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English and German (BA) (Full-Time, 2021 Entry)

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UCAS Code
QR32

Qualification
Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Duration
4 years full-time, normally including a year abroad

Start Date
27 September 2021

Department of Study
School of Modern Languages and Cultures

Location of Study
University of Warwick


A modern languages degree equips you with excellent communication, research, critical and evaluative skills, all of which are highly sought after by employers. English and German (BA) has a distinctive comparative literary approach for those wishing to study of German language and culture together with the English-speaking tradition and the interconnections and interactions between the two.


Course overview

This degree explores two rich and diverse literary and cultural traditions. There is a core German language module in every year of study. The first year will introduce you to English and German literature and culture though core and optional core modules. In your intermediate and final years, all English and German optional modules are open to you, spanning topics from literature and critical theory to film, history society and gender. You’ll normally spend your second or third year abroad, consolidating and enhancing your learning.


Course structure

In your first year, you will take language classes designed to develop your knowledge and understanding of written and spoken German (either at beginners or advanced level). To complement your language skills, you will choose between two cultural modules, focusing on either the history and culture of German society since 1945 or German culture in the late eighteenth century. Both of these modules provide an excellent foundation for studying further aspects of German literature and culture in the later stages of your degree. On the English side, you will take a core module (Modes of Reading) which focuses on questions of approach, critical practice, and reading strategies. You will additionally choose one English module in your first year, from a list of three: Epic into Novel; Medieval to Renaissance Literature; or Modern World Literatures.

In your intermediate and final years, in addition to core and optional modules in English, you will go on to further develop your German language skills. You will also have an opportunity to develop your own particular interests by choosing from a wide selection of modules offered by German specialists that cover a broad range of subjects in German culture, society, literature, politics, philosophy, film, history and business, as well as translation and transnationalism. You can also opt to study some of our interdisciplinary cross-School modules.

You can choose to spend your year abroad studying at a university in a German speaking country or on a British Council Assistantship or a work placement. Currently, during the year abroad, students usually attend a residential orientation course in Germany at Easter time. Led by departmental staff, who travel out to lead the event, the course offers skills development, pastoral care, careers advice and guidance on final year study.


How will I learn?

We employ a variety of teaching styles, including: lectures; seminars of about 15 students, in which the emphasis is on student participation; and written and spoken language classes in small groups. You will spend the rest of your time studying independently, preparing for classes, reading and analysing materials set for study, writing essays and working on your language skills.


Contact hours

12 hours per week (15 hours per week in first year).


Class size

Seminars generally involve around 15 students.


How will I be assessed?

We will track your progress through language assignments, essays, presentations, portfolio submissions and examinations (written and oral). Throughout your course you will receive detailed, personalised feedback to help you to improve your skills.

The final degree classification is determined by your intermediate- and final-year marks; each of these years contributes 50%.


Your year abroad

We strongly recommend that students take a year abroad, if they are able to. Students may move to a three-year degree if circumstances do not permit them to complete a year abroad. In such cases, there will be further language reinforcement work and students will be encouraged to spend time abroad in other ways, during vacation times.

You will usually spend your year abroad doing one of three things:

  • Working as a language assistant teaching English in a primary or secondary school
  • Studying full-time at a partner university in your chosen country
  • On a work placement

The year abroad options are flexible so we recommend you check the department's subject pages for more details.

General entry requirements

A level:

  • AAB to include English Literature (or English Language and Literature combined) and a modern or classical language

IB:

  • 36 to include 5 in Higher Level English Literature (or English Language and Literature combined) and 5 at Higher Level in a modern or classical language

BTEC:

  • We welcome applications from students taking a BTEC alongside an A level in a modern or classical language and A level English Literature (or English Language and Literature combined)

Additional requirements:

You will also need to meet our English Language requirements.


International Students

We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.

Find out more about international entry requirements.


