BA Modern Languages and English Literature
About this course
BA Modern Languages and English Literature is a four-year undergraduate arts degree combining the study of English literature with a modern language chosen from French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Core topics include Research Methods and Critical & Analytical Thinking. This course includes a compulsory year abroad where students undertake a work placement, study at a partner university, or work as a language teaching assistant. The first year introduces foundational concepts through compulsory modules such as Poetry in English, Theory and Practice of Writing, and language training alongside regional culture modules like Ideas of Frenchness 1, The Making of Contemporary Germany, Making Italians: A Journey in the History and Culture of Modern Italy, and The Making of Modern Spain and Latin America, with options including Introduction to Drama, Shelf Life, and What Is Comparative Literature?. The second year advances linguistic proficiency and cultural analysis through modules such as Intermediate French, German, Italian or Spanish Language, Advanced French, German, Italian or Spanish Language I, and Advanced French, German, Italian or Spanish Language II, alongside specialized options like Modernism in Poetry and Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, and The Business of Books. The third year consists entirely of the Study Year Abroad. The final year consolidates fluency through Advanced French, German, Italian or Spanish Language III, alongside language-specific national identity modules and optional modules such as Dissertation in English Literature, Language and Power, and From Romance to Fantasy.
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: BBB, including English Literature or a related subject (English Language, English Language and Literature, Drama & Theatre Studies, and Creative Writing) IB: 30 points overall, including 5 in English Literature or a related subject (English Language, English Language and Literature, Drama & Theatre Studies, and Creative Writing) at higher level
See the highest paying Languages & English degrees in the UK →
What students say
Based on about 30 final-year students who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Teaching on my course: 88%
- Learning opportunities: 87%
- Assessment and feedback: 84%
- Academic support: 90%
- Organisation and management: 79%
- Learning resources: 81%
- Student voice: 83%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 50 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- Continued on course: 90%
- Left higher education: 10%
What graduates do next
Based on about 8 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 75%
- Working and studying: 10%
- Unemployed: 10%
Most common jobs
- Administrative occupations: 20%
- Teaching Professionals: 20%
- Business and public service associate professionals: 10%
- Elementary occupations: 10%
- Teaching and Childcare Support Occupation: 5%
- Find their work meaningful: 80%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 65%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 55%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 55 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North East: 1%
- North West: 3%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 2%
- West Midlands: 4%
- East of England: 13%
- London: 28%
- South East: 33%
- South West: 11%
- Wales: 3%
- Scotland: 1%
Who gets in
Based on about 35 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- A levels: 95%
- Other HE qualification: 5%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Silver for student experience, Silver for student outcomes.
Modules
- Poetry in English
- Theory and Practice of Writing
- Beginners French, German, Italian or Spanish Language
- Ideas of Frenchness 1
- The Making of Contemporary Germany
- Making Italians: A Journey in the History and Culture of Modern Italy
- The Making of Modern Spain and Latin America
- Introduction to Drama
- Modern American Culture and Counterculture
- Shelf Life
- Ideas of Frenchness 2
- Introduction to Linguistics (for students of Italian)
- Introduction to Spanish and Latin American Culture
- Liberty and Empire in the Making of the Modern World
- Introduction to Linguistics
- Belonging in Germany
- Thinking Translation: History and Theory
- What Is Comparative Literature?
- Intermediate French, German, Italian or Spanish Language
- Advanced French, German, Italian or Spanish Language I
- Advanced French, German, Italian or Spanish Language II
- Preparing for the Year Abroad Part 2
- The First World War: Then and Now
- Cinema of Germany
- 'Apocalittici e integrati': Intellectuals and Society in Twentieth Century Italy
- Transatlantic Exchanges: Latin America in the Global Nineteenth Century
- Culture and Revolution in Modern Latin America
- How to Think in French
- Children’s Books in France
- Glorification, Denial and Contempt – Reconstructing Austria's Past
- One Country, Many Languages: Linguistic Variety and Society in Contemporary Italy
- Modern and Contemporary Spanish Narratives
- Culture, Communication and Context: Contemporary Challenges in the Interconnected World
- Modernism in Poetry and Fiction
- Contemporary Fiction
- Critical Thinking
- The Business of Books
- Writing America: Perspectives on the Nation
- Writing in the Public Sphere
- Society, Thought, and Art in Modern Europe
- Unity, Nationalism and Regionalism in Europe
- Early Modern Literature
- Enlightenment Revolution and Romanticism
- Victorian Literature
- Shakespeare
- Study Year Abroad
- Advanced French, German, Italian or Spanish Language I
- Advanced French, German, Italian or Spanish Language II
- Advanced French, German, Italian or Spanish Language III
- The German Language and National identity
- Crisis, Change, Opportunity: Italy from 1968 to the Present
- Memory, Dictatorship and Cultural Resistance in the Southern Cone
- Narrating the Colombian Conflict
- Writers and Publishers in Spain
- War on Screen - Germany and its films about WWII
- Language, Diversity, and Inclusion: The Representation of Otherness in the Italian Context
- Dissertation in English Literature
- Language and Power
- Future Worlds in Film
- Extended Essay
- Philanthropy à la française : The History of Ideas and Practices in the French Third Sector
- Literature and Mental Health
- Children's Literature
- The Bloody Stage: Revenge and Death in Renaissance Drama
- From Romance to Fantasy
- May '68
- French Popular Music and Society
- Decadence and Degeneration: Literature of the 1890s
- British Black and Asian Voices: 1948 to the Present
- Placing Jane Austen
- Shakespeare on Film
- Utopia and Dystopia in English and American Literature
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA Modern Languages and English Literature at University of Reading earn?
The median salary is £28,000 after 15 months, £27,000 after 3 years, £34,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £27,000 and £44,000. The £34,000 median after five years is £6,000 more than the UK median for Literature in English.
What do graduates of BA Modern Languages and English Literature at University of Reading do next?
85% 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 English Literature at University of Reading?
88% 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 English Literature at University of Reading?
The typical offer is BBB at A level, or 30 points in the IB. The average entrant had 120 UCAS points.
Does BA Modern Languages and English Literature at University of Reading include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has a compulsory year abroad.
How many students continue on BA Modern Languages and English Literature at University of Reading?
90% of students continued into their second year, and 10% left higher education.