Modern Languages,Translation andInterpretingBA Honours

UCAS code R9Q94 Years

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Modern Languages,Translation andInterpretingBA HonoursUCAS code R9Q94 Years

This degree gives you the opportunity to studytwo modern foreign languages whilst alsospecialising in translation and interpreting.

You will spend a year abroad, developing near-native fluencyand experiencing life in another culture.

The opportunity to develop fluency in one or two languages,along with developing in-demand employment skills intranslating and interpreting, make this a very attractivedegree.

When you graduate, you will be well placed for a career as afreelance translator/interpreter for agencies and commercialclients, an in-house translator/interpreter in the private orpublic sector, and for work in international organisations.

Highlights of this degreeQuality and rankingModern Languages at Newcastle is highly regarded,ranking:

• 5th in the UK - The Guardian University Guide 2020(Modern Languages)

• top 10 in the UK – The Complete University Guide 2020(French, and Iberian languages)

• top 10 in the UK – The Times/Sunday Times GoodUniversity Guide 2020 (Iberian languages)

• 6th in the UK for research power – ResearchExcellence Framework 2014

• top 200 – Arts and Humanities category – Times HigherEducation World University Rankings by Subject 2018

Year abroad and/or work placementYou spend your third year abroad, developing your languagefluency and experiencing another culture first-hand. Youmay:

• study at one of our partner universities • do a work or voluntary placement • combine the above, as long as they do not overlap

Students have in past years secured work placements withtranslation companies abroad, and details of thesecompanies are advertised to students every year.

University study abroad includes the option of studying withoverseas institutions specialising in translation andinterpretation.

You usually divide the year between the two countriesrelating to your chosen languages, although it may bepossible to spend the whole year in one country.

Support for year abroadWe offer lots of help to prepare you for your year abroad,including:

• briefings covering practicalities like insurance, visas andstudent safety

• support to find a work placement • a Tandem Learning Scheme, to practise conversation

in your foreign language and make contacts in thecountry before you travel

• a training course for language assistants

We also run social events for second-year students to meetfinalists who have already done their year abroad, Erasmusstudents from our partner universities in Europe, andChinese and Japanese exchange students from our hostuniversities in East Asia.

Our Year Abroad team will keep in close touch with youwhile you are abroad. You will communicate regularly withyour personal tutor. You'll also complete blog posts throughour e-portfolio system. This will help you reflect on yourlinguistic, personal and professional development.  

Facilities and supportYou will join the School of Modern Languages atNewcastle. We're a small and friendly School with around50 staff, 30 of whom are native speakers of the languagesthey teach. We have been teaching languages at Newcastlefor over 100 years. This mark of quality and heritage isreflected in the reputation that the School holds.

FacilitiesFacilities include state-of-the-art language laboratories andan award-winning Language Resource Centre, withself-study resources for over 50 languages. You'll also haveaccess to specialist language software, dictionaries, DVDs,films and live satellite TV channels. 

Find out more about our facilities on the School website.

ResourcesWe have excellent links with other institutions, including theCentro de Língua Portuguesa (Instituto Camões) which isa major regional and national resource, supporting theteaching of Portuguese.

SupportYou'll be supported by a personal tutor throughout yourdegree – an academic member of staff who can help withacademic and personal issues.

Peer mentors will help you in your first year. They are fellowstudents who can help you settle in and answer anyquestions you have

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Social activitiesThere are lots of opportunities within the School for you tomeet new people and get involved with different activities,including joining our student-run Modern LanguagesSociety.

There are opportunities for translation through our RealTranslation scheme. Alternatively, you can get involved withour student-led publications Flying Solo and Gift of the Gab. 

Our dedicated student services building, King's Gate.

Course Details

Modules for 2019 entry

Please noteThe module and/or programme information below isfor 2019 entry. Our teaching is informed by research andmodules change periodically to reflect developments inthe discipline, the requirements of external bodies andpartners, student feedback, or insufficient numbers ofstudents interested (in an optional module). To find outmore read our terms and conditions.Module/programme information for 2020 entry will bepublished here as soon as it is available (end of May2020).Our degrees are divided into Stages. Each Stage lasts foran academic year and you need to complete modulestotalling 120 credits by the end of each Stage. Furtherinformation, including the credit value of the module, isavailable in each of the module descriptions below.

