Universities United Kingdom Cardiff University Courses Italian and Spanish (BA)

Italian and Spanish (BA)
at Cardiff University

Cardiff, United Kingdom

Tuition Fee £ 19,450
Country Rank#19
Duration48 Months
Score IELTS: 6.5

Program Overview

Spend a year abroad

Adventure into a new culture; open your mind to new ideas and experiences while applying and developing your language skills.

Tailored to your ability

All our languages can be studied at beginner or advanced level and do not require an A Level.

Links to the Spanish Embassy

Benefit from The Spanish Embassy which has a satellite office at our School and supports Spanish language learning across Wales.

Freedom to choose

Gain experience on a placement, work as a teaching assistant or choose to study during your year abroad.

Advocate for language learning

Inspire others through the Welsh Government supported Student Language Ambassador and Student Mentoring schemes.

Our aim at the School of Modern Languages is to develop and educate our students to become ‘global citizens’. In addition to developing high-level language skills, our BA Italian and Spanish programme allows you to gain an in-depth intercultural understanding that encompasses a specific knowledge of Italian and Spanish culture. You will develop high-level communication and critical-thinking skills, and foster resilience and independence through time spent in immersive foreign language contexts.

Italy and the Hispanic world are major actors on the European and world stage, possessing rich and sophisticated cultures. Italian and Spanish are both one of the official working languages of the European community and still a global language of culture and diplomacy. By studying Italian combined with Spanish you will gain a wealth of transferable skills and knowledge beneficial to the world of employment, making you competitive and attractive in an increasingly global workforce and opening the doors to a variety of career paths.

We offer Italian and Spanish language for both advanced students and beginners. In terms of language acquisition, this course will enable you to develop your writing, oral and aural skills through a range of learning activities and audio-visual materials. In your first year, in addition to your language tuition, an introduction to Italian and Spanish history and culture seeks to provide a solid foundation for more specialised studies as you progress through your course.

Your understanding of the language will be further developed and refined during your year abroad, when you will experience life in an Italian-speaking and a Spanish-speaking country at first hand.

In the final year, you have the opportunity to write a dissertation, which stimulates initiative and can serve as a useful preparation for postgraduate study.

It is important to remember that studying languages is not just about the language itself, it involves exploring many aspects of a country, and we aspire to offer a genuinely broad course that offers challenging and stimulating modules.

On completion of this four-year programme, you will have a high level of proficiency in the both Italian and Spanish language, as well as a critical understanding of key aspects of Italian and Spanish history, culture, literature, politics and contemporary society.

Course Content
Course structure

The BA Italian and Spanish is a four-year degree programme. It is structured in such a way that you will acquire over successive years high-level language competencies and the skills to become an independent and critical thinker, equipped for professional employment.

In each year of the programme you will study 120 credits. Your third year will be spent studying or working abroad, one semester in Italy or an Italian-speaking country and the other semester in Spain or another Hispanic-speaking country.

The modules shown are an example of the typical curriculum and will be reviewed prior to the 2022/2023 academic year. The final modules will be published by September 2022.

Year one
You will combine Italian with Spanish, allowing you to experience more than one field of study.

In year one we run two pathways for students; an advanced pathway for students with an A-level or equivalent competence in Italian and Spanish and a beginner’s pathway for students with limited or no knowledge of Italian or Spanish. The first year of this programme provides a thorough foundation in the grammar of the language for those students on the beginner’s pathway, and develops the linguistic skills for post A-level students on the advanced pathway.

You will also study a non-language module which introduces you to the development of Italy and Hispanic world as a nation, exploring what it has symbolised for different groups at different moments in history. It also explores Italy and Spain’s exchanges with the world, enabling you to explore Italy and the role of the Hispanic world beyond the national borders. Studies in these areas will enable you to develop a good understanding of intercultural awareness, and the highly-prized ability to mediate between cultures.

Year two
The language elements of year two build on the work undertaken in year one, and prepare you for your year abroad.

In addition to 30 credits Italian and Spanish language, you will study 30 credits looking at Italy and the Hispanic world in a transnational context. This will introduce you to key approaches, methodologies and critical tools which you can apply to an in-depth study of Italy, Spain and the Hispanic world, looking at a range of topics such as culture, history and politics. You will also have the option of studying 30 credits of Business Language and Specialised Translations.

Outside of your formal studies, you will have the opportunity to take part in our highly-praised Student Mentoring Scheme, supported by the Welsh Assembly Government. Pupils in selected secondary schools are mentored by our specially-trained undergraduate students who go into schools to mentor pupils in small groups of two or three over a period of five weeks.

