English Language and Russian (4 Years) [BA]

BA (Hons) English Language and Russian is a four year course, giving students a thorough grounding in the language of their choice, and offering them access to the full range of English language studies and the opportunity for a broad-based study of English linguistics. Teaching is provided by the School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures.

• Students will be provided with a broad grounding in Russian language, culture and society.
• In year one the credit weighting of these subjects is 60/60. In subsequent years this can be amended to 80/40 focusing on either subject.
• The course will enable students to develop their Russian language skills to a superior level and simultaneously to develop their interests in and knowledge of a variety of other subject areas (such as film and media studies, sociology, history and politics, literary and cultural studies).

• Manchester is an international centre for linguistics and English language
• English Language is taught within the Department of Linguistics and English Language where there is a virtually unique breadth of subject areas and theoretical approaches.
• Particular strengths in the discipline include: endangered languages and field linguistics, the linguistics of English (both synchronic and diachronic), phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax (especially Lexical-Functional Grammar and Construction Grammar), typology, language contact and sociolinguistics, historical linguistics (especially English, Romance and Germanic), semantics and pragmatics, corpus and computational linguistics.
• The foundation of our degree programmes is a unique two-course series, comprising 'Beyond the ''Iron Curtain'': Critical Perspectives on Russia, Past and Present' (Level 1) and 'Petersburg: History, Myth, Text' (Level 2). These courses, which do not have equivalents at any UK university, are interdisciplinary and multimedia-focused. Both courses are team-taught, in order to provide exposure to different sub-disciplines in Russian and East European Studies (such as sociology, history, literature and culture studies); and they draw upon a wide variety of resources, to explore ways in which various media can be used to further our understanding of Russia's rich historical, sociopolitical and cultural heritage.
• Language courses are team-taught by native speakers of Russian and English-speakers with a superior command of Russian; these courses are supplemented by a carefully structured independent language-learning programme.
• There are separate language courses for beginners and post-A level students in the first two years of study.

• The first year provides you with an introduction to the full range of course options included within English linguistics and the basis for further and more specialised study. This diversity is essential in order to experience English language study at university level and make informed choices about your future course units. You will study 60 credits of English language (of your 120 credits in total) including units on the history of English, sounds of English and English grammar.
• During the first year of study, you develop crucial Russian language skills through dedicated grammar classes, language laboratory work, oral practice with a native-speaker lector and a programme of independent learning. Separate language pathways are offered for beginners, post A-level students, and native speakers of Russian.
• You also take a compulsory content course that is the first in our unique two-part series of core courses, which provide a thorough grounding in concepts and debates crucial to an understanding of Russian society and culture. Topics and themes introduced in these core courses are explored in depth in our optional content courses in subsequent years. As a result, these core courses also help you to make informed choices for theremainder of your studies based on your own particular interests.

• Course units build on first-year work, developing each subject area to provide a greater breadth and depth of experience. In the second year your study is more flexible. Four out of six units must be chosen: Introductions to Old, Middle and Modern English Language, American English and English dialects.
• You may choose upto a further 40 credits from a wide range of options, including Grammatical Semantics, Introduction to Syntactic Theory, Phonology and optional language course units or a free choice available from across the University.
• During the second year, you continue with your intensive study of Russian language and with the second in our compulsory core course series. You may also choose up to 2 additional modules from a range of optional courses in a range of areas (such as Russian culture and thought, literature and Polish language).
• Designed not just to underpin your studies at Manchester but also to prepare you for the compulsory year abroad, our Level Two core course focuses on St. Petersburg and its central role in Russian history, society and culture. In this course, you will study (through texts, images, film and music) numerous monuments and locales-from the Bronze Horseman to the world-famous Hermitage Museum-that you can then explore firsthand during your year abroad.

• Your third year of study is spent abroad under approved conditions.
• For further information on the year abroad please see the residence abroad webpage.

• By the final year your study is completely tailored to your own interests. You can write a dissertation on a subject of your choice. Your remaining courses can be chosen from over forty units, including English Grammar, English Phonology, English Names and Naming, English Verb Classes, and The Grammar of English Noun Phrases.
• Your compulsory studies will comprise of an advanced Russian language course
• Optional courses in subjects including Business Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet cinema, Russian popular culture, and Russian and Soviet politics round out your studies.
• Students may also choose to complete a dissertation, which is supervised by an appropriate member of staff within Russian and East European Studies. In researching and writing the dissertation, you explore in depth a subject of particular interest to you. The topic of your dissertation may be related to one of the final-year optional courses, but this is not obligatory.

