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Modern Languages (French/German/Italian/Spanish) and History

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B

Including grade B in History or a humanities-based essay subject. Humanities-based essay subjects include: Classical Civilisation, English Language, English Literature, Geography, Philosophy, Politics, Religious Studies.

Access to HE Diploma

D:18,M:27

Including at least 12 level 3 credits in History or a humanities-based essay subject. Humanities-based essay subjects include: Classical Civilisation, English Language, English Literature, Geography, Philosophy, Politics, Religious Studies.

Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal

M2,M2,M2

Including grade M2 in History or a humanities-based essay subject. Humanities-based essay subjects include: Classical Civilisation, English Language, English Literature, Geography, Philosophy, Politics, Religious Studies.

Extended Project

B

In recognition of the excellent preparation that the Extended Project Qualification provides to students for University study, we now include achievement in the EPQ as part of a formal offer.  Eligible applicants would receive two offers,  our usual offer plus an alternative offer of a B in the EPQ and one grade lower in their A level subjects

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE Maths C (or 4), English Language or English Literature C (or 4).

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

30

Including higher level History or a humanities-based essay subject at grade 5. Humanities-based essay subjects include: Classical Civilisation, English Language, English Literature, Geography, Philosophy, Politics, Religious Studies.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDM

including relevant history/humanities modules.

Scottish Higher

A,B,B,B,B

Including grade B in History or a humanities-based essay subject. Humanities-based essay subjects include: Classical Civilisation, English Language, English Literature, Geography, Philosophy, Politics, Religious Studies.

UCAS Tariff

120-141

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

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

History

Modern languages

**Study a modern language, and discover the richness and variety of the human experience, with our BA Modern Languages and History degree.**

This highly flexible degree enables you to study a modern language – choosing from our core languages of French, German, Italian and Spanish – alongside your studies in history.

Taught by experts from the Department of Languages and Cultures and the Department of History, you'll acquire transferable skills with a global focus and understanding.

Throughout, you'll be encouraged to follow your interests as they develop and tailor your learning to your career goals.

**Learn a language**
At the University of Reading, you’ll join a lively, multilingual community and study alongside students from all over the world.

Learn from internationally recognised researchers whose wide-ranging expertise includes migration, literature, history, cinema, linguistics, publishing, and translation. 100% of our research is of international standing (Research Excellence Framework 2021, combining 4, 3 and 2* submissions – Modern Languages and Linguistics).

Choose to study one of our four core languages:

- French

- German

- Italian

- Spanish

These languages are offered at beginner's, intermediate or advanced level, depending on your experience.

Our flexible, supportive teaching style will enable you to become confident and highly skilled in your chosen core language. You will master the fundamentals of the language – both written and spoken – graduating with near-native command.

Direct access to our staff for help and feedback ensures you develop your language skills to the best of your ability. 90% of our students agreed that staff are good at explaining things in the Department of Languages and Cultures [1].

The study of language includes cultural modules that develop your understanding of the cultures of the countries in which the language is spoken, from their literary and cinematic traditions to their history, politics and linguistics. As well as complementing your joint studies, this enables you to develop as a specialist with an international, comparative approach.

Optional modules also include introductory study of one of the following languages (subject to approval and availability):

- Arabic

- British Sign Language

- Chinese (Mandarin)

- French

- German

- Italian

- Modern Greek

- Japanese

[1] National Student Survey 2022

Modules

We will be updating this page with module information over the coming weeks.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£22,350
per year
International
£22,350
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Reading

Department:

Languages and Cultures

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.

90%
History

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.

History

Teaching and learning

88%
Staff make the subject interesting
91%
Staff are good at explaining things
82%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
77%
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

81%
Library resources
94%
IT resources
87%
Course specific equipment and facilities
89%
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?

97%
UK students
3%
International students
59%
Male students
41%
Female students
79%
2:1 or above
11%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
C

Modern languages

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?

89%
UK students
11%
International students
29%
Male students
71%
Female students
90%
2:1 or above
15%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
A
C

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.

History

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.

£17,865
med
Average annual salary
98%
high
Employed or in further education
54%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

13%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
11%
Other elementary services occupations
10%
Other administrative occupations

History is a very popular subject (although numbers have fallen of late) — in 2015, over 10,000 UK students graduated in a history-related course. Obviously, there aren't 11,000 jobs as historians available every year, but history is a good, flexible degree that allows graduates to go into a wide range of different jobs, and consequently history graduates have an unemployment rate comparable to the national graduate average. Many — probably most — jobs for graduates don't ask for a particular degree to go into them and history graduates are well set to take advantage. That's why so many go into jobs in the finance industry, human resources, marketing, PR and events management, as well as the more obvious roles in education, welfare and the arts. Around one in five history graduates went into further study last year. History and teaching were the most popular further study subjects for history graduates, but law, journalism, and politics were also popular postgraduate courses.

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.

£19,500
med
Average annual salary
94%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

27%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
10%
Teaching and educational professionals
9%
Public services and other associate 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.

What about your long term prospects?

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

History

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

£23k

£23k

£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.

£24k

£24k

£31k

£31k

£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.

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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.

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