What you will studyYou spend two thirds of your time studying two languagesand their related cultures. General language study lays thefoundations for successful practice of translation andinterpreting.

Cultural modules (such as film, history, linguistics orliterature) give you crucial background knowledge thatenhances your translation and interpreting skills.

There are two routes through the programme, depending onyour current level of language knowledge.

Students with A level or equivalent in onelanguageYou study translation and interpreting for the language youstudied at A level (or equivalent) - either French, German orSpanish.

You study another language from beginners’ level, choosingfrom Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese orSpanish. This second language enables you to qualify forpostgraduate study of translation and interpreting or for usein other careers.

Students with A level or equivalent in twolanguagesYou study translation and interpreting for both languagesyou studied at A level (or equivalent). You can choose fromFrench, German and Spanish.

Stage 1You will take the following compulsory modules:

• TRI1001 Interpreting Theory and Practice 1• TRI1002 Translation Theory and Practice 1

You will then take one of the following modules:

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• FRE1071 Level B (HE Intermediate) French• GER1071 Level B (HE Intermediate) German• SPA1071 Level B (HE Intermediate) Spanish

You will also take either one module of another Level Blanguage (if you enter the programme with two languages atA level or equivalent) OR one pair of modules of a Level Alanguage from the following list:

• CHN1065 Level A (HE Entry Level) ChineseI and CHN1066 Level A (HE Entry Level) Chinese II

• FRE1065 Level A (HE Entry Level) French I and FRE1066Level A (HE Entry Level) French II

• FRE1071 Level B (HE Intermediate) French*• GER1065 Level A (HE Entry Level) German

I and GER1066 Level A (HE Entry Level) German II• GER1071 Level B (HE Intermediate) German*• JPN1065 Level A (HE Entry Level) Japanese

I and JPN1066 Level A (HE Entry Level) Japanese II• POR1065 Level A (HE Entry Level) Portuguese

I and POR1066 Level A (HE Entry Level) Portuguese II• SPA1065 Level A (HE Entry Level) Spanish

I and SPA1066 Level A (HE Entry Level) Spanish II• SPA1071 Level B (HE Intermediate) Spanish*

*You must have an A level or equivalent in the language totake Level B (HE Intermediate) language module at Stage 1.

You then select optional modules from the following list tobring your total credits to 120:

• FRE1006 La France de 1789 à nos jours• GER1016 Deutschland zwischen 1871 und 1945• LAS1010 An Introduction to Latin America• SML1018 Introduction to Literature• SML1019 Introduction to Linguistics• SML1021 Introduction to International Film• SML1022 Introduction to Cultural Studies• SPA1019 Introduction to History, Culture and Society of

the Iberian Peninsula

Stage 2You take the following compulsory modules:

• TRI2001 Interpreting Theory and Practice 2• TRI2002 Translation Theory and Practice 2

You take one of the following modules:

• FRE2061 Level C (HE Advanced) French• GER2061 Level C (HE Advanced) German• SPA2061 Level C (HE Advanced) Spanish

You take a Level B or Level C language module. The leveldepends on the level of language taken at Stage 1:

• CHN2010 Level B (HE Intermediate) Chinese • FRE1071 Level B (HE Intermediate) French• FRE2061 Level C (HE Advanced) French• GER1071 Level B (HE Intermediate) German• GER2061 Level C (HE Advanced) German• JPN2010 Level B (HE Intermediate) Japanese • POR2010 Level B (HE Intermediate) Portuguese• SPA1071 Level B (HE Intermediate) Spanish• SPA2061 Level C (HE Advanced) Spanish

You will take one optional module for each languagestudied, according to the level taken. If you are taking

Chinese or Japanese, you take one module from Level Coptions only. 

Level B Options (to go with intermediate languagemodules)

• FRE1006 La France de 1789 à nos jours• GER1016 Deutschland zwischen 1871 und 1945• LAS1010 An Introduction to Latin America• POR2001 Cultures and Societies of the

Portuguese-Speaking World• SML1018 Introduction to Literature• SML1019 Introduction to Linguistics• SML1021 Introduction to International Film• SML1022 Introduction to Cultural Studies• SPA1019 Introduction to History, Culture and Society of

Iberian Peninsula

Level C Options (to go with advanced languagemodules)

