Aberystwyth University
UCAS Code: RR24 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
To include B in A-level German or 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 Spanish or German at Higher Level (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 German or Spanish (unless to be studied as a beginner).
UCAS Tariff
To include B in A-level German or Spanish (unless to be studied as a beginner).
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
During your time as a student on our Spanish and German course, you will be able to choose from a range of modules which appeal to a variety of interests. The Department is relatively small and staff and students form a close-knit and friendly community. You will be taught by staff who are experts in their fields and who are active members of national and international research communities. Spanish is spoken by over 350 million people globally, with increasing cultural and commercial importance in North America and Asia, whilst German, with over 90 million speakers, is the language of the greatest economic power in Europe. Skills in these languages are vital to the UK’s economic, political and strategic interests, and language graduates are in demand by employers.
This course is open to students who would like to commence studying German and Spanish as well as those who are at advanced level. Beginners’ level students will follow an intensive course in the first year including guided and independent work in the Language Resource Centre. You will gain a high level of linguistic competence and a solid knowledge of the culture within which the language you are studying is used.
At Aberystwyth University, we endeavour to provide you with an enriching, memorable student experience that will be cherished. In the recent National Student Satisfaction survey, the Department of Modern Languages scored 93% student satisfaction (NSS, 2017).
Employability is embedded across our teaching within the Department of Modern Languages. 100% of our students who graduated from Aberystwyth University in 2016 were in work or further study sixth months after graduating (HESA, 2017). The Year Abroad is compulsory for all language students in the department. You will have the option to choose from studying or applying for a work placement in your chosen country. Students traditionally choose to study in one of our partner Universities or undertake a British Council English Language Assistant where you will be based in a primary or secondary school assisting the students with additional English Language classes. On successful completion of the Year Abroad, students return with an increased skill set, stronger language competencies and the ability to adapt in any situations.
On successful completion of your degree you will have developed a broad range of specialist and transferable skills and capabilities. Our graduates have been successful in seeking employment after graduation in a number of fields including: Translation and Interpretation; Broadcasting; Education; Marketing; Human Resources; Digital Copywriting; International Banking; Civil Service. If you are interested in developing your language competencies and exploring these languages further in a social, cultural and professional aspect, then the BA Spanish and German is the course for you.
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 Modern Languages
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)
German and scandinavian studies
Sorry, no information to show
This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
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.
German and scandinavian 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 the UK doesn't produce enough modern language graduates, and graduates from German courses have a lot of options available to them when they complete their courses. The unemployment rates last year was lower than graduates in general. Nearly a quarter of working graduates from 2015 got jobs outside the UK — mostly as English teachers — which is much higher than for most subjects. The relative strength of the German economy means there will continue to be opportunities there in the future. But more graduates went to work in London, and those who want to stay at home to work find jobs anywhere where good communication skills are a must, particularly in education, in marketing, in the arts and in business and finance as teachers, writers, personnel officers, financial advisors, analysts, sales people and marketers.. 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.
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.
German and scandinavian 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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?
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