Contextual data and differential offers

Warwick may make differential offers to students in a number of circumstances. These include students participating in the Realising Opportunities programme, or who meet two of the contextual data criteria. Differential offers will be one or two grades below Warwick’s standard offer (to a minimum of BBB).


Warwick International Foundation Programme (IFP)

All students who successfully complete the Warwick IFP and apply to Warwick through UCAS will receive a guaranteed conditional offer for a related undergraduate programme (selected courses only).

Find out more about standard offers and conditions for the IFP.


Taking a gap year

Applications for deferred entry welcomed.


Interviews

We do not typically interview applicants. Offers are made based on your UCAS form which includes predicted and actual grades, your personal statement and school reference.

Year One


Modern German Language 1

You will develop your translation, grammatical and speaking skills in German, and in doing so broaden your vocabulary and range of idiom, expression and awareness of various stylistic registers. You will work in a pair or group on a media project under the supervision of a tutor, which will contribute to your end-of-year mark in spoken German.

OR

Modern German Language for Beginners

As a beginner in the acquisition of the German language, you will cover the main linguistic skills in speaking, listening, writing and reading. You will focus on gaining grammatical accuracy as well and communicative fluency and competence. By the end of the year, you will be expected to be able to sustain everyday conversations in German, read authentic texts such as newspaper articles, follow the gist of TV extracts and be able to write an intermediate range of texts in German. You will also work on basic translations to and from German as a means of consolidating your knowledge.


Modes of Reading

What is a reader? How is our understanding and perception of a text formed? What does it mean to think critically when we read? This module allows you to explore these questions by putting a spotlight on the question of critical thinking in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. By studying a series of literary texts in relation to some of the most influential literary and cultural theorists of the last hundred years, you will take your own position on everything from Marxism, queer and feminist theory to ecocriticism and postcolonial critique.


One option in German Studies:

The Changing Face of Germany in Film and Text

In your study of the intellectual history of post-war Germany, you will consider the rise of the mass media and the role played by writers and intellectuals. Through your analysis of diverse literary and filmic texts, you will build your understanding of major landmarks in German history, including post-WWII political reconstruction, the development of the press in the Federal Republic, unification and military reintegration, the opposition to rearmament and student movements, and migration and settlement. The work of intellectuals such as Heinrich Böll, Peter Weiss, Bernhard Schlink, Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Paul Verhoeven will inform your studies.

Power and Passion: The Making of Modern German Culture

Starting with the study of the social milieu of late 18th century Germany, you will consider the cultural and intellectual changes of this period, and in particular the rise of the middle classes in the Age of Enlightenment. You will engage with the work of the globally significant writers of this period, including Goethe and Schiller, and study the light they cast on the emerging middle-class consciousness just prior to the cataclysmic changes of the French Revolution of 1789.


One option in English:
Epic into Novel

Tracking the transition from the epics of the ancient world to the novels of modernity, this module introduces you to some of the most influential and formative works of world literature. You will study central texts of the classical world, such as Homer’s Iliad and Virgil’s Aeneid; the ancient Indian epic The Mahābhārata; Milton’s Paradise Lost; as well as novels like Henry Fielding’s bawdy comedy Tom Jones and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o’s novel of decolonising Kenya, A Grain of Wheat. Reading across history and cultures, between languages and genres, you will develop the skills to analyse narrative, character, and style.

Medieval and Early Modern Literature

Taking you from the mythical court of King Arthur to the real world of ambition, intrigue, and danger in the courts of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, this module introduces you to early literature written in a range of genres (romance, epic, fabliau) and poetic forms. You will study texts like Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Thomas More’s Utopia, Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene, and Shakespeare’s sonnets to explore some of the period’s highest ideals—‘trawthe’ or integrity—as well as some of humanity’s darkest impulses: greed, deception, revenge, and desire.

Modern World Literatures

This module introduces you to the defining concerns, styles, and contexts of modern world literature from 1789 to the present. You will encounter concepts like Romanticism, modernity, gothic, and postcolonialism through novels, short stories, poetry, and drama from revolutionary France to Meiji era Japan, industrial Britain to the decolonizing Caribbean. Your reading might include Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein, Lu Xun’s story of China in transition 'Diary of a Madman', or Clarice Lispector’s haunting meditation on life in Rio de Janeiro The Hour of the Star. You may also replace this module with a language module.


