BA Spanish and Portuguese
About this course
Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Portuguese BA, a Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies degree focused on language proficiency and cultural analysis. Core topics include Global & Comparative Perspective. The course includes a study abroad or work placement period in the third year. The first year establishes language foundations through Spanish Language 1 (Advanced) and Portuguese Language 1 (Beginners): Boas-vindas!, alongside cultural study in modules such as Latin American Histories and Cultures A and Introduction to European Film A. The second year builds proficiency through Spanish Language 2 (Advanced) and Portuguese Language 2 (Intermediate): Vamos lá!, while exploring specialist topics through Cultural Industries: Creativity in Change and Global Enterprise Project. The final year involves advanced study via Spanish Language Final Year and Portuguese Language Final Year: Avante!, complemented by optional modules covering literary, historical and digital subjects as well as a Final Year Independent Study Module in Modern Languages.
Written by AI from the university's course page and module list. It can get details wrong, so check the official course page before you rely on it.
Entry requirements
A Level: ABB A level grade B is required for any advanced language you wish to study. See below for full information.. IB: 6,5,5 including 32 points total. See below for full information.. BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma: DDM, plus a B at A level in the required subject/s. See below for full information.
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What students say
Based on about 11 final-year students who answered, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Teaching on my course: 83%
- Learning opportunities: 80%
- Assessment and feedback: 85%
- Academic support: 88%
- Organisation and management: 69%
- Learning resources: 87%
- Student voice: 72%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 70 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- Continued on course: 89%
- Left higher education: 11%
What graduates do next
Based on about 39 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Working: 67%
- Working and studying: 5%
- Further study: 10%
- Unemployed: 11%
Most common jobs
- Business and public service associate professionals: 15%
- Teaching Professionals: 15%
- Elementary occupations: 5%
- Administrative occupations: 5%
- Managers, directors and senior officials: 5%
- Find their work meaningful: 85%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 80%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 50%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 265 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North East: 1%
- North West: 7%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 5%
- East Midlands: 5%
- West Midlands: 21%
- East of England: 9%
- London: 35%
- South East: 10%
- South West: 6%
- Wales: 1%
Who gets in
Based on about 10 students who started, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- A levels: 100%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Bronze for student experience, Gold for student outcomes.
Modules
- Discover: Personal, Academic and Professional Development in Modern Languages
- Spanish Language 1 (Advanced)
- Spanish Language 1 (Beginners)
- Environment, Sustainability and Development in the Portuguese-speaking world
- Portuguese Language 1 (Beginners): Boas-vindas!
- Introduction to European Film A
- Introduction to European Film B
- Introduction to Linguistics A: Science of Language
- Introduction to Linguistics B: language change and variation
- Landmarks in European Literature A
- Landmarks in European Literature B
- Translation in Practice I
- Translation in Practice II
- Latin American Histories and Cultures A
- Latin American Histories and Cultures B
- Hispanic Visual Cultures A
- Hispanic Visual Cultures B
- Beginners Catalan Language A
- Beginners Catalan Language B
- Catalan Culture Project A
- Catalan Culture Project B
- Spanish Language 2 (Advanced)
- Spanish Language 2 (Intermediate)
- Cultural Industries: Creativity in Change
- Portuguese Language 2 (Intermediate): Vamos lá!
- 19th Century Russia through the Lens of the Novel
- Cross-Cultural Cinema: Film Adaptation beyond the Nation-State
- Cross-Cultural Cinema: Migration and Displacement
- Global Enterprise Project
- Language and power
- Teaching and Learning (languages) in the 21st century
- Work, The Future and You
- Translation in the Workplace
- Digital Media and Spanish Youth Culture
- Histories of the Excluded: Inquisition and the Birth of Human Rights
- Icons of the Hispanic World
- Mexican and Chicano Art in the Twentieth Century: Revolution and Beyond
- Reading the World in Contemporary Spanish American Fiction
- Structures and Varieties of the Modern Hispanic Languages
- Beginners Catalan Language A
- Beginners Catalan Language B
- Intermediate Catalan Language A
- Intermediate Catalan Language B
- Artistic and Literary Representations of Barcelona
- Gender, New Media and Cultural Identity
- Exploring Italian cities: texts and contexts
- Final Year Extended Independent Study Module in Modern Languages
- Final Year Independent Study Module in Modern Languages Semester 1
- Portuguese Language Final Year: Avante!
- Thinking Otherwise: Decolonial Approaches to Contemporary Thought and Culture
- Spanish Language Final Year
- Back to the Future – Hidden Histories and Utopian Possibilities, 1800-present
- Border Crossings: Word & Image in Twentieth- and Twenty-first-century Russophone Cultures
- Contemporary representations of the body: literature, theory and art
- Echoes of Colonialism and Imperialism Across Cultures
- From Text to Tech: Digital Approaches to Languages and Cultures
- Language, Culture and Communication: Digging into the text
- The Romance languages: structure, variation and change
- Translation and Creativity in the Digital Age I
- Translation and Creativity in the Digital Age II
- Uniformity and diversity in the Iberian-Romance speaking world
- Imagining the Truth: Latin American Culture in a Post-truth World
- Performing Gender/Translating Performance
- Social and Political Processes in Contemporary Latin America
- Spanish Exile Culture
- The Digital Past
- The Spanish Caribbean: History and Literature
- US Latinx Cultures: Spanish Caribbean
- Advanced Catalan Language A
- Advanced Catalan Language B
- Intermediate Catalan Language A
- Intermediate Catalan Language B
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA Spanish and Portuguese at University of Birmingham earn?
The median salary is £28,500 after 15 months, £26,500 after 3 years, £34,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £27,500 and £45,000. The £34,000 median after five years is £1,000 more than the UK median for Iberian studies.
What do graduates of BA Spanish and Portuguese at University of Birmingham do next?
81% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA Spanish and Portuguese at University of Birmingham?
83% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA Spanish and Portuguese at University of Birmingham?
The typical offer is ABB at A level, or 32 points in the IB. The average entrant had 147 UCAS points.
Does BA Spanish and Portuguese at University of Birmingham include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has a compulsory year abroad.
How many students continue on BA Spanish and Portuguese at University of Birmingham?
89% of students continued into their second year, and 11% left higher education.