International Relations / Spanish
Aberystwyth University
UCAS Code: 4FRL | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
To include B in A-level Spanish (unless to be studied as a beginner).
The University welcomes undergraduate applications from students studying the Access to Higher Education Diploma, provided that relevant subject content and learning outcomes are met. We are not able to accept Access to Higher Education Diplomas as a general qualification for every undergraduate degree course.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
To include 5 points in Higher Level Spanish (unless to be studied as a beginner).
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
To include B in A-level Spanish (unless to be studied as a beginner).
UCAS Tariff
Aberystwyth University welcomes the Welsh Baccalaureate as a valuable qualification in its own right and considers completion of the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate to be equivalent to an A level grade.
About this course
In choosing to study for a degree in International Relations and Spanish at Aberystwyth University you will be a part of an energetic and lively community in one of the best departments of its kind in the UK, graded ‘’excellent’’ for its quality of teaching. Simply put, the degree in International Relations and Spanish (LRF4) explores who gets what on a global scale, how they get it, and why. You will discuss power and justice as well as conflict and co-operation. International Relations is fundamentally an interdisciplinary subject that draws on several subjects, including European Languages, Spanish, Politics, History, Philosophy, Law, Geography, and Sociology making our graduates highly employable.
**Why study International Relations and Spanish at Aberystwyth University?**
- There is a wide range of expertise available within the Department of Modern Languages and this is reflected in the module choices we offer. Students could choose modules on linguistics (both modern and historical); European Culture, Film and Literature; European Linguistics; Language of Business and Current Affairs.
- All students on this course will spend their third year living independently in a Spanish speaking country. You could choose to study at University, work as a language assistant or other forms of work placements.
- The Department of International Politics offers you the opportunity to explore modules which include Global challenges, Politics in the 21st Century, War, Strategy and Intelligence, Capitalism, Intelligence and International Security to name a few.
- As a student in the Department of International Politics, you will study in the world's first department of international politics that was founded after the First World War to help the world understand the world.
- During the first year, you will receive a comprehensive introduction to Spanish studies and related research skills, in tutorial form.
- You will become a student in a department that scored 93% for student satisfaction in the 2017 National Student Survey (NSS 2017), demonstrating our commitment to provide you with an experience that is memorable and cherished. The Department of International Politics have also scored 95% overall satisfaction for the department (NSS 2018) and ranked a top 10 department in the UK for teaching quality and student experience in the subject area of politics (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019).
- The Department of International Politics provides many opportunities of extra curricular activities during the duration of the course. A highlight of the course for many students is the renowned Crisis Games which is a three day role playing exercise in political, economics and diplomatic manoeuvre, developing negotiation and communication, critical thinking team work and problem solving skills.
- Modern Language graduates are statistically amongst the most employable graduates. In the 2017 Destination of Leavers for Higher Education report published in 2018 demonstrated that a degree in Modern Languages provides a clear pathway to employment or further study. For our department, 95% of our graduates were in work or further study within 6 months after graduating (HESA 2018). In addition, the recent Good University Guide published by the Times and the Sunday Times ranked us as a top 10 in the UK for the subject area of Iberian studies. Our purposeful teaching ensures that you will have a smooth transition from campus to career.
- This degree is available to beginners and advanced language students. Beginners will follow an intensive language course in the first year.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
Extra funding
Aberystwyth University offers a valuable package of scholarships and bursaries to support students. Our long-established Entrance Examination competition means you could get up to £2,000 a year towards your living and study costs. You can combine that with any or all of our other awards, to make your financial package more valuable. Our awards include Sport and Music Scholarships, Bursaries for Care Leavers/Young Carers/Estranged Students and a range of department specific awards. Please visit our website for full details.
The Uni
Main Site (Aberystwyth)
Department of International Politics
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Iberian studies
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Politics
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Iberian studies
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
It's often said there's a shortage of modern language graduates, and graduates from Spanish courses have a lot of options available to them when they complete their courses. In 2015, nearly 1300 UK graduates got degrees in Spanish and the subject is seeing its popularity increase. About one in five got jobs overseas — often as English teachers. If you want to put your degree to work in the UK, teacher training is a common option, and businesses see Spanish-speaking countries as important markets, leading to graduate opportunities in marketing, human resources, sales and project management. But remember — whilst employers say they rate graduates who have more than one language, you need to have them as part of a whole package of good skills.
Politics
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
The numbers of people taking politics degrees fell sharply last year and we'll keep an eye on this one - it can't really be because of graduates getting poor outcomes as politics grads do about as well as graduates on average. Most politics or international relations graduates don't actually go into politics - although many do, as activists, fundraisers and researchers. Jobs in local and central government are also important. Other popular jobs include marketing and PR, youth and community work, finance roles, HR and academic research (you usually need a postgraduate degree to get into research). Because so many graduates get jobs in the civil service, a lot of graduates find themselves in London after graduating. Politics is a very popular postgraduate subject, and so about one in five politics graduates go on to take another course - usually a one-year Masters - after they finish their degrees.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Iberian studies
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£25k
£27k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Politics
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£19k
£22k
£27k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Explore these similar courses...
Lower entry requirements
Higher entry requirements
Nearby UniversitySame UniversityThis is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Course location and department:
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
