MA Modern Languages and Cultures

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2027, the tuition fees are as follows:

• MA (full-time)
  UK students (per annum): £16,600
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £31,400

The fees quoted above are fully inclusive of tuition, administration and computational costs.

Fees for entry are subject to yearly review. The University reserves the right to increase your tuition fee by up to 7% each year for courses lasting more than one year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our educational and wider student experience. Postgraduate fees information .

Always contact the admissions team if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

International student CAS deposit

Self-funded international applicants are required to pay a deposit of £2500 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. Some applicants will be required to pay a higher deposit. More information on tuition fee deposits .

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

We know that student finance can be complicated. The links below provide further information to help guide you.

• Learn more about - student finance options for UK students .
• Learn more about - fees and finance for international students .
• Graduates of The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University can receive a 10% discount on their master's degree tuition fees as part of our Manchester Alumni Loyalty Discount scheme.

This course examines how the cinemas of Spain and Portugal have approached different experiences of migration, depopulation and forced displacement, both at a national and a transnational level. In particular, it explores the role of cinema in representing the interrelated processes of migration, colonialism and decolonisation since the 1930s. It takes in a broad range of material, from propaganda film incentivising emigration to the former Portuguese colonies, to radical documentaries about the depopulated Iberian countryside and the plight of marginalised communities in contemporary Iberian cities such as Lisbon, Barcelona and Seville. Students will learn how the diverse techniques of filmmaking relate to key political and theoretical debates, such as national and regional identities, the status of marginalised people and the future of dwindling rural communities in the context of environmental breakdown. The course also draws links between patterns and the experience of migration from different social groups and historical periods. All films are available with English subtitles and no knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese is required.

• Develop a cross-cultural, comparative understanding of land use and migration patterns over the past century; 
• Acquaint students with key cinematic works from Spain and Portugal and develop a comparative understanding of their recent histories; 
• Acquaint students with the diverse techniques of filmmaking and how they relate to political and sociological debates. 

Students will be expected to develop skills relating to:

• The in-depth comparative analysis of a variety of film genres;
• An informed understanding of broader social, historical and political contexts of film production;
• An awareness and critical understanding of theoretical concepts relating to environment and migration covered
• Intercultural awareness;
• Colloquial, everyday and community-specific language use in Spain and Portugal (Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole, etc.) 

- Lectures (synchronous on-campus)

- Group work in seminars  

- Learning through informed viewing, reading, note-taking, interaction, self-monitoring, drafting and redrafting of coursework pieces 
 

• Develop advanced knowledge and a critical understanding of a wider range of films and their surrounding cultural and historical contexts
• Apply the theoretical concepts relating to environment and migration covered by this unit to complex historical and contemporary debates, demonstrating originality in interpretation and argumentation.
• Recognise the language and techniques of cinema and how they shape political and theoretical debates 
   

• Develop informed, formal analyses of film in context
• Develop an appreciation and critique of different forms of filmic representation
• Demonstrate advanced critical thinking by synthesising complex theoretical perspectives, critically assessing competing arguments, and formulating independent, original interpretations in response to historical and intellectual debates with special reference to the representation of migration and environment in Portuguese and Spanish films. 
   

• Demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks at a postgraduate level.
• Improve their ability to carry out comparative analyses
• Deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively, make sound judgements based on range of source materials, from classic cinema to sociological research and film theory 
   

• Improve their ability to interact and discuss complex issues with peers
• Exercise initiative and personal responsibility as global citizens and as possible participants of related popular culture and entertainment
• Develop ability to learn independently. as required for continuing professional development 
   

In class and written feedback

- Brenner, Neil & Nikos Katsikis. ‘Operational Landscapes: Hinterlands of the Capitalocene’. Architectural Design 90.1 (2020): 22-31.

- Moreno-Caballud, Luis. Cultures of Anyone: Studies on Cultural Democratization in the Spanish Neoliberal Crisis. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2015.

- Prádanos, Luis I. Post-Growth Imaginaries: New Ecologies and Counterhegemonic Culture in Post-2008. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2018.

- Richardon, Nathan. Postmodern Paletos: Immigration, Democracy and Globalization in Spanish Narrative and Film, 1950-2000.  

- Liz, Mariana. Portugal’s Global Cinema: Industry, History and Culture. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2017.

- Vieira, Patrícia. Portuguese Film, 1930-1960: The Staging of the New State Regime. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013.

- Overhoff-Ferreira, Carolin. Identity and Difference: Postcoloniality and Transnationality in Lusophone Films. Berlin: Lit Verlag, 2013.