Modern Languages (French, German, Spanish, Portuguese) with a year abroad | Study at King’s

Overview

Choose to study a single language or two languages from a choice of French, German, Spanish or Portuguese for your Modern Languages degree.

At King’s, we believe studying a modern foreign language can unlock the world, and our courses are designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills necessary to become the next generation of leading European and global citizens. As well as achieving fluency in your chosen language(s), you will also explore the culture and society of countries where those languages are spoken through our exceptionally wide choice of modules – with opportunities to cover everything from politics, literature, and film, to history and cultural studies.

Our Departments offer you a lively and intellectually stimulating home in heart of London where you will be taught by leading experts. You will also study, teach or work in a French-, German-, Portuguese- or Spanish-speaking country on your Year Abroad, putting your learning into practice. Students on degree programmes combining two languages may take one at ab initio (beginners) level.

Key benefits:

French, German and Spanish have been taught at King’s since 1831 and Portuguese since the 1860s, making us one of the oldest modern languages programmes in the country
Our language departments are consistently voted among the best in the UK and offer our graduates excellent career prospects
Broad range of specialist modules in French, German, Portuguese and Hispanic Studies, from medieval to contemporary literature as well as politics, history, cultural studies, and film
Based in the heart of London, King’s location offers access to a variety of galleries, theatres, specialist libraries and resources, including the Goethe-Institut and Austrian Cultural Forum, the Institut Français, Canning House, Camoes Centre for Portuguese Language and Culture, and the Instituto Cervantes, as well as events organised by embassies and other related cultural institutions
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 number of partner universities in Europe, as well as North and South America
Personal attention is given to each student, creating an intellectually stimulating and warm environment that is reflected in consistently excellent student satisfaction ratings

Key information

UCAS code R900

Duration 4 years

Study mode Full-time

Course type Joint honours

Further details

Department Department of French Department of German Department of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies

Locations

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Course detail

Description

Teaching

Modules are taught by leading academics through a combination of lectures, small seminars or tutorials, and expert one-to-one supervision. Language classes involve in-depth work with different kinds of media, literary and academic texts. Teaching is in both English and the language(s) studied, according to the subject area. Our teaching style is interactive; you will participate informally in small group discussions, in seminars or online discussion platforms, and formally through seminar presentations and oral assessments.

Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.

Assessment

You will encounter a variety of methods of summative (for credit) assessments during your studies, which may typically include coursework and assessed essays; language assignments (written, oral, aural); individual or group-based presentations; year abroad project work; examinations; and a dissertation. You will also have a variety of formative assessments (not for credit) throughout your programme. The feedback you receive will be key to provide guidance and inform the assignments you go on to do subsequently.

Location

This course is taught on our King’s College London Strand Campus, located in the heart of London.

Our Modern Language Departments can draw on unparalleled print, audio-visual and online resources, including the King’s Maughan Library and Senate House Library, the Institute of Modern Languages Research, the British Film Institute and the British Library. All are within easy walking distance of the Strand Building. The Goethe-Institut, Austrian Cultural Forum, Institut français, Camoes Centre , Instituto Cervantes, and Canning House also have extensive media and library holdings, and run lively courses including films, readings, seminars and exhibitions which complement our Departments’ internal film screenings, open seminars, exhibitions, and annual departmental play.

London is also a city of music and arts. You will have easy access to London’s endless live music performances at the South Bank arts complex, at the Barbican Centre, at London opera houses. West End Theatres, Cinemas, Art Galleries are all a short walk away.

Structure

Year 1

We offer flexible language options, allowing you to tailor your degree. Choose to study French, German or Spanish as a single language or study two languages from a choice of French, German, Portuguese or Spanish to form your Modern Languages degree.

Don't forget, you can also start a language as a beginner (ab initio), as well as options to continue from your current study

For more information on your modules, visit our dedicated pages.

Required Modules

French pathway

Find all French modules here - including single and joint honours.

German pathway

Find all German modules here - including single and joint honours for non-native speakers, native German speakers and beginners.

Spanish pathway

Find all Spanish modules here including single and joint honours.

Portuguese pathway

Find Portuguese modules here, for joint honours.

Optional Modules

Year 2

We offer flexible language options, allowing you to tailor your degree. Choose to study French, German or Spanish as a single language or study two languages from a choice of French, German, Portuguese or Spanish to form your Modern Languages degree.

