MA Modern Languages and Cultures

Each year the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures offer a number of School awards and Subject-specific bursaries (the values of which are usually set at Home/EU fees level), open to both Home/EU and international students. The deadline for these is early February each year. Details of all funding opportunities, including deadlines, eligibility and how to apply, can be found on the School's funding page  where you can also find details of the Government Postgraduate Loan Scheme.

See also the University's postgraduate funding database  to see if you are eligible for any other funding opportunities. 

For University of Manchester graduates, the Manchester Alumni Bursary offers a £3,000 reduction in tuition fees to University of Manchester alumni who achieved a First within the last three years and are progressing to a postgraduate taught master's course.

The Manchester Master's Bursary is a University-wide scheme that offers 100 bursaries worth £3,000 in funding for students from underrepresented groups.

Postgraduate 1+3 funding is available from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for students to pursue postgraduate study through a master's (one year) leading into a PhD (3 years). It requires a project proposal as part of the application. Information is available here:

• Applying to 1+3 with NWSSDTP

We normally expect students to have a First or Upper Second class honours degree or its overseas equivalent in a humanities-based subject area.

An overall grade of 7.0 in IELTS with 7.0 in writing an no skill below 6.5 is required or 100+ in the TOEFL iBT with a minimum writing score of 25 and no skill below 22.

If you have obtained a different qualification, please check our  English language requirements  to ensure that it is accepted and equivalent to the above requirements.

Applications are mainly considered on the basis of an assessment of past and predicted academic achievements, the academic reference(s) and any other supplementary evidence that supports the application. Once we have an application that is ready for a decision, the admissions tutor (often the Programme Director) will relay the decision to the admissions team, who will send you this decision.

Please note that your application is usually received by the School 24 to 48 hours after the time you submit it. If you have not provided documentation that allows the admissions tutor to make a decision, we will contact you.

If English is not your first language, please provide us with evidence of: 

• an overall grade 7.0 (with a minimum writing score of 7)in IELTS; or
• 100+ in the IBT Internet-based TOEFL).

The other language tests we accept can be found here: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/new-approved-english-tests.pdf

Exceptions to needing a language test (if English is NOT your first language) are:

• if you have successfully completed an academic qualification deemed by UK NARIC as equivalent to at least a UK Bachelors Degree or higher from one of the following countries:

Antigua & Barbuda; Australia; Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Dominica; Grenada; Guyana; Ireland; Jamaica; New Zealand; St Kitts and Nevis; St Lucia; St Vincent and the Grenadines; Trinidad and Tobago; UK; USA.

You will take units totalling 180 credits.

Core and optional units combine to make 120 credits, with the remaining 60 credits allocated to the dissertation.

Core units 

Across both semesters, you will study a range of core course units, which will lay the groundwork for your coursework, as well as preparing you to think about your dissertation.

The core units address questions that are at the heart of modern languages and cultures, and will give you conceptual tools relevant to all of the additional course units offered. The core units are:

• Research Training in Modern Languages
• Theories and Methods in Modern Languages

Optional units 

Across both semesters, you will have the opportunity to study from a broad range of 15-credit units taken from across Modern Languages and Cultures. This includes provision in:

• Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies
• Chinese
• French Studies
• German Studies
• Italian Studies
• Japanese Studies
• Russian and East European Studies
• Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies.

You will also have the opportunity to select a 15-credit directed reading unit in each semester, which allows you to work on a specific area of focus and develop your own interest with the support of an academic supervisor. 

The list of units on offer will be updated annually. You can also choose up to 30 credits' worth of units from another MA course as part of your optional units, subject to the approval of the Programme Director.

Dissertation

You will write a 15,000-word dissertation, worth 60 credits, supervised by an academic member of staff. The focus of the dissertation will be developed during individual supervision meetings. The dissertation is generally due in early September of the following year (for full-time students).