BA Communications and Modern Languages - 2024 entry

Languages and levels available for Combined Honours courses

Completing your UCAS form

In the section named ‘further details’ on your UCAS application form please indicate in the ‘choices’ field the language and route you wish to study using the abbreviations below, separated by a space:

During your International Placement you will still be registered as an Exeter student and therefore supported in several ways. You will retain your personal tutor and be expected to keep in contact with them. You will also have the support of the Exeter Global Opportunities team for advice on any matter.

You will need to decide how to spend your International Placement during the first half of the second year. We will help you in the process. During your first year you will be invited to an introductory presentation about your Year Abroad options. In your second year, there is an extensive orientation programme to help you prepare for your Year Abroad.

Ways to spend the International Placement (work or study)

• You must spend 7-15 months abroad, maximising the opportunities available to you
• You can work, study, or split the year on two or more placements
• Students going to China or Russia can currently only study (work abroad is not available)
• If you study Portuguese, the only options available are study or work abroad (not a British Council assistantship)

Study Abroad

Studying abroad offers a range of possibilities, with over 40 different partner universities worldwide available to Modern Languages students. This can provide you with the opportunity to experience a different academic environment with local and other international students broadening your knowledge of the language and culture you study.

Work Abroad

Internships are very rewarding in that they can offer you valuable workplace experience. Placements can be sourced via our Global Opportunities webpages, but you can also source your own internship externally, though it must be approved by the Global Opportunities team. Some of our students have spent their Year Abroad working in translation, tourism, marketing, fashion, commerce, journalism, heritage and many other sectors.

British Council English Language Assistantship

Becoming an English Language Assistant with the British Council is a brilliant opportunity to explore both the world of working and, more specifically, the idea of working as a teacher. An academic year is spent supporting teachers in a primary or secondary school in the country of the language you are studying.

Does it count towards my degree?

The International Placement is an assessed year and the marks obtained count towards your final degree classification. If you begin a language in your first year at Exeter and intend to take that language in your final year, we strongly recommend you spend the majority of your Year Abroad in a country where that language is spoken. If you would like to arrange the year differently, you should first speak with the Programme Director for your language and/or the Study Abroad Officer.

How does it affect my tuition fee and funding?

For your International Placement you will pay a significantly reduced tuition fee to Exeter – for more information visit our fees pages. You will also continue to receive any Student Finance support for which you are eligible. Other financial support may also be available for certain students.

We are actively engaged in introducing new methods of learning and teaching, including the increasing use of interactive computer-based approaches to learning. Through our virtual learning environment, you can access detailed information about modules, and interact through activities such as discussion forums. You will also have access to online subscription databases and websites, such as Early English Books Online (EEBO), Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO), MLA FirstSearch and JSTOR.

How will I be assessed?

You will be assessed in a variety of ways but primarily through exams and coursework. Coursework includes essays, a dissertation and presentation work. The ratio of formal exam to coursework is on average 40:60. Your first year doesn’t count towards your final degree classification, but you do have to pass it in order to progress.

Other/Extra-curricular opportunities

We provide an exciting range of special lectures and seminars by visiting academics and renowned writers, actors and film directors. In addition to your academic work, the student-run English Society organises book and poetry readings, film screenings and social events, providing an opportunity to meet students who share a love of literature, culture and the arts. Students from the English department are always active on the University student newspapers, radio and TV station and in the University’s drama groups.

Optional modules outside of this course

Each year, if you have optional modules available, you can take up to 30 credits in a subject outside of your course. This can increase your employability and widen your intellectual horizons.

Proficiency in a second subject

If you complete 60 credits of modules in one of the subjects below, you may have the words 'with proficiency in [e.g. Social Data Science]' added to your degree title when you graduate.

• A Foreign Language
• Data Science
• Entrepreneurship
• Innovation
• Law
• Leadership
• Management
• Social Data Science

Find out more about proficiency options

Career paths

The programme will include module ‘Communications in the Workplace’, within which students will be encouraged to find work placements with providers in the communications and media sector, or projects which will enable them to carry out communication-related projects. In this module, students will undertake one or two work placements. The module will enable students to develop an understanding of how the skills and knowledge acquired as part of the degree apply to the workplace. Through reflexive practice, they will extend relevant work-based skills and knowledge. Students will have the opportunity to develop an understanding of a business or work environment through practical work and to gain experience in the use of technologies and applications commonly used in organisations.

Example careers

Graduates can expect to go on into roles in the following sectors:

• Advertising
• Digital Media
• Events Organisation
• Film-making
• International Relations
• Journalism
• Marketing
• Public Relations
• Research
• TV Production