• FRE2005 Classic French Cinema• FRE2009 Paris: Aspects of History and Culture• FRE2013 Ethnography for Language Learners (French)• FRE2044 Linguistic Variation in French• FRE2045 French Caribbean Literature• GER2010 A Cultural History of Berlin: Cabaret,

Catastrophe, Capital• GER2011 M for Murder: Crime, Law and Justice in

Modern German Literature and Film• GER2013 Nature and Ecology in German Culture• GER2031 Beginners’ Dutch (if you are also studying

German Level C)• GER2036 Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland bis 1990• LAS2028 Diversidad Cultural en America Latina• LAS2030 Comparative History of Hispano-America and

Brazil: from Independence to the Mexican Revolution(1789/1810-1917)

• LAS2032 Caribbean Imaginaries: Image, Text, Music• SML2014 An Introduction to Italian Language and

Culture (if you are also studying Spanish Level C orFrench Level C)

• SPA2019 World Spanish• SPA2021 Introduction to Catalan (if you are also studying

Spanish Level C or French Level C)• SPA2025 Representations of Revolution, Dictatorship

and Democracy in Spain and Latin America

Stage 3 (Year abroad and/or work placement)You spend your year abroad either studying at a universityor on an approved work placement or a combination ofthese in a country (or countries) relevant to your degree. Youmay spend the whole year in a country where one of yourchosen languages is spoken, or divide the year betweenmore than one country.

If you study Chinese or Japanese you must spend the yearin China or Japan at a university in the relevant country. It isrecommended that you use the summer vacations eitherside of your year abroad to visit French-, German-,Portuguese- or Spanish-speaking countries according to theother language you are studying.

During your year abroad, you take the following compulsorymodule:

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• SML3004 Year Abroad ePortfolio (YAeP)

You also choose one of the modules below:

• SML3006 Study Abroad• SML3007 Year Abroad Work Placement Report 1• SML3008 Year Abroad Work Placement Report 2• SML3009 Year Abroad Project 1• SML3010 Year Abroad Project 2

Stage 4You take the following compulsory modules:

• TRI4001 Interpreting Theory and Practice 3• TRI4002 Translation Theory and Practice 3

You take one pair of the following modules, depending onthe language studied at Level C in Stage 2:

• FRE4081 Level D (HE Further Advanced) French:Advanced Writing Skills AND FRE4082 Level D (HEFurther Advanced) French: Language for Professional &Academic Purposes

• GER4081 Level D (HE Further Advanced) German:Advanced Writing Skills AND GER4082 Level D (HEFurther Advanced) German: Language for Professional &Academic Purposes

• SPA4081 Level D (HE Further Advanced) Spanish:Advanced Writing Skills AND SPA4082 Level D (HEFurther Advanced) Spanish: Language for Professional &Academic Purposes

You take one Level C or a pair of Level D language moduleslisted below, depending on the level of language taken atStage 2: 

Level C• CHN4010 Level C (HE Advanced) Chinese• FRE2061 Level C (HE Advanced) French• GER2061 Level C (HE Advanced) German• JPN4010 Level C (HE Advanced) Japanese• POR4010 Level C (HE Advanced) Portuguese• SPA2061 Level C (HE Advanced) Spanish

Level D• FRE4081 Level D (HE Further Advanced) French:

Advanced Writing Skills AND FRE4082 Level D (HEFurther Advanced) French: Language for Professional &Academic Purposes

• GER4081 Level D (HE Further Advanced) German:Advanced Writing Skills AND GER4082 Level D (HEFurther Advanced) German: Language for Professional &Academic Purposes

• SPA4081 Level D (HE Further Advanced) Spanish:Advanced Writing Skills AND SPA4082 Level D (HEFurther Advanced) Spanish: Language for Professional &Academic Purposes

You take one Level C and one Level D module from the listsbelow following in sequence with the languages taken atStage 2. If you are taking Chinese or Japanese, you chooseone module from the Level D list only.

