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University of Birmingham

UCAS Code: RR15 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Entry requirements

A level

A,B,B

A level grade B is required for the advanced language you wish to study. It is also possible to study two beginner (including post-GCSE) languages without taking an advanced language, as long as one of your beginner languages is French or Spanish.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32

6,5,5 in Higher Level subjects. You also require a Higher Level or equivalent in each modern language that you plan to study at Advanced level. If you do not have the relevant language at Higher Level, please feel free to contact us to discuss your options.

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

DDM

BTEC Extended Diploma: DDM, plus a B at A-level in the required subject/s mentioned above. BTEC Diploma: DD, plus a B at A-level in the required subject/s mentioned above. BTEC Subsidiary Diploma: D, plus AB at A-level, including the required subject/s mentioned above.

Accepted in place of a non-required A level with the equivalent grade.

UCAS Tariff

128

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

About this course

Course option

4years

Full-time | 2026

Subjects

French language

Portuguese language

Our programme equips you with a robust set of academic, professional, and cultural benefits. Whether your focus is literary, cultural and political studies or global business, diplomacy and international relations, this combination of languages equips you with a strategic knowledge and skill set that is highly valued in many international fields.

French is the official language in 29 countries, and Portuguese is the sixth largest language in the world, spoken by over 270 million people in over 10 countries. Combine your study in these two languages and open a range of global graduate possibilities, from marketing, business and translation to teaching and the arts and cultural sector.

During your time at Birmingham, you’ll also experience an unforgettable year studying, working or teaching on your Year Abroad at one of our partner institutions.

Choose from a diverse range of modules, which may include:
- Conflict, Identity and Absurdity in 20th-century French Theatre

- Behind the Camera: introduction to women's cinema from the 1960s to the present

- Rebels and Restless: Turmoil and Transgression in French Texts

- Memory and Public Space in the Portuguese-speaking World

- Roots of Inequality: Race, Gender and the Legacies of Colonialism

And cross-departmental modules such as:
- Constructions of gender, sexuality and race  

- Cross-cultural Cinema: Migration and Displacement

- Thinking Otherwise: Decolonial approaches to contemporary thought and culture

- Introduction to linguistics

- From Text to Tech: Digital Approaches to Languages and Cultures

- The Romance languages: structure, variation and change

There's an extensive range of language combinations available to you within our Modern Languages department.

**Why study this course?**
- Increase your skillset – choose to combine your chosen languages with Translation studies or Business Management.

- Study differently with our CLIL (Content Language Integrated Learning) teaching method - a blended approach to language learning where you also study topics of real cultural significance in your chosen language.

- Broaden your horizons and develop great transferable skills with a year abroad in a country of your choice.

- Get involved with producing Birmingham’s on-campus magazine – The UoB Linguist – for students interested in culture and languages.

**16th for Iberian Languages in the Complete University Guide by subject (2024)**

**Top 100 for Modern Languages in the QS World Subject Rankings (2024)**

Modules

First-year modules cover a broad base of the subject and are designed to introduce you to ways of studying at university. By the final year the modules you take will become more specialised and reflect the research expertise of the academic staff. More detailed module information can be found on the course page.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,535
per year
England
£9,535
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,535
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,535
per year
Scotland
£9,535
per year
Wales
£9,535
per year

The Uni

Course location:

University of Birmingham

Department:

Department of Modern Languages

Read full university profile

What students say

We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

87%
French language

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.

French 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
24%
Male students
76%
Female students
93%
2:1 or above
9%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

Iberian 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
24%
Male students
76%
Female students
93%
2:1 or above
9%
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.

French 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.

£26,000
med
Average annual salary
86%
med
Employed or in further education
70%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

21%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
16%
Teaching and educational professionals
9%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

Iberian 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.

£26,000
med
Average annual salary
86%
med
Employed or in further education
70%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

19%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
13%
Teaching and educational professionals
11%
Business, finance and related associate professionals

What about your long term prospects?

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

French 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.

£20k

£20k

£28k

£28k

£34k

£34k

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.

Iberian 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.

£20k

£20k

£28k

£28k

£34k

£34k

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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Lower entry requirements
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University of Oxford | Oxford
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This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the 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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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