pass the IB Diploma with a total of at least 35 points, with three Higher Level subjects at 665. Note the total point score of 35 includes TOK/EE.

Standard pathway: As above, but note that German is required as at HL5. Alternatively, if you meet these grade requirements, but do not have academic study of German, the TestDaF Level 3 (TDN3, all four components) or the Goethe-Institute B2 certificate will be accepted as evidence of proficiency in German.

Other International Qualifications

 

Visit our admissions webpages to view our international entry requirements.

English Language requirements

Band B

Visit our admissions webpages to view our English language entry requirements.

 

Selection procedure

Application deadline: January 15th 2020

Help and support

If you don't have a suitable qualification for direct entry to a UK university, or if English isn't your first language, our academic preparation courses can help you get ready for study in the UK.

Preparation courses

Fees and funding

Full time tuition fees UK:

The UK tuition fee for the 2020-2021 academic year is currently £9,250 per year. This is based on the UK Government’s cap.

Full time tuition fees EU:

Students starting their programme in 2020/21 (September 2020) who are eligible to pay EU fees will pay the same rate of tuition fees as UK students. This will apply for the duration of their programme, but may be subject to change by the UK Government for subsequent cohorts from 2021/22.

The UK tuition fee for the 2020-2021 academic year is currently £9,250 per year. This is based on the UK Government’s cap.

Full time tuition fees International:

The International tuition fee for the 2020-2021 academic year is £19,800 per year.

Please note that the International tuition fee is subject to annual increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King’s terms and conditions.

All International applicants to Undergraduate programmes are required to pay a deposit of £2,000 against their first year’s tuition fee. This deposit is payable when you firmly accept an unconditional offer to study with us, and will be offset against your tuition fees when you join King’s.

 

Additional costs/expenses

If you choose the study abroad option with one of King’s partner universities, you will not be charged tuition fees by the host university (although some partners do charge a small administration fee for applying). Please see the Study Abroad webpages for details of the relevant partner universities. King’s will continue to invoice for a proportion of King’s tuition fees. 

You should also budget to pay for the associated subsistence costs, such as travel, visas, accommodation and food as well as any vaccination/immunisations required by the country to which you are travelling. 

In addition to the costs above, you can also expect to pay for: 

  • Books if you choose to buy your own copies 
  • Clothing for optional course related events and competitions 
  • Library fees and fines 
  • Personal photocopies 
  • Printing course handouts 
  • Society membership fees 
  • Stationery 
  • Graduation costs
  • Travel costs for travel around London and between campuses 

For further information, please visit our fees and funding pages.

 

Financial help and support

Visit the fees and funding webpages to find out more about bursaries, scholarships, grants, tuition fees, living expenses, student loans and other financial help available at King's.

Career prospects

Our graduates from the European Studies BA course have taken up posts with the Foreign Office, with leading financial institutions, with cultural organisations or with lobbying firms at the European Commission. Others have worked in public and private agencies and think-tanks in the UK, as well as further afield in countries ranging from Bosnia to Japan. Many students have undertaken work placements in the media, working for the French Newspaper Liberation, the Franco-German TV station Arte and Radio- France International.

Career destinations

Recent graduates have found employment as: 

  • Trade Policy Analyst, Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development 
  • Communications Consultant, Kreab Gavin Anderson 
  • UK Civil Service (Fast track) 
  • Compliance Analyst, Lawson Conner 
  • Regulatory Affairs Manager, Deutsche Kreditbank AG (DKB) 

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I chose King's College London because I wanted to study at a top university. It offers a world-class education as you are taught by renowned teachers in fantastic facilities and this explains its international reputation.

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