Level C Options (to go with advanced languagemodules)• FRE2005 Classic French Cinema• FRE2009 Paris: Aspects of History and Culture

• FRE2013 Ethnography for Language Learners (French)• FRE2044 Linguistic Variation in French• FRE2045 French Caribbean Literature• GER2010 A Cultural History of Berlin: Cabaret,

Catastrophe, Capital• GER2011 M for Murder: Crime, Law and Justice in

Modern German Literature and Film• GER2013 Nature and Ecology in German Culture• GER2036 Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland bis 1990• LAS2028 Diversidad Cultural en America Latina• LAS2030 Comparative History of Hispano-America and

Brazil: from Independence to the Mexican Revolution(1789/1810-1917)

• LAS2032 Caribbean Imaginaries: Image, Text, Music• POR4003 Lusophone Borderlines: Borders and

Crossings in Portuguese-Speaking Cultures• SPA2019 World Spanish• SPA2025 Representations of Revolution, Dictatorship

and Democracy in Spain and Latin America

Level D Options (to go with further advancedlanguage modules)• FRE4003  Occupation and Resistance: Literary and

Cinematic Responses to the Second World War inFrance

• FRE4006  Contemporary French Cinema• FRE4007  Les valeurs républicaines, le système

d'enseignement et le social renewal • FRE4014  Historical Perspectives on the French

Language• FRE4015 From Experimental to Explicit: Translating

Women's Writing in French• FRE4016  Contemporary Life Writing in French: Textual

and Visual Experiment• FRE4017  Du Surrealisme au Street Art: Theories et

Pratiques de la Ville• GER4004  Intermediate Dutch*• GER4014  German Representations of the Holocaust• GER4015  A Comparative History of German and

English: Phonology, Morphology, Syntax and the Lexicon• GER4016  The Future: Its Past and Its Future• LAS4001   Inter-American Relations from

Spanish-American War (1898) to the end of the Cold War(1989/1991)

• LAS4005  Multilingualism and Society in Latin America• LAS4010  Cultura y Política en Colombia• SML4004  Intermediate Italian*• SML4099  Dissertation• SPA4002  Intermediate Catalan*• SPA4005  Cultura Popular en Latinoamérica y España• SPA4006  Spectres of the Past: Memory in

Contemporary Spanish Culture• SPA4007  Spanish and Romance Word Analysis

* You must have taken the relevant language at Stage 2 totake this module 

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Teaching and assessment

Study at the cutting edgeThe School of Modern Languages produces high-leveloriginal research in the cultures of the contemporarysocieties with which it engages. This research feeds directlyinto our teaching, giving you the chance to really get toknow the modern societies connected to your chosenlanguages.

We have particular research expertise in:

• Film Studies• Latin American Studies• Linguistics• Medieval Studies

Teaching methodsThe majority of practical language modules are taughtthrough classes led by native speakers. You also work inlanguage laboratories and undertake self-study in our Language Resource Centre.

Assessment methodsAssessment involves oral and language laboratory work andwritten examinations at the end of each Stage, as well ascoursework submitted during the year.

During your year abroad in Stage 3 you are required tocomplete a personal learning record (a diary exerciseconsisting of three short pieces of work) and either write aproject in the relevant language or submit marks frommodules taken at the exchange university.

Find out moreVisit our Teaching and Learning pages to read about theoutstanding learning experience available to all students atNewcastle University

Careers

Translation and interpretingcareersStudying for our degree in Modern Languages, Translationand Interpreting will open the door to a wide variety of careerpaths, while adding the specific skills of translation andinterpreting to your portfolio.

You may decide to embark directly upon a career intranslation and/or interpreting, or you could follow the tracksof some of our other Modern Languages graduates and findwork in areas as diverse as tourism, marketing,management, the civil service, advertising and the media,teaching and banking.

Alternatively, if you want to study translation and interpretingfurther, our degree is excellent preparation for apostgraduate professional qualification.

Our degree will equip you with highly marketable translationand interpreting skills, which will be increasingly attractive asthe world economy recovers.

It also gives you the wider skills you get from all degrees atNewcastle:

• the self-confidence to communicate orally as well as onpaper

• the ability to work effectively in a group• the ability to organise and plan your work• the ability to find solutions to problems by critical, logical

and creative thinking

These skills are highly valued by a wide range of employersacross all sectors, including industry and business.

Many School of Modern Languages graduates also chooseto go into teaching, taking a Postgraduate Certificate ofEducation (PGCE) for either primary or secondary educationin the UK, or beginning careers teaching English outside thiscountry. Others go into jobs in which their language skills aredesirable, such as the media, sales, e-commerce, andfinance.

The School of Modern Languages works with theUniversity’s Careers Service to run an annual EmployabilityWeek, including an opportunity to network with recentgraduates. We also collaborate on the Modern Languagescareers blog, Careers Translated. The blog gives you accessto a range of relevant jobs, training and work experienceopportunities, as well as interviews with alumni andemployers, and general advice. 

