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Intercultural Communication for Business and the Professions (MSc) (2024 Entry)

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Explore our Intercultural Communication for Business and the Professions taught Master's degree.

Intercultural Communication for Business and the Professions MSc provides you with a wide range of in-depth knowledge and skills related to intercultural communication. Analyse and investigate communication across cultures at Warwick's Department of Applied Linguistics, ranked 3rd in The Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022.


Course overview

This programme provides you with a wide range of in-depth knowledge and skills, and enables you to focus on aspects of intercultural communication that are relevant to people working either in business or in other professions.

Our core modules develop your ability to analyse, explain and investigate effective communication across cultures. Optional modules enable you to select particular areas in which you want to specialise, according to your own intellectual interests or career aspirations.

The programme concludes with an empirical piece of research, which will allow you to put your knowledge into practice and further hone your practical skills in carrying out systematic research.


General entry requirements

Minimum requirements

2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a related subject.


English language requirements

You can find out more about our English language requirementsLink opens in a new window. This course requires the following:

  • Band B
  • IELTS overall score of 7.0 (with a minimum 6.5 in reading and writing, plus a minimum of 6.5 in one of speaking and listening, with no component under 6.0)

International qualifications

We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.

For more information, please visit the international entry requirements pageLink opens in a new window.


Additional requirements

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Core modules

Understanding Culture

While the idea of culture can seem relatively straightforward, how we understand it has become quite a contested area in the study of intercultural communication. This module will give you a better understanding of the idea of culture, introducing a range of conceptualisations of culture that have been developed in different disciplinary areas. Importantly, you’ll gain a critical perspective on culture and a deeper understanding of your own experience of communicating interculturally in everyday life and in the workplace.

Exploring Professional Communication

Communication plays a central role in business and other professions. This module will introduce you to theoretical approaches, models and concepts that will help you understand the complexities of professional communication in different socio-cultural contexts. You’ll explore a wide range of authentic examples that occurred in different workplaces around the world. The module develops your ability to identify, describe, and analyse different types of communication in various professions, using different analytical and theoretical frameworks and approaches.

Culture, Identity and Adaptation

This module focuses on recent research in the area of cultural identity, adaptation, and growth. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, it explores major theories of cultural adaptation, including stress, learning, and identity. The module also provides you with the opportunity to start researching these issues for yourself. The practical development sessions will enable you to reflect on your own identity and cultural adaptation, promoting your own growth towards intercultural personhood. Assessment is by a reflective portfolio and analytical commentary on your reflection.

Leadership, Teamwork and Culture

What is leadership? What is teamwork? And what role does culture play in this context? This module will address those questions by introducing you to theoretical approaches, models and concepts that will help you understand the complexities of leadership, teamwork and culture. It focuses on the crucial role of communication and follows some of the most recent debates around leadership, teamwork, and culture. You’ll analyse these notions in action by exploring numerous real-life examples of how leadership and teamwork are actually done in different socio-cultural and intercultural contexts.

Research Methods

This module will familiarise you with current issues in researching culture and communication in business and professional contexts. It will help you develop essential skills in designing a research project. You’ll be introduced to a range of data collection methods and analytical approaches, as well as up-to-date ethical issues in research. Term One will focus on quantitative research methods and Term Two will focus on qualitative methods. The module is designed to prepare you to begin work on your dissertation at the end of Term Two.

Dissertation, or Experiential Placement and Major Project

You’ll be allocated a supervisor who will provide guidance in Term Three during the process of carrying out your own research.


Optional modules

Optional modules can vary from year to year. Example optional modules may include:

  • Crisis Communication
  • Globalisation and Diversity in the Workplace
  • International Business
  • Intercultural Coaching and Development
  • Intercultural Competence and Assessment
  • Language and Interaction in Context
  • Management Across Cultures
  • Marketing Across Cultures
  • Media and Intercultural Communication
  • Public Relations Across Cultures

Teaching

Lectures, seminars, workshops and experiential practice sessions. In addition, you will carry out guided reading and complete assessed work for each module, such as assignments, portfolios of materials and oral presentations.

