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Journalism and Language (French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish) with Foundation Year

Entry requirements


UCAS Tariff

48

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About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

4years

Full-time including foundation year | 2024

Other options

6 years | Part-time | 2024

Subjects

Modern languages

Journalism

Our BA Journalism and Language combines the study of a modern language (French, German, Italian, Japanese or Spanish) with development of journalistic skills relevant to a wide range of professional contexts. Not only will you become highly competent in your chosen language but you will also gain advanced knowledge of the cultures and societies of the countries in which the language is spoken. The journalism modules are taught by industry professionals with experience not only in how to write for different media and audiences, but also in how the industry works. By the end of this journalism and language degree you will have developed high-level journalistic skills, and an understanding of the cultural, political and industrial contexts of journalism.

You will also have the opportunity to study a number of cross-cultural modules which will allow you to explore specific themes across a variety of language-speaking areas.

If you opt for the Foundation Year route, this will fully prepare you for undergraduate study. It is ideal if you are returning to study after a gap, or if you have not previously studied the relevant subjects, or if you didn't achieve the grades you need for a place on your chosen undergraduate degree.

**Highlights**

- Acquire up-to-date skills and knowledge from experienced practitioners at the heart of London's global media industry and leading academic researchers in the field, such as Professor Tim Markham, Joel McKim, Scott Rodgers and Justin Schlosberg.

- You will also be taught by specialists from a centre of teaching and research excellence in languages.

- In film, media and cultural studies, Birkbeck fosters an especially research-intensive environment. We offer an extensive portfolio of internationally respected courses that span a variety of academic disciplines and engage with the latest ideas and techniques in journalism, media and cultural theory, arts policy and management, film and television studies, creative marketing, digital culture and East Asian cultural studies.

- We also affiliate with a number of research centres and networks, including Birkbeck Interdisciplinary Research in Media and Culture (BIRMAC), Birkbeck Institute for the Moving Image (BIMI), Vasari Research Centre for Art and Technology and the Centre for French, Francophone and Comparative Studies (CFFCS).

**Careers and employability**

Graduates can pursue career paths in media and cultural institutions, journalism, public relations or professional communications. Possible professions include:

- magazine/newspaper journalist

- public relations officer

- press sub-editor.

We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.

Modules

For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.

Assessment methods

Essays, journalistic writing, blogging, layout, video and podcasting.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

England
£9,250
per year
International
£17,620
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Birkbeck, University of London

Department:

School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication

Read full university profile

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.

69%
Modern languages

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.

Others in language and area studies

Teaching and learning

85%
Staff make the subject interesting
90%
Staff are good at explaining things
81%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
57%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

55%
Library resources
72%
IT resources
69%
Course specific equipment and facilities
64%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

90%
UK students
10%
International students
30%
Male students
70%
Female students
81%
2:1 or above
24%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
C

Journalism

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?

94%
UK students
6%
International students
31%
Male students
69%
Female students
73%
2:1 or above
31%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
A
C

After graduation


We don't have more detailed stats to show you in relation to this subject area at this university but read about typical employment outcomes and prospects for graduates of this subject below.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Others in language and area 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.

£18k

£18k

£25k

£25k

£32k

£32k

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.

Journalism

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£11k

£11k

£27k

£27k

£30k

£30k

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...

Higher entry requirements
University of Essex | Colchester
Journalism and Modern Languages
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 128
Lower entry requirements
University of Sunderland | Sunderland
Journalism with Integrated Foundation Year
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 40
Nearby University
University of the Arts London | Camden
Fashion Communication: Journalism
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: -

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Teaching Excellence Framework (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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