Don't forget, you can also start a language as a beginner (ab initio), as well as options to continue from your current study

For more information on your modules, visit our dedicated pages.

Required Modules

French pathway

Find all French modules here - including single and joint honours.

German pathway

Find all German modules here - including single and joint honours for non-native speakers, native German speakers and beginners.

Spanish pathway

Find all Spanish modules here including single and joint honours.

Portuguese pathway

Find Portuguese modules here, for joint honours.

Optional Modules

Year 3

Assessment for this year will depend on whether you choose to split the year between two countries, or spend the entire year in one. It will also depend on how you opt to spend your year: as an exchange student at a university, a language assistant teaching English, or on an approved work placement.

Required Modules

Partner Institutions for the French semester currently include:

Université Lumière Lyon II
Université Paris-Sorbonne
Université Paris-Nanterre
Aix-Marseille Université
Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (Martinique)
École Normale Supérieure (Paris)
École Normale Supérieure (Lyon)
Sciences Po (Paris)
Sciences Po (Lyon)
Université de Montréal
Université Laval
Université de Strasbourg

Partners for the German semester abroad currently include:

Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe-Universität , Frankfurt am Main
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munchen
Universität Wien
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
Universität Mannheim

Partners for the Portuguese semester abroad currently include:

Universidade de Lisboa - Portugal
Universidade Nova de Lisboa - Portugal
Universidade de Coimbra - Portugal
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - Brazil
Universidade Federal da Bahia - Brazil
Universidade de São Paulo - Brazil
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

Partners for the Spanish semester abroad currently include:

Universidad de Alicante - Spain
Universidad de Cádiz - Spain
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid - Spain
Universidad de Córdoba - Spain
Universidad del País Vasco - Spain
Universitat Pompeu Fabra – Spain
Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (Lugo Campus) – Spain
Universidad de Salamanca - Spain
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC) - Chile
Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (TEC), Campus Querétaro - Mexico
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) - Mexico
Universidad del Pacífico – Peru

Universidad San Francisco de Quito – Ecuador

Optional Modules

There are no optional modules for Year 3.

Year 4

Required Modules

French pathway

Find all French modules here - including single and joint honours.

German pathway

Find all German modules here - including single and joint honours for non-native speakers, native German speakers and beginners.

Spanish pathway

Find all Spanish modules here including single and joint honours.

Portuguese pathway

Find Portuguese modules here, for joint honours.

Optional Modules

Entry requirements

Required subjects

A Level (or equivalent) in at least one of your chosen langauges

Single language pathways:

French with a Year Abroad: French
Spanish with a Year Abroad: Spanish
German with a Year Abroad: German

Combined language pathways:

(French and German) with a Year Abroad: French or German
(French and Portuguese) with a Year Abroad: French or Portuguese
(French and Spanish) with a Year Abroad: French or Spanish
(German and Portuguese) with a Year Abroad: German or Portuguese
(German and Spanish) with a Year Abroad: German or Spanish
(Portuguese and Spanish) with a Year Abroad: Portuguese or Spanish

Preferred subjects

None

Further information and other requirements

Entry requirements
A-Level	AAB	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.
Access to HE Diploma	D: 33 credits M: 12 credits P: 0 credits	Access to HE Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits: 33 must be from units awarded at Distinction, with the remaining Level 3 credits at Merit.
Cambridge Pre-U	D3 D3 M2	Three Pre-U Principal subjects at D3 D3 M2
BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (QCF from 2010)		DDM with eleven Distinctions and two A levels at grades AB.
BTEC Level 3 Diploma (QCF from 2010)		DM with six Distinctions and two A levels at grades AB.
BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma (QCF from 2010)		D with four modules at Distinction and two A levels at grades AB.
Scottish Highers & Advanced Highers	AAB at Highers and AB at Advanced Highers	AAB at Higher in one sitting and AB at Advanced Higher (we do not count the Higher and Advanced Higher in the same subject)
International Baccalaureate	35 points	Pass the IB Diploma with a total of at least 35 points, with three Higher Level subjects at 665.
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: 15th January 2020

Help and support

View our English language entry requirements

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.

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

By encouraging critical reflection on both the past and the present contexts of the French, German, Portuguese or Spanish -speaking worlds, 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 enhancing 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 KCL Modern Languages graduates 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

Testimonials

Rodolphe

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.