Program Overview

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BA French and Italian

Overview

Gain specialist language and culture skills with a focus on France and Italy.

Key Features

• Study abroad
• Study with a language

Duration and Year of Entry

• Duration: 4 years
• Year of entry: 2026

UCAS Course Code and Institution Code

• UCAS course code: RR13
• Institution code: M20

Typical A-level Offer

• ABB including specific subjects

Typical Contextual A-level Offer

• BBC including specific subjects

UK Refugee/Care-Experienced Offer

• BBC including specific subjects

Typical International Baccalaureate Offer

• 34 points overall with 6,5,5 at HL including specific subjects

Full Entry Requirements

• See below for detailed entry requirements

How to Apply

• Apply through UCAS

Advice to Applicants

• Mitigating circumstances may be personal or family illness, other family circumstances, change of teachers during a course, problems with school facilities or an unusual curriculum followed by your school or college.

Home-Schooled Applicants

• If you are a student who has followed a non-standard educational route, e.g. you have been educated at home; your application will be considered against the standard entry criteria of the course for which you are applying.

Non-Standard Educational Routes

• Mature students are some of our most well-equipped learners, bringing skills and attributes gained from work, family and other life experiences.

Returning to Education

• We welcome applicants who are looking to return to study and value their contribution to the departmental culture and social life.

Deferrals

• Applications for deferred entry are considered equally to other applications up to the point of confirmation.

Policy for Applicants Who Resit Their Qualifications

• If you have re-sat individual modules to improve your grades, we will consider your application according to the standard selection process.

Re-Applications

• If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful you may apply again.

Course Description

• French
  • Over 70% of our staff are native speakers, teaching you in French in 'language' classes as well as most 'culture' classes.
  • You will experience between 3 and 6 hours of French grammar and conversation every week (at post A-Level or beginners' level), in order to reach near-native precision and fluency.
  • You will benefit from our long-established partnership with the Alliance Française de Manchester with cultural events throughout the year, such as film screenings, talks, plays, concerts, exhibitions and intensive language classes.
• Italian
  • Our course units give you advanced Italian language skills together with an in-depth understanding of Italian culture and society, taught by a range of specialists within these fields.
  • We also offer linguistics options for those interested in the history of the Italian language and its dialects.
  • Language courses are taught by native speakers, and involve comprehension, translation, grammar and oral work.

Aims

• Provide you with a comprehensive grounding in French and Italian language, literature, culture, history and linguistics, enabling you to become proficient enough to live and work effectively in French and Italian-speaking environments.
• Develop your knowledge of the language, culture and history of Italy and France.

Special Features

• Residence Abroad
  • You can study and/or work for up to a year in a country or countries relevant to your chosen language(s) to improve your communicative language skills in a native-speaker environment.
• Collaborations and Partnerships
  • The University has links with language and cultural institutions across the city, including:
    • Instituto Cervantes - a centre for Spanish culture;
    • HOME - international and contemporary art, theatre and film;
    • Manchester China Institute - promoting mutual understanding in UK-China relations through research, teaching, and activities;
    • Alliance Française - home of French language and culture.

Teaching and Learning

• You will learn through a mixture of formal lectures, seminars and tutorials, spending approximately 12 hours a week in formal study sessions.
• For every hour of university study, you will be expected to complete a further 2-3 hours of independent study.

Coursework and Assessment

• You will be assessed in various ways, including:
  • written and oral examinations;
  • presentations;
  • coursework (which may include library research, linguistic fieldwork and data collection, or web-based research);
  • in your final year, you will have the option to write a dissertation based on a research topic of your choice.

Course Content for Year 1

• You will study 60 credits from each discipline.
• The first year equips you with a range of important skills such as linguistic expertise, the ability to read and analyse material, skills in presentation, group work and independent language learning.

Course Content for Year 2

• You may choose to study up to two-thirds of your credits from either discipline or maintain equal weighting.
• This year's core language course units develop those of the previous year and prepare you for the linguistic challenges of your year abroad, including dedicated sessions on writing CVs and cover letters for job applications in your chosen language(s).

Course Content for Year 3

• Your third year of study is spent abroad under approved conditions.

Course Content for Year 4

• You may choose to study up to two-thirds of your credits from either discipline or maintain equal weighting.
• You will continue with your core language course unit and choose additional units from a wide range of even more specialised options, including a dissertation in one of your subjects.

Facilities

• The University Language Centre is home to language resources, including a new interpreting suite, purpose-built recording rooms, and resources for more than 70 languages.

Disability Support

• Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service.

Careers

• A degree in Modern Languages and Cultures paves the way for a broad range of careers.
• You'll develop intercultural awareness and enhanced communication skills - both highly valued by employers.

Career Opportunities

• Many of our graduates go straight into business services, marketing, advertising, management, banking or communications.
• Others pursue postgraduate study or further vocational training to become accountants, lawyers, teachers (both in the UK and overseas) or to enter the Civil Service.

Employers

• Employers who have taken on graduates of our French courses in the past include KPMG, Deloitte, L'Oréal, BT, Louis Vuitton, Rothschild, Hilton Hotels, British Council, Teach First, Barclays and the BBC.
• Employers who have taken on graduates of our Italian courses in the past include Zalando, Greenpeace, NHS, Barclays, Roblenko, Alfred H Knight, Fresh Direct, P&A Receivables, Connexity Europe, Sane Communications, Benchmark International, Wellocks, Cognolink and Penguin Random House.

University Careers Service

• The University has its own dedicated Careers Service that you would have full access to as a student and for two years after you graduate.

Regulated by the Office for Students

• The University of Manchester is regulated by the Office for Students (OfS).
• The OfS aims to help students succeed in Higher Education by ensuring they receive excellent information and guidance, get high quality education that prepares them for the future and by protecting their interests.

Contact Us

• For more information, please contact the University of Manchester.

Find Us

• The University of Manchester, Oxford Rd, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

Connect with Us

• Follow us on social media for the latest updates and news.