You will be introduced to research methodologies which will help you carry out your research for your dissertation or major project. You will complete this in the summer with the support of a supervisor. Several of the modules will also help prepare you for living and working in an unfamiliar culture.


Class sizes

Class size will vary depending on type of module (core or optional) and teaching session (lecture or seminar), ranging from around 10 students (for some optional modules) to around 80 students (for core module lectures).


Typical contact hours

There are 10 weeks in each term. For both Terms One and Two, you will usually have 8 weeks of teaching contact with the remainder of each term dedicated to module related reading, assignment work and optional tutorials.


Assessment

Programmes within the department of Applied Linguistics are assessed through a variety of methods. Examples of the types work you might submit for assessment include individual academic essays or research assignments, examinations, group projects and presentations.


Reading lists

You can see a list of core readings for any of our modules in the Module Catalogue if you search by the module name. Once you’re enrolled on a module, you’ll be able to access its Library reading list and download the specific readings you need to prepare for each lecture or seminar.


Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you, and you will be able to choose your optional modules when you join us.

Your career

Previous MSc graduates from the department have gone on to work for employers including: Credit Suisse, Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), OPPO, Henkel, MIPOW Ltd, Reuters PR, Millward Brown, Samsung Chemical, Braun and IPSOS.

Graduates have pursued roles as management consultants, marketing and communication executives, public relations managers, human resources managers, brand promotion specialists and advertising account managers, business analysts and business reporters, financial project management professionals, international development managers, further education professionals, journalists, newspaper and periodical editors, and research and development managers.

Our department has a dedicated professionally qualified Senior Careers Consultant offering impartial advice and guidance together with workshops and events throughout the year. Previous examples of workshops and events include:

  • CV Workshop
  • Interview preparation
  • Making the most of your time at Warwick and securing work experience opportunities
  • Securing placements and work experience
  • Warwick careers fairs throughout the year

Applied Linguistics at Warwick

Apply your learning from day one.

With a history dating back to 1983, Applied Linguistics at Warwick has diversified over the years from a main focus on English language teaching and teacher education to include expertise in areas such as: intercultural communication, professional communication, the sociolinguistics of language use, the teaching and learning of languages other than English.

Find out more about us on our website.


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Tuition fees

Tuition fees are payable for each year of your course at the start of the academic year, or at the start of your course, if later. Academic fees cover the cost of tuition, examinations and registration and some student amenities.

Find your taught course fees  


Fee Status Guidance

The University carries out an initial fee status assessment based on information provided in the application and according to the guidance published by UKCISA. Students are classified as either Home or Overseas Fee status and this can determine the tuition fee and eligibility of certain scholarships and financial support. 

If you receive an offer, your fee status will be stated with the tuition fee information. If you believe your fee status has been incorrectly classified you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire (follow the instructions in your offer) and provide the required documentation for this to be reassessed. 

The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) provides guidance to UK universities on fees status criteria, you can find the latest guidance on the impact of Brexit on fees and student support on the UKCISA website.


Additional course costs

Please contact your academic department for information about department specific costs, which should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below, such as:

  • Core text books
  • Printer credits
  • Dissertation binding
  • Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Scholarships and bursaries

Scholarships and financial support

Find out about the different funding routes available, including; postgraduate loans, scholarships, fee awards and academic department bursaries.

Living costs

Find out more about the cost of living as a postgraduate student at the University of Warwick.

Please visit our departmental MSc in Intercultural Communication for Business and the Professions webpage to find out more about our departmental scholarships and bursaries and how to apply under the ‘Fees and funding’ tab.

Find out how to apply to us, ask your questions, and find out more.

How to apply

The application process for courses that start in September and October 2024 will open on 2 October 2023.

Applications will close on 2 August 2024 for students who require a visa to study in the UK, to allow time to receive a CAS and complete the visa application process.

How to apply for a postgraduate taught course  

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