BA Modern Language and Business & Management (Italian) / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course description

The BA Modern Language and Business and Management (Italian) course gives you a thorough grounding in the language and culture of Italy, as well as the principles of business and management and their application in global workplaces.

Language study offers more than just language fluency. You'll explore diverse aspects of the culture, society, history, politics and literature of Italian-speaking countries, helping you to develop intercultural awareness and communication skills - both highly valued by employers.

We also offer a linguistics options if you are interested in the history of the Italian language and its dialects.

You'll benefit from excellent teaching, student support, cutting-edge facilities, and the vibrancy and cultural diversity of Manchester itself, Western Europe's most multilingual city.

Studying abroad at partner universities and in professional environments in the Italian-speaking world gives you an unforgettable and invaluable experience.

The course unit details listed below are those you may choose to study as part of this programme and are referred to as optional units. These are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this programme. Although language units may show here as optional, they are a mandatory part of your modern languages degree and you will take the units relevant to your level of language in each year of study. It Is compulsory to study language at all levels of your modern languages degree.

Special features

Develop your leadership skills

Get the edge in today's globalised business environment on the Manchester Leadership Programme , which includes local volunteering and guest visits from international business managers.

Residence abroad

You can study and/or work for up to a year in a country relevant to your chosen language(s) to improve your language skills in a native-speaker environment.

Collaborations and partnerships

We have links with language and cultural institutions across the city, including:

  • Confucius Institute - a hub for Chinese culture.
  • Instituto Cervantes - a centre for Spanish culture.
  • HOME - international and contemporary art, theatre and film.
  • Alliance Française - home of French language and culture.

Societies

There are over 30 international and language-related student societies offering cultural activities and experiences.

Outstanding resources

Explore the world-class Italian holdings of the John Ryland's Library, including one of the UK's largest collections of early Italian printed books.

Teaching and learning

You'll learn through formal lectures, seminars and tutorials, spending 12 hours a week in formal study sessions.

For every hour of university study, you will need to complete a further 2 to 3 hours of independent study.

This could be spent reading, producing written work, revising for examinations or working in the University's Language Centre .

Language learning

In Year 1, Italian language instruction is divided between 'ab initio' and post-A-level groups.

'Ab initio' students have four contact hours per week with their nominated Italian teacher to build confidence in comprehension, writing, speaking and listening skills.

Post-A-level students have three hours consolidating and building competency on specific language points. All first year students also have an additional linguistics hour, introducing them to the history and structures of the Italian language.

In Years 2 and 4, the language component of the course includes three contact hours per week in addition to working on set assignments and undertaking private study.

Coursework and assessment

You will be assessed through:

  • written and oral examinations;
  • presentations;
  • coursework (including web-based and library research, linguistic fieldwork and data collection);
  • a dissertation based on a research topic of your choice.

Course content for year 1

Your time will be divided equally between your language and culture and business and management studies.

Compulsory units introduce finance, management, microeconomics and macroeconomics, and develop transferable skills. You choose two further options across management, finance and economics units.

Ab initio Italian students have 4 contact hours per week with their nominated Italian teacher as part of a course specifically designed to build confidence in comprehension, writing, speaking and listening skills. Post-A-level Italian students have 3 hours consolidating and building competency on specific language points. All first year students also have an additional linguistics hour, introducing them to the history and structures of the Italian language.

The Italian culture units include filmic, literary, historic and linguistic, all of which reflect academic staff research interests.

Year 1 is designed to provide you with the tools to read cultural products with confidence, including texts, pictures, buildings and linguistic constructions.

You will take only the language units relevant to your level of language in each year of study.

Course units for year 1

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Fundamentals of Management BMAN10011 10 Mandatory
Fundamentals of Finance BMAN10552 10 Mandatory
Microeconomics 1 ECON10221 10 Mandatory
Macroeconomics 1 ECON10252 10 Mandatory
Italian Cultural Studies ITAL10300 20 Mandatory
Fundamentals of Technological Change BMAN10252 10 Optional
Business Economics BMAN10612 10 Optional
Fundamentals of Financial Reporting B BMAN10621B 10 Optional
Fundamentals of Management Accounting BMAN10632 10 Optional
An Introduction to Development Studies ECON10002 10 Optional
Introductory Mathematics ECON10061 10 Optional
Advanced Mathematics ECON10071A 10 Optional
Advanced Statistics ECON10072A 10 Optional
Computing for Social Scientists ECON10151 10 Optional
Introduction to Mathematical Economics ECON10192 10 Optional
Reading Italy: Medieval to Modern ITAL10500 20 Optional
Italian Language 1 ITAL51011 20 Optional
Italian Language 2 ITAL51022 20 Optional
Italian Language 3 ITAL51030 20 Optional
Exploring Enterprise MCEL10001 10 Optional
Entrepreneurial Skills MCEL10002 10 Optional
Introductory Statistics for Economists SOST10062 10 Optional
Displaying 10 of 22 course units for year 1

Course content for year 2

You continue with an even distribution between business and management and Italian studies.

Alongside one compulsory unit, you tailor your business studies by choosing from a range of options.

You have the chance to study Leadership in Action with national leaders as part of the Manchester Leadership Programme. You can also put your learning into practice with local charities and social enterprises by participating in the Manchester Enterprise Challenge.

In Year 2, the core Italian language component builds on the grammar topics covered in Year 1, in order to prepare you for the year abroad. Both the post-beginners and post-A-level language modules have three contact hours per week, in addition to working on set assignments and undertaking private study.

Your Italian course units in second year are more specialized than in first year, allowing you to explore a diverse range of subjects and approaches. Current options include the Italian Renaissance and Italian Fascism.