Intermediate Year^

Modern German Language 2

In this second-year module, you will increase your general and specialised vocabulary in German through translation into English and German, essay-writing in German, spoken and listening comprehension, and work on business-related materials. In pursuit of these aims, you will learn to identify and rectify grammatical problems, and gain increased sensitivity towards language in general, and an awareness of register, semantics and style in particular. You will also gain important research skills, including correct use of dictionaries.

OR

Modern German Language 2 (Post-beginners)

You will increase the range of your general and specialised vocabulary in German, improve your speaking, listening and comprehension skills, and develop your ability to translate from German, including through a sound knowledge of grammar, register, semantic nuances and style. There will be opportunities to write in German and to work on business-related materials.


Final Year

Modern German Language 3

In this third-year module, you will use vocabulary of increasing sophistication in both general and specialised fields, and improve your skills in spoken and written German and translation. You will improve your listening and reading comprehension skills, and learn to identify and rectify grammatical problems. An important aim of the course is to cultivate sensitivity towards language in general, and an awareness of register, semantics and style in particular.


Examples of optional modules/options for current students:

^Year Two or Three depending on when the year abroad is taken

Tuition fees

Find out more about fees and funding.


Additional course costs

There may be costs associated with other items or services such as academic texts, course notes, and trips associated with your course. Students who choose to complete a work placement or study abroad will pay reduced tuition fees for their third year.


Warwick Undergraduate Global Excellence Scholarship 2021

We believe there should be no barrier to talent. That's why we are committed to offering a scholarship that makes it easier for gifted, ambitious international learners to pursue their academic interests at one of the UK's most prestigious universities. This new scheme will offer international fee-paying students 250 tuition fee discounts ranging from full fees to awards of £13,000 to £2,000 for the full duration of your Undergraduate degree course.

Find out more about the Warwick Undergraduate Global Excellence Scholarship 2021

Your career

Graduates from Modern Language courses have gone on to work for employers including:

  • Amazon
  • British Airways
  • Civil Service
  • Grayce Consulting
  • HM Revenue and Customs
  • HSBC
  • Ipsos Mori
  • Lidl
  • NBC Universal
  • Save the Children International
  • The Department for International Trade

They have pursued careers such as:

  • Business and financial project management professionals
  • Chartered and certified accountants
  • Financial accounts managers
  • Human resources and industrial relations officers
  • Management consultants and business analysts
  • Public services associate professionals
  • Teachers and other educational professionals

Helping you find the right career

Our department has a dedicated professionally qualified Senior Careers Consultant to support you. They offer impartial advice and guidance, together with workshops and events throughout the year. Previous examples of workshops and events include:

  • What are you doing after Warwick? Career planning for final year language students
  • Careers in the Public Sector
  • Warwick careers fairs throughout the year
  • Completing effective CVs and Application Forms for students from the School of Modern Languages
  • Reflecting on Your Year Abroad
  • Languages Alumni Evening

Find out more about careers support at Warwick.

Isabella, current student

"Friendly and easy to talk to"

"The department is incredible, they’re always on hand to help me whether it was with my year abroad queries or just general language-related issues. The best thing about them is that they’re really friendly and easy to talk to."

Isabella

BA Modern Languages


"I chose Warwick because I really liked it being a campus university. I like how green it is, and I like the thought of everything being very close together. I come from the countryside, so it's not often I could just walk to the shops and have everything in one place. And also because it's a very high-ranked university, so you know that you're going to get good opportunities if you come here."

Fiona

German Studies BA

Transcript

About the information on this page

This information is applicable for 2021 entry. Given the interval between the publication of courses and enrolment, some of the information may change. It is important to check our website before you apply. Please read our terms and conditions to find out more.