What our graduates go on to do:employment and further studychoicesSee what our recent graduates went on to do and viewgraduate destinations statistics. These statistics are basedon what graduates were doing on a specific date,approximately six months after graduation. Take a look atthe most recent data available for our graduates.

The destination data is available in varying levels, beginningwith the University and moving through Faculty and Schooldown to individual course reports. This final level may giveyou some useful ideas about possible options after yourcourse or a course you are considering.

Careers and employability atNewcastleNewcastle University consistently has one of the bestrecords for graduate employment in the UK.

96% of our 2017 UK-domiciled UG/PG graduatesprogressed to employment or further study within sixmonths of graduating.

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85.5% of our graduates are in graduate level employment orfurther study within six months of graduating.

We provide an extensive range of opportunities to allstudents through an initiative called ncl+. This enables youto develop personal, employability and enterprise skills andto give you the edge in the employment market after yougraduate.

Our award-winning Careers Service is one of the largest andbest in the country, and we have strong links withemployers.

Fees & Funding

Tuition Fees (UK students)

2020 entry:£9,250For programmes where you can spend a year on a workplacement or studying abroad, you will receive asignificant fee reduction for that year.Some of our degrees involve additional costs which arenot covered by your tuition fees.Please note:The maximum fee that we are permitted to charge for UKstudents is set by the UK government.As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee toincrease in each subsequent academic year of yourcourse, subject to government regulations on feeincreases and in line with inflation.See more information on all aspects of studentfinance relating to Newcastle University.

Tuition Fees (EU students)

2020 entry:£9,250 You will pay the same tuition fees as UK studentsfor the duration of your course.For programmes where you can spend a year on a workplacement or studying abroad, you will receive asignificant fee reduction for that year.Some of our degrees involve additional costs which arenot covered by your tuition fees.Please note:As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee toincrease in each subsequent academic year of yourcourse, subject to government regulations on feeincreases and in line with inflation.See more information on all aspects of studentfinance relating to Newcastle University.

Tuition Fees (International students)

2020 entry*:£18,000*Please note:You will be charged tuition fees for each year of yourdegree programme (unless you are on a shorter exchangeprogramme).The tuition fee amount you will pay may increaseslightly year on year as a result of inflation.If you spend a year on placement or studying abroad aspart of your degree you may pay a reduced fee for thatyear.See more information on all aspects of studentfinance relating to Newcastle University.

Scholarships and Financial Support (UKstudents)

You may be eligible for one of a range of NewcastleUniversity Scholarships in addition to government financialsupport.Newcastle University ScholarshipsGovernment financial support

Scholarships and Financial Support (EUstudents)

You may be eligible for one of a range of NewcastleUniversity Scholarships in addition to government financialsupport.Newcastle University ScholarshipsGovernment financial support

Scholarships and Financial Support(International students)

We offer a range of scholarships to eligible internationalstudents:Vice-Chancellor's International ScholarshipsVice-Chancellor’s Excellence ScholarshipsVice-Chancellor’s Global ScholarshipsWe also offer International Family Discounts which areavailable for all international students with a close familymember who has graduated from or is now studying atNewcastle University.Newcastle University offers Sanctuary Scholarships foreligible undergraduate students (excludes MBBS andBDS students) from asylum-seeker and refugeebackgrounds. Some of our subject scholarships and sportsscholarships are also available for international students.

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Apply

Applying to Newcastle Universitythrough UCASTo apply for undergraduate study at Newcastle you mustuse the online application system managed by theUniversities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

UCAS codes for Newcastle University

• institution name - NEWC• institution code - N21

UCAS buzzwordAsk your teacher or adviser from your school or college forthe UCAS buzzword. You need the buzzword when youregister on the Apply system. This makes it clear whichschool or college you are applying from.

All UK schools and colleges and a small number of EU andinternational establishments are registered with UCAS.

If you are applying independently, or are applying from aschool or college which is not registered to manageapplications, you will still use the Apply system. You will notneed a buzzword.

Making your applicationOn the UCAS website you can also find out more about:

• application deadlines and other important dates• offers and tracking your application

Application decisions and enquiriesFind out more about our admissions process and who tocontact if you need help with your application.

Students relaxing on The Union Lawn.