All Italian culture units have three contact hours per week and are augmented by materials and content placed in the Blackboard virtual learning environment.

Italian modules are assessed by a variety of different coursework assessment types, including essays and commentaries, book reviews, reports, presentations, and innovative digital projects such as group curated exhibitions.

Course units for year 2

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Firms and Management in Comparative Perspective BMAN22000 20 Mandatory
Work Psychology for Career Success BMAN20022 10 Optional
Investment Analysis BMAN20072 10 Optional
Financial Statement Analysis BMAN20081 10 Optional
Introduction to Corporate Finance and Financial Instruments BMAN20242 10 Optional
Technology, Strategy and Innovation BMAN20792 10 Optional
New Product Development and Innovation BMAN20821 10 Optional
Marketing BMAN20832 10 Optional
Global Contexts of Business and Management BMAN21012 10 Optional
Financial Reporting and Accountability BMAN21020A 20 Optional
Intermediate Management Accounting BMAN21040A 20 Optional
Foundations of Finance B BMAN23000B 20 Optional
Creativity, Design & Entrepreneurship BMAN24241 20 Optional
Operations Management and Strategy BMAN24291 10 Optional
Organisations and Employment BMAN24521 10 Optional
Managerial Economics I ECON20001 20 Optional
Advanced Mathematics ECON20071 10 Optional
Advanced Statistics ECON20072 10 Optional
Econometrics ECON20110 20 Optional
Mathematical Economics I ECON20120 20 Optional
Introduction to Mathematical Economics ECON20192 10 Optional
Economic History ECON20212 10 Optional
Quantitative Methods ECON20222 20 Optional
Microeconomics 2 ECON20232 10 Optional
Macroeconomics 2 ECON20262 10 Optional
Development Economics: Growth, Capital Accumulation and Structural Change ECON20321 10 Optional
Development Economics: Understanding Poverty ECON20332 10 Optional
Economics for Public Policy ECON20431 10 Optional
Aesthetics and Politics of Italian Fascism ITAL20501 20 Optional
The Italian Renaissance ITAL21012 20 Optional
Italian Language 4 ITAL51040 20 Optional
Italian Language 5 ITAL51050 20 Optional
Tools and Techniques for Enterprise MCEL30001 10 Optional
Leadership in Action Unit UCIL20022 10 Optional
Leadership in Action Online Unit UCIL20032 10 Optional
Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset UCIL21331 10 Optional
Entrepreneur: Innovator and Risk-Taker UCIL24002 10 Optional
Displaying 10 of 37 course units for year 2

Course content for year 3

Year 3 is spent abroad in approved study or work in an Italian-speaking country.

Course content for year 4

There is a broad range of specialised units available in business, management, accounting and finance, economics and entrepreneurship.

You can take up to two-thirds of your units in either business and management or language and cultural studies.

In Year 4, you build on the linguistic authenticity acquired abroad in the core Italian language unit, and can choose from a range of specialized content course units. The final year language course develops your core skills to an advanced level, including translation into English, writing different kinds of target-language texts, and oral work including discussion of texts, debates, and presentations. The language component of the course comprises three contact hours per week, in addition to working on set assignments and undertaking private study.

Course units available in final year are closely related to the research interests of individual members of staff, in areas such as romance linguistics, Renaissance Florence, Italy and the Grand Tour, book history, and the political and cultural history of Italy.

You will also be able to undertake a research-orientated dissertation in Italian (often using the primary sources held in the Ryland's Library) and participate in the department's mentoring and outreach programmes.

Course units for year 4

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Management of Knowledge and Innovation BMAN30010 20 Optional
Marketing BMAN30021 10 Optional
Strategy BMAN30022 10 Optional
Human Resource Management BMAN30042 10 Optional
Share Prices and Accounting Information BMAN30071 10 Optional
Financial Derivatives BMAN30091 10 Optional
Advanced Corporate Finance BMAN30111A 20 Optional
Corporate Governance in Context BMAN30211 10 Optional
Financial Engineering BMAN30242 10 Optional
Corporate Contracting and Managerial Behaviour BMAN30702 10 Optional
Investment Economics and Innovation BMAN31212 10 Optional
People Management and Change BMAN32091 10 Optional
Consumers and Markets BMAN32161 10 Optional
Topics in Inequality & Poverty ECON30041 20 Optional
The Chinese Economy ECON30102 10 Optional
Mathematical Economics II ECON30290 20 Optional
Mathematical Finance ECON30382 10 Optional
Topics in Development Economics ECON30451 20 Optional
Topics in Economic History ECON30542 20 Optional
Advanced Econometrics ECON31031 20 Optional
Climate Change Economics and Policy ECON32111 10 Optional
Topics in Romance Linguistics ITAL32001 20 Optional
Italian Language 6 ITAL51060 20 Optional
Dissertation in Modern Languages and Cultures LALC30000 40 Optional
Tools and Techniques for Enterprise MCEL30001 10 Optional
Advanced Technology Enterprise MCEL30011 10 Optional
Advanced Technology Enterprise MCEL30012 10 Optional
Enterprise Strategy and Marketing MCEL30051 10 Optional
Enterprise Feasibility MCEL30052 10 Optional
Enterprise in Healthcare MCEL30122 10 Optional
Climate Change and Society UCIL33201 10 Optional
Climate Change and Society UCIL33501 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 32 course units for year 4

Facilities

The University Language Centre is home to language resources, including a new interpreting suite and purpose-built recording rooms.

The Centre also offers multilingual word processing, language learning software, off-air recording and AV duplication, multilingual terrestrial and satellite TV, and extensive support and advice for learners.

Learn more on the Facilities page.

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk