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Modern Languages and Philosophy

Entry requirements


A level

A,A,B

Where a post-A level language route is taken, a B grade in the relevant language is required. Where Chinese or Japanese is taken, a GCSE in any modern language is required. Where any other beginner language route is taken, previous experience in language is not required.

Might be accepted as in combination with other qualifications, please contact admissions teams for further advice & guidance.

UCAS Tariff

136

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

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 with year in industry | 2024

Other options

4 years | Full-time with time abroad | 2024

Subjects

Modern languages

Philosophy

At Leeds, you can study philosophy with one of nine languages.

On this four-year course, you’ll combine fluency in a language with the ability to analyse complex concepts and arguments.

In philosophy, you’ll explore key concepts and topics such as argument construction, moral and political philosophy, the history of modern philosophy, the nature of knowledge and reality, as well as applied philosophy in topics such as bioethics, race, gender, and the philosophy of war and terrorism.

You'll reach a professional standard in your chosen language through intensive learning and your year abroad.

You’ll also explore cultures across the globe, while focusing on the countries where your chosen language is spoken. In your final year, you can enhance your translation skills or business language and develop your final year project, when you get the chance to exercise your own research skills and ideas in an extended research project of your own choosing.

You’ll be able to choose to take your Final Year Project either with philosophy or with your chosen language.

The international outlook and knowledge you develop alongside advanced language skills will allow you to consider career options in a range of fields when you graduate.

**Choose one of the following languages**
We offer the following languages at two entry levels: beginners or with prior experience (eg A-level or equivalent).

- Chinese

- French

- German

- Italian

- Japanese

- Portuguese

- Russian

- Spanish

We also offer Thai from beginners' level (please contact us before applying if you have prior experience).

You must include your chosen language in the ‘Further Details’ section of your UCAS application.

The Uni


Course location:

University of Leeds

Department:

School of Languages, Cultures and Societies

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.

61%
Philosophy

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

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
93%
2:1 or above
17%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
B
A

Philosophy

Teaching and learning

75%
Staff make the subject interesting
85%
Staff are good at explaining things
75%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
54%
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

66%
Library resources
82%
IT resources
76%
Course specific equipment and facilities
61%
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?

95%
UK students
5%
International students
42%
Male students
58%
Female students
87%
2:1 or above
10%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

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.

Others in language and area 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.

£20,000
med
Average annual salary
98%
high
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

13%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
13%
Teaching and educational professionals
8%
Business, research and administrative professionals

This is a broad subject for a variety of European languages. No matter which you take, the general theme is that some graduates go to that country to work, often as English language teachers, some go into further study, often to train as teachers or translators, but most get jobs in the UK in education - most often as language tutors, unsurprisingly, or translators. Modern language grads can also be in demand in business roles where communication and language skills are particularly useful, such as marketing and PR, and in finance or law. But remember — whilst employers say they rate graduates who have graduates who have more than one language, you need to have them as part of a whole package of good skills.

Philosophy

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.

£18,300
med
Average annual salary
96%
med
Employed or in further education
55%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

18%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
13%
Other elementary services occupations
10%
Teaching and educational professionals

Although there aren't a lot of jobs around for professional philosophers, philosophy degrees are a relatively popular option, with more than 2,000 students graduating in a philosophy-related subject in 2015 - a little down on previous years, but still healthy. Nearly a quarter of philosophy graduates take a postgraduate qualification, and it's a relatively common subject at both Masters and doctorate level — so if you think academic life might be for you, think ahead about how you might fund further study. For those who go into work, philosophy grads tend to go into teaching, accountancy, consulting, journalism, PR, housing, marketing, human resources and the arts while a few go into the computer industry every year, where their logical training is highly rated.

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.

£21k

£21k

£27k

£27k

£31k

£31k

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.

Philosophy

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

£19k

£26k

£26k

£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...

Lower entry requirements
University of Southampton | Southampton
Modern Languages (One Language) and Philosophy
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time with year in industry 2024
UCAS Points: 128
Nearby University
University of York | York
Philosophy with Languages and Cultures (Italian) (with a year abroad)
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time with year in industry 2024
UCAS Points: 136-147
Higher entry requirements
University of Oxford | Oxford
Philosophy and Beginners' Modern Greek
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time with year in industry 2024
UCAS Points: 112-165
Same University
University of Leeds | Leeds
Modern Languages and History
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time with year in industry 2024
UCAS Points: 136

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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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