Languages qualify you for a wide range of employment.  Your high-level language skills will open up numerous paths with an international dimension (e.g. business, industry and finance).  You will also have excellent all-round communication skills making you a strong contender for openings in the media, PR and similar areas.

In our experience, many graduates go straight into business services, marketing, advertising, management, banking or communications.  Others opt for postgraduate study or further vocational training to become accountants, lawyers, teachers (in England or abroad) or enter the Civil Service. 

Did you know?

• MI5 actively recruit graduates with language skills
• Past students have gone into areas as diverse as Radio Reporting, Advertising, Accountancy, Events Management, Commercial Management and International Sales.
• Graduates from The University of Manchester are amongst the highest paid in the country
• More employers recruit at The University of Manchester than at any other UK university
• The University of Manchester's Careers Service is consistently voted the best in the country by both students and employers
• The School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures is one of the largest and most diverse in the UK and has received the prestigious European Award for Languages from CiLT, the National Centre for Languages.

• The University hold open days twice a year (usually June and October) where you have the opportunity to tour the campus and find out more about the facilities and courses we offer.

• If your application is successful you will be invited to a visit day specifically for your area of study.  On this day you will find out more about the School and its resources, meet members of staff and current students and discuss study aims and qualifications with admissions staff.

• We do not normally interview applicants.  We make offers after carefully considering your UCAS application.

A level: AAB-BBB incl. a modern foreign language

Duration of A level study: Data Code not configured

AS level: Two AS-Levels may be accepted in place of the third A-Level.

Unit grade information: The University of Manchester welcomes the provision of unit grade information which, like all other available information, will inform the consideration of applications.  Unit grades will not normally form part of offer conditions, except for Mathematics programmes.

GCSE: Minimum grade C in English Language.

Key Skills qualification: The University warmly welcomes applications from students studying the Key Skills qualification. However, as the opportunities to take these modules are not open to all applicants, currently this is not an essential requirement of the University.

International Baccalaureate:

31 - 36 points overall

Higher Level requirements - 6,6,5 - 5,5,5 including a modern foreign language

Additional entry requirements

English language:

Candidates must be proficient in the English language, which is the language of instruction and examination at the university.

Acceptable English Language qualifications include IELTS 6.5 (with no individual component below 5.5), CPE grade C, CAE Grade B or another equivalent

To be successful on and to enjoy this course, you will need certain skills and personal qualities. You will need linguistic skills, in order to cope with the language side of the degree. You will need intellectual curiosity, in order to make the most of the diverse range of course units available to you. You will need an interest in immersing yourself in another culture, in order to help you meet the challenges of the year abroad. Finally, you will need dedication and enthusiasm: this is a rigorous degree programme, but committed students have the potential to derive great personal, practical and professional dividends from it.

Decisions are made on the basis of the application as a whole with a particular focus on educational acheivement and predicted grades.

The conditions of offers will be determined by an applicants predicted grades.

We welcome applicants who are seeking a return to study.  We may be able to make alternative offers in light of your experience but it is important that you have studied languages to an advanced level (please see entry requirements for subject specific criteria).  We may interview you if you have not studied languages recently.

The University of Manchester has now closed all undergraduate full time courses for deferred entry to 2012. If you are a Home/EU student applying through UCAS as a late applicant, for those courses that have vacancies, we will only allow application for 2011

If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful you may apply again. Your application will be considered against the standard course entry criteria for that year of entry.  In your new application you should demonstrate how your application has improved.  We may draw upon all information from your previous applications or any previous registrations at the University as a student when assessing your suitability for your chosen course.If you are applying for a place for the same year of entry through UCAS Extra, you should provide additional evidence of your suitability for the course. If you are applying through clearing you are required to meet the clearing requirements. In both UCAS Extra and clearing the places will be subject to availability.

• You will be taught through a mixture of formal lectures, seminars and tutorials.  You will spend approximately 12 hours each week in formal study sessions.  For every hour spent at University you will be expected to complete a further 2 - 3 hours independent study.  You will also need to study during the holiday periods.
• The individual study component could be spent reading, producing written work, revising for examinations or working in the University's Language Centre

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants from the Disability Support Office. Email: disability@manchester.ac.uk