Modern Languages Studies

Modern languages studies is a degree that develops your linguistic proficiency and cultural understanding in one or more foreign languages, alongside the literary and historical knowledge that gives those languages depth and context. The study of languages at degree level goes well beyond grammatical competence, engaging you with the literature, culture, history and contemporary life of the communities in which your languages are spoken. It develops your ability to communicate with precision and nuance in another tongue, and your capacity to understand the world through a different cultural lens.

At Bangor, this three-year full-time programme includes a foundation year, a sandwich year, a year abroad and a work placement, giving you an unusually rich combination of structured academic and professional experience. The foundation year provides the language and academic foundations needed for degree-level modern languages study. The year abroad is the defining experience of any languages degree, immersing you in a linguistic and cultural environment that transforms your fluency and understanding in ways that classroom study alone cannot achieve.

The sandwich year and work placement give you professional experience in a language-relevant context, building the applied dimension of your skills.

Bangor's location in Wales, itself a bilingual country with a living Welsh language tradition, adds a distinctive dimension to modern languages study. You may encounter Welsh-medium aspects of the university and the surrounding community, which enriches the experience of studying language and culture in a context where minority language survival is a live and serious issue.

Graduates of modern languages programmes work in translation and interpreting, international business, diplomacy, education, journalism, publishing, cultural organisations and the civil service. Postgraduate study in languages, translation, international relations or area studies is a natural option.