BA Art History & Visual Culture and Modern Languages
About this course
The BA in Art History & Visual Culture and Modern Languages is a modern languages and history of art degree focusing on the interplay between visual culture and linguistic studies across global societies. Core topics include Language & Translation, Historical Research, Research Methods, Critical & Analytical Thinking, Fieldwork, and Global & Comparative Perspective. The programme includes a study or work abroad placement year in a country matching the chosen language. The first year covers core foundations through modules such as Questions and Methods in Art History and Visual Culture, French Language, and German Language. In the second year, students build proficiency through compulsory study including Art History and Visual Culture Field Study for Blended Learning, French Language, Written and Oral, and Spanish Language, Written and Oral. Optional modules across the course allow specialisation in areas such as early modern art, political history, modern literature, and visual media, culminating in advanced independent study options.
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. Required subjects: Dependent on language level chosen (see below). IB: 32/655.
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What students say
Based on about 32 final-year students who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Teaching on my course: 85%
- Learning opportunities: 72%
- Assessment and feedback: 78%
- Academic support: 76%
- Organisation and management: 74%
- Learning resources: 79%
- Student voice: 72%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 35 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- Continued on course: 95%
- Left higher education: 5%
What graduates do next
Based on about 130 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Working: 62%
- Working and studying: 13%
- Further study: 11%
- Unemployed: 5%
Most common jobs
- Business and public service associate professionals: 20%
- Teaching Professionals: 15%
- Elementary occupations: 5%
- Administrative occupations: 5%
- Teaching and Childcare Support Occupation: 5%
- Find their work meaningful: 79%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 68%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 53%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 585 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North West: 2%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 2%
- East Midlands: 2%
- West Midlands: 3%
- East of England: 9%
- London: 37%
- South East: 23%
- South West: 18%
- Wales: 3%
- Scotland: 1%
Who gets in
Based on about 50 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- A levels: 95%
- Other HE qualification: 5%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Gold overall, Gold for student experience, Gold for student outcomes.
Modules
- Questions and Methods in Art History and Visual Culture
- French Language
- French Language for Beginners
- German Language
- German Language for Beginners
- Italian Language
- Italian Language for Beginners
- Beginners Chinese
- Portuguese Language for Beginners
- Contemporary Russian Written and Oral
- Russian Language for Beginners
- Spanish Language
- Spanish Language for Beginners
- Inside the Museum
- Visual Media
- Topics in Art History and Visual Culture I
- Topics in Art History and Visual Culture II
- Approaches to Art History and Visual Culture
- The Making of Modern France
- The Devil is in the Detail: An Introduction to the Short Story in French
- The French Language, Present and Past
- An Introduction to French Thought
- A Nation Remembers: Issues in German Cultural Memory
- Turning Points in German History 1200 - 2000
- An Emotional Experience: Russian Literature and the Expression of Feeling
- Russia: Empire and Identity
- Chinese Art and the Art of Living
- Introduction to Asian Philosophy
- Italy Inside Out: Popular Visual Narratives about Italy
- A Thousand Faces: Cultures and History in 19th-Century Italy
- Comparative Literatures and Cultures: Theories and Approaches
- Reading Comparatively
- Introduction to Film
- Language, Culture, International Relations
- An Introduction to the Hispanic World: Texts in Context
- The Making of Modern Latin America: History Through Literature and Culture
- An Introduction to the Literature and Film of Spain
- Art History and Visual Culture Field Study for Blended Learning
- French Language, Written and Oral
- Intermediate French
- German Language, Written and Oral
- Intermediate German
- Italian Language, Written and Oral
- Italian Language
- Intermediate Chinese (One)
- Intermediate Portuguese
- Contemporary Russian Written and Oral I
- Intermediate Russian
- Spanish Language, Written and Oral
- Spanish Language (ex-beginners)
- Debates and Contestations in Art History
- Contemporary Visual Practices
- Photography and Evidence
- Contemporary Art and Curation
- Common Threads: Art, Craft and Activism
- Renaissances North and South: Italy and the Netherlands
- Revolutions! Art and Society in France, 1770-1830
- The Dutch Golden Age
- The New York Avant-Garde 1955-1980
- Comics Studies: Histories, Methodologies, Genres
- Creative Industries: Their Past, Our Future
- Intimate Spaces of the French Enlightenment
- Chinoiserie and Européenerie: Artistic and Vultural Exchanges between China and Europe
- Digital China: Popular Culture, Technology, and Society
- Evolution of the French Language
- Violence and Virtue: Early Modern French Theatre
- Subversive Texts: Baudelaire and Rachilde
- Berlin - Culture, History and Politics
- Gender, Race and Migration in 20th and 21st-century German Literature
- Exploring Revolution: The Making of Soviet Society and Culture in the 1920s
- Apocalypse/Utopia: the Russian Roots of Revolution
- Other Shores: Exile and Emigration in Russian Literature
- Federico Garcia Lorca: Theatre and Poetry
- The Latin American Short Story
- Catalonia Is Not Spain? Modern Catalan Culture in Context
- "What is Love? And Do I Need It?" An Introduction to Spanish Renaissance Love Poetry
- Fiction in Post-War Spain: Voices of Conformity and Subversion
- Through the Language Lens: the Relationship between Language, Culture and the Mind
- Corporate Language and Communication: When Sharks Work with Dolphins
- Extended Dissertation
- Green Matters in Modern Languages and Cultures
- Transcultural Devon: Creating, Analysing and Subtitling Interviews in the Context of Migration
- Migration and Multilingualism
- Migration in World Cinema
- Aliens Abroad: Science Fiction in Global Literature
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA Art History & Visual Culture and Modern Languages at University of Exeter earn?
The median salary is £28,500 after 15 months, £27,500 after 3 years, £35,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £27,500 and £45,500. The £35,000 median after five years is £2,000 more than the UK median for Language and area studies (other).
What do graduates of BA Art History & Visual Culture and Modern Languages at University of Exeter do next?
86% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA Art History & Visual Culture and Modern Languages at University of Exeter?
85% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA Art History & Visual Culture and Modern Languages at University of Exeter?
The typical offer is ABB at A level. The average entrant had 142 UCAS points.
Does BA Art History & Visual Culture and Modern Languages at University of Exeter include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has an optional placement year and an optional year abroad.
How many students continue on BA Art History & Visual Culture and Modern Languages at University of Exeter?
95% of students continued into their second year, and 5% left higher education.