You may also choose to take part in the Student Language Ambassador (SLA) scheme, acting as advocates for language learning. Following specific training, as an SLA you may get the opportunity to speak publicly at events, sharing your personal experience of language learning. You may take part in a range of activities, such as language taster sessions, presenting and promoting the year abroad, supporting School language days and events, or promoting modern languages at career fairs or open days.

Year three: Sandwich year
Your third year is spent in Italy or another Italian-speaking country and Spain or another Spanish-speaking country. The year will enable you to develop your language skills, deepen your understanding of Italian and Hispanic culture and develop your independence, resourcefulness and resilience.

Your options this year include studying at one of our partner universities, working as an English assistant in a school through the British Council Scheme, or working for an Italian or Spanish organisation or company. No matter what you choose, the year abroad is a great opportunity for you to improve your understanding of the language, immerse yourself in another culture, and gain international study or work experience.

If you choose the study option, we have established exchange programmes which provide opportunities to study in institutions in cities that have included Venice, Verona, Milan, Pavia, Parma, Ferrara, Florence, Pisa, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville.

Placements for teaching assistants on a scheme run by the British Council can take you to either a major city or a small, rural town. This option provides first-hand teaching experience and allows you to earn a salary sufficient to live on, although you only work on a part-time basis. Prior to the start of your placement, the British Council provides a training weekend in the destination country. In addition, the school you have been assigned to should also guide you in your role as a teacher and help you to find a place to live.

The third option consists of a work placement with an organisation or company in the Italian and Spanish-speaking world. The necessary arrangements can be made through personal contacts you may have or by approaching organisations directly. In order to ensure that your work placement affords you plenty of opportunity to speak Italian and Spanish and provides you with a beneficial experience, such arrangements will require prior approval by the School.

Any student who undertakes a study placement or a traineeship/work placement in Europe is currently eligible to apply for an Erasmus grant.

Studying or working abroad is excellent preparation for your final year and gives you a level of self-confidence and maturity that has proven popular with employers.

Year four
When we welcome you back to Cardiff in your final year, you will continue to develop your language skills, studying 30 credits of Italian and 30 credits of Spanish language, in addition to 60 credits of optional modules. You will have the opportunity to build on the broad base of knowledge and skills you have developed to study an area of research expertise in the School, through taught modules and/or a dissertation. You will also have the opportunity to take part in our very popular teaching module, an accredited module where you will build on study and workshops at the University to undertake a teaching placement at one of our partner schools in the area.
Entry Requirement
A level
ABB-BBB. If you have grade B in the relevant language A-level you will have access to the languages advanced pathways.

Extended/International Project Qualification: Applicants with grade A in the EPQ/IPQ will typically receive an offer one grade lower than the standard A level offer. Please note that any subject specific requirements must still be met.

International Baccalaureate
32-31 overall or 665 in 3 HL subjects. If you have grade 6 in the relevant language at HL you will have access to the languages advanced pathways.

GCSE
Grade C or grade 4 in GCSE English Language.

IELTS (academic)
At least 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each subskill.

TOEFL iBT
At least 90 overall with minimum scores of 17 for writing, 17 for listening, 18 for reading and 20 for speaking.

PTE Academic
At least 62 overall with a minimum of 59 in all communicative skills.

Trinity ISE II/III
II: at least two Distinctions and two Merits.
III: at least a Pass in all components
Fees & Scholarships
Tuition fees for 2022 entry

Fees for home status
- £9,000
Fees for overseas status
- £19,450
Career Prospect
In 2015/16, 94% of the School’s graduates who were available for work reported they were in employment and/or further study within six months of graduation.

Many graduates enjoy their year overseas so much that they take time out for more travel, or go abroad on graduation in search of employment.

Of those who choose to remain in the UK, many pursue postgraduate studies such as one of the School’s Postgraduate Taught degrees or a PGCE. Others start work immediately following their studies, and our graduates go on to secure excellent careers in international diplomacy, the Civil Service, teaching, business and journalism. Other employment options include roles as translators, language assistants, export assistants and proof-readers.

Cost Of Studying At Cardiff University

Interest rates as low as 8.9% ^*

250K+

Students Assisted

800Cr+

Loan Amount Disbursed

5000+

Loans Sanctioned

Check Loan Eligibility

Italian and Spanish (BA) at Cardiff University