We welcome applicants without traditional entry qualifications as we base decisions on our own assessment of qualifications, knowledge and previous work experience. We may waive formal entry requirements based on judgement of academic potential.
This programme is suitable for all language entry levels, from beginner to proficiency, including native speaker level.
If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests.
If you don’t meet the minimum IELTS requirement, we offer pre-sessional English courses, foundation programmes and language support services to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.
Our BA Language and/with English allows you to combine studying a modern language (French, German, Italian, Japanese or Spanish) and its associated culture with English literature. You will gain a thorough grounding in different areas of English literature and engage imaginatively in the reading and analysis of literary texts from all periods, from the Anglo-Saxon to the present day, and develop a critical approach, so that you can put your own and others' work in context. You will also have the opportunity to study a number of cross-cultural modules that will allow you to explore specific themes across a variety of language-speaking areas.
This programme is also available for full-time evening study over four years, including a year abroad, and for part-time evening study over four years.
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Year 1
French 3
Imagining France: An Introduction to French Studies
Reading Literature
Storytelling: Narrative Archetypes, Forms and Techniques
Year 2
French 4
The Novel: Writing the Modern World
Tragedy
Translation from and into French
Year 3
Dissertation BA English
French 5
Modern French Poetry
Shakespeare A3 (Shakespeare In Context)
The French Short Story: from Balzac to Maupassant
The Sublime in the Works of Male and Female Romantic Poets
Indicative English Option Modules
British Literature, post-1945
Industry Placement (level 6 Arts)
Introduction to Old English
Literature and the Politics of Feelings
Medieval and Renaissance Body, Mind, and Soul
Post-Colonial Literature
Romanticism: Reason, Revolution, Imagination
The Victorians and their World
Transcultural Encounters: Literature, Empire, Ethnicity
Indicative Comparative Culture Option Modules
Film and Politics
Industry Placement (level 6 Arts)
Post-War: Themes in Comparative European History since 1945 (Level 6)
Reading Transnational Cultures
Representations of Love, Desire and Sexuality
Stories of the Self (Level 5)
Understanding Culture: Language and Texts
Indicative French Option Modules
French Cinema: History, Practice, Analysis
French Political Culture: Traditions and Change
French Thought: from the Renaissance to Postmodernity
Industry Placement (level 6 Arts)
Memoire en francais
The Twentieth-Century French Humanist Novel: Malraux and Camus
Indicative German Option Modules
Berlin since 1945: History and Culture (Level 5)
Das Dritte Reich
Die Deutschsprachige Presse
Industry Placement (level 6 Arts)
Major Strands in German Philosophy (level 6)
Post-War German Film
The Politics of Gender and Modern German Culture
Wirtschaftsdeutsch
Indicative Italian Option Modules
Introduction to Italian Culture (Level 4)
Indicative Japanese Option Modules
Advanced Seminar in Japanese Culture and Society
Industry Placement (level 6 Arts)
Manga and Anime
Popular Culture in Japan and East Asia
Rethinking Japan: Introduction to Modern Japanese Society and Culture (Level 4)
Theorising Japanese Cinema
Indicative Portuguese and Spanish Option Modules
Advanced Portuguese Seminar (Level 5)
Art and Empire in the Iberian World
Iberian Political Cultures: The Spanish Case
Iberian Political Cultures: The Portuguese Case
Industry Placement (level 6 Arts)
Literature and the Nation in Latin America (Mexico)
Lusophone Cinema (level 5)
Picturing the African Presence in Early Modern Spain
Power and Control in Spanish Golden Age Art
Power and Resistance in Spanish and Brazilian Film (Level 5)
Scenes of Portuguese History: Cultural approaches to modern politics
Studying the Hispanic, Luso-Brazilian and Native American Worlds
The Latin American Novel
The Problem of National Identity in Modern Spain
The Urban Experience in Brazil
Please note that not all modules are available every year: the list above is indicative.
Degree Classification
If you exit the degree with Language 3 (A-level+/B2) or Language 4 (post-A-level/C1) the degree awarded will reflect this (e.g. BA English with French).
If you exit the degree with Language 5 (degree level/C1/C2) the degree awarded will reflect this (e.g. BA French and English).
Birkbeck makes all reasonable efforts to deliver educational services, modules and programmes of study as described on our website. In the event that there are material changes to our offering (for example, due to matters beyond our control), we will update applicant and student facing information as quickly as possible and offer alternatives to applicants, offer-holders and current students.
Graduates can pursue careers in international organisations and businesses, education, research or editing. This degree may also be useful in becoming a translator, magazine/newspaper journalist, editorial assistant or primary/secondary school teacher.
We offer a comprehensive Careers Service to help you advance your career, while our in-house, professional recruitment consultancy, Birkbeck Talent, works with London’s top employers to help you gain work experience that fits in with your evening studies.
Insurance – Single: 300 GBP per year
