Get degree ideas using our A level explorer tool

Linguistics and Language (French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish)

Entry requirements


Minimum of two A-levels or equivalent.

About this course


Course option

2years

Part-time | 2024

Subjects

Linguistics

Modern languages

Would you love to become a highly proficient linguist while at the same time developing an understanding of how language works? As the science of language, linguistics studies everything to do with language, including how language is structured, how it develops in children, the ways in which it reflects society and culture, how it defines individuals and groups, and how it changes over time.

Our Certificate of Higher Education in Linguistics and Language offers you the opportunity to learn about the central ideas and concerns of contemporary linguistics at one of the world’s top research-intensive universities. You will also learn a language from beginner level (French, German, Italian, Japanese or Spanish), which will enable you to communicate in a variety of social and work situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required.

The course has five possible routes, so that you graduate with one of the following awards based on which language you choose to study:

- Certificate of Higher Education Linguistics and French

- Certificate of Higher Education Linguistics and German

- Certificate of Higher Education Linguistics and Italian

- Certificate of Higher Education Linguistics and Japanese

- Certificate of Higher Education Linguistics and Spanish

**Highlights**

- Applied linguistics has been taught at Birkbeck since 1965, so you will be taught by experienced specialists from a centre of teaching and research excellence.

- Ours is a community of scholars with shared interests in interdisciplinary topics and cross-cultural research. Our affiliated research centres, the Centre for French, Francophone and Comparative Studies (CFFCS) and the Centre for Iberian and Latin American Visual Studies (CILAVS), provide an important platform for this exchange.

**Careers and employability**

Graduates can pursue career paths in publishing, education, policy-making or language education. Possible professions include:

- translator

- English as a Foreign Language teacher

- publishing copy editor/proofreader

- civil service fast-streamer

- editorial assistant.

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

The linguistics subjects are assessed entirely by coursework, mainly in the form of essays. The language components are also assessed by written work, as well as by unseen examinations.

Tuition fees

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

England
£4,025
per year
International
£4,025
per year
Northern Ireland
£4,025
per year
Scotland
£4,025
per year
Wales
£4,025
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.

71%
Linguistics
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.

Linguistics

Teaching and learning

94%
Staff make the subject interesting
88%
Staff are good at explaining things
88%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
59%
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

53%
Library resources
94%
IT resources
67%
Course specific equipment and facilities
76%
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?

86%
UK students
14%
International students
28%
Male students
72%
Female students
87%
2:1 or above
21%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
C

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

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.

Linguistics

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

£22k

£22k

£24k

£24k

£28k

£28k

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.

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.

Share this page

This 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