BA Modern Languages and Arabic
About this course
BA in Modern Languages and Arabic, a language degree combining Arabic with an additional modern language alongside historical and cultural studies. Core topics include Research Methods, Historical Research, Critical & Analytical Thinking, Language & Translation, and Global & Comparative Perspective. The course includes a compulsory year abroad. The first year covers foundational language training through modules such as Elementary Arabic Language I, Elementary Arabic Language II, French Language, and Spanish Language, alongside optional introductory study in history, culture and literature. Students choose a second language alongside Arabic from options including French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish, dividing study time equally between both languages. The second year continues linguistic progression through intermediate and written and oral language modules, including Intermediate Arabic Language II, French Language, Written and Oral, German Language, Written and Oral, and Spanish Language, Written and Oral. Optional modules span specialist regional histories, cinema, politics, and literature.
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-BBB. Required subjects: Dependent on subjects chosen (see below). IB: 32/655-30/555.
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Admissions (2022 entry, home applicants)
Offer rate 98%: 55 offers from 56 applications, from the university's Freedom of Information return.
What students say
Based on about 115 final-year students who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Teaching on my course: 87%
- Learning opportunities: 78%
- Assessment and feedback: 80%
- Academic support: 92%
- Organisation and management: 81%
- Learning resources: 93%
- Student voice: 77%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 115 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- Continued on course: 95%
- Left higher education: 5%
What graduates do next
Based on about 44 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Working: 60%
- Working and studying: 8%
- Further study: 19%
- Unemployed: 3%
Most common jobs
- Business, Research and Administrative Professionals: 15%
- Caring personal services: 10%
- Teaching Professionals: 10%
- Sales occupations: 10%
- Media Professionals: 10%
- Find their work meaningful: 75%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 70%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 50%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 160 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North West: 2%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 2%
- East Midlands: 1%
- West Midlands: 7%
- East of England: 13%
- London: 34%
- South East: 15%
- South West: 22%
- Wales: 4%
Who gets in
Based on about 115 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- A levels: 91%
- Baccalaureate: 6%
- Access course: 1%
- Other HE qualification: 1%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Gold overall, Gold for student experience, Gold for student outcomes.
Modules
- Elementary Arabic Language I
- Elementary Arabic Language II
- French Language
- German Language
- Italian Language
- Contemporary Russian Written and Oral
- Spanish Language
- Introduction to Islam
- Introduction to Persian History and Culture
- Introduction to Islamic Archaeology
- Elementary Turkish I
- Elementary Turkish II
- Histories of the Middle East, 600-1800 C.E.
- Religious Communities of the Middle East: Culture, Endangerment and Survival
- 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
- 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
- The Making of Modern Latin America: History Through Literature and Culture
- An Introduction to the Literature and Film of Spain
- Intermediate Arabic Language II
- French Language, Written and Oral
- German Language, Written and Oral
- Italian Language, Written and Oral
- Contemporary Russian Written and Oral I
- Spanish Language, Written and Oral
- Regions and Empires in Islamic Archaeology
- Magic and the Abrahamic Religions
- Islamist Movements: From the Muslim Brothers to the Islamic State
- Gender-Identity and Modernity in the Middle East
- Islamic Law and Society
- Ethnography of the Middle East
- Conflict and Peacemaking Palestine/Israel
- Classical Islamic History
- Muslims in Britain
- Political Economy of Development in the Middle East
- Intermediate Turkish I
- Intermediate Turkish II
- A History of the Modern Middle East, 1900-2014
- Revolutions! Art and Society in France, 1770-1830
- Evolution of the French Language
- Intimate Spaces of the French Enlightenment
- 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
- Migrating Texts: Classical Reception, Adaptation, Translation
- Research Skills in Languages and Cultures
- Contemporary Latin American Cinema
- Multilingualism in Society
- Tales of Freedom, Necessity and Providence
- From Page to Screen: Female Detectives in Literature, Film, and Television
- 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
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA Modern Languages and Arabic at University of Exeter earn?
The median salary is £29,000 after 15 months, £27,500 after 3 years, £36,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £29,000 and £46,500. The £36,000 median after five years is £5,500 more than the UK median for African and modern Middle Eastern studies.
What do graduates of BA Modern Languages and Arabic 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 Modern Languages and Arabic at University of Exeter?
87% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA Modern Languages and Arabic at University of Exeter?
The typical offer is BBB at A level. The average entrant had 152 UCAS points.
What is the offer rate for BA Modern Languages and Arabic at University of Exeter?
98% of home applicants received an offer for 2022 entry: 55 offers from 56 applications, according to the university's Freedom of Information return.
Does BA Modern Languages and Arabic at University of Exeter include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has a compulsory year abroad.
How many students continue on BA Modern Languages and Arabic at University of Exeter?
95% of students continued into their second year, and 5% left higher education.