BA Russian and Chinese / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course description

Our BA Russian and Chinese joint honours degree will give you a grounding in writing, speaking and understanding the Russian and Chinese languages. 

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

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

With placement options available at partner institutions and in professional environments in Russian-speaking and Chinese-speaking countries, a compulsory third year abroad gives our undergraduate students unforgettable and invaluable personal and professional 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

Residence abroad

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

Collaborations and partnerships

The University has links with language and cultural institutions across the city, including:

  • Instituto Cervantes - a centre for Spanish culture;
  • HOME - international and contemporary art, theatre and film;
  • Manchester China Institute - promoting mutual understanding in UK-China relations through research, teaching, and activities;
  • Alliance Française - home of French language and culture.

Societies

The University is home to over 30 international and language-related student societies offering a breadth of cultural activities and experiences.

Teaching and learning

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

For every hour of university study, you will be expected to complete a further 2-3 hours of 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 .

Coursework and assessment

You will be assessed in various ways, including:  

  • written and oral examinations; 
  • presentations; 
  • coursework (which may include library research, linguistic fieldwork and data collection, or web-based research); 
  • in your final year, a dissertation based on a research topic of your choice.  

Assessment methods vary from course unit to course unit - see individual course unit listings for more information.

Course content for year 1

You will study 60 credits from each discipline.

Russian

  • In Year 1 you develop crucial Russian language skills through dedicated grammar classes, oral practice with native-speaker lectors, language laboratory work, and a range of independent learning activities. Separate language pathways are offered for beginners, post A-level and more advanced students.
  • Year 1 courses provide a solid base for your further studies, helping you to acquire and improve on important study skills and giving you a thorough grounding in concepts and debates crucial to an understanding of Russian society and culture.
  • Topics and themes introduced in first-year content courses are explored in depth in optional content courses in the second and final years. As a result, these courses also help you to make informed choices for subsequent years of study based on your own interests.

Chinese

  • All Year 1 students take the core unit Introduction to Chinese Studies, plus language. Students on a single honours degree also take units in Chinese culture, literature and history, and then choose from a range of optional units.

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
Introduction to Chinese Studies CHIN10050 20 Mandatory
Visual Cultures in China and East Asia CHIN12522 20 Optional
Chinese Language 1 CHIN51011 20 Optional
Chinese Language 2 CHIN51022 20 Optional
Chinese Language 3 CHIN51031 20 Optional
Chinese Language 4 CHIN51042 20 Optional
Chinese Language 5 CHIN51050 20 Optional
Modern China: from the Opium Wars to the Olympic Games HIST10151 20 Optional
100 Years of Revolution: from Lenin's Soviet Union to Putin's Russia RUSS10242 20 Optional
The Making of Modern Russia: 1552-1917 RUSS10251 20 Optional
Russian Language 1 RUSS51011 20 Optional
Russian Language 2 RUSS51022 20 Optional
Russian Language 3 RUSS51030 20 Optional
Russian Language 4 RUSS51040 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 14 course units for year 1

Course content for year 2

You may choose to study up to two-thirds from either discipline or maintain equal weighting.

Russian

  • In Year 2, you continue with your intensive study of Russian language.
  • You also choose from optional courses in a range of areas (such as Russian culture and thought, literature, Central European and Balkan history and culture, and Polish language).
  • In addition, you begin to prepare for the compulsory year abroad, through meetings and consultations with our Residence Abroad Tutor and with final-year students who have recently returned from the year abroad.
Chinese
  • In addition to continuing your study in Chinese language, you improve your knowledge of China via a choice of courses in its literature, film, history, religion. You will also begin to prepare for residence abroad.

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
Russophone Literature and Society, 1800-2000s RUSS20700 20 Mandatory
Gender and Power in Chinese Culture CHIN20071 20 Optional
Introduction to Classical Chinese CHIN28572 20 Optional
Chinese Language 3 CHIN51031 20 Optional
Chinese Language 4 CHIN51042 20 Optional
Chinese Language 5 CHIN51050 20 Optional
Chinese Language 6 CHIN51060 20 Optional
100 Years of Revolution: from Lenin's Soviet Union to Putin's Russia RUSS20242 20 Optional
The Revolutions of 1989 and their Aftermaths: Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia RUSS20471 20 Optional
Between East and West: Culture, Empire and Nation in Russia RUSS20842 20 Optional
Russian Language 3 RUSS51030 20 Optional
Russian Language 4 RUSS51040 20 Optional
Russian Language 5 RUSS51050 20 Optional
LEAP Polish 1 (A1) ULPL51010 20 Optional
LEAP Polish 2 (A2) ULPL51020 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 15 course units for year 2

Course content for year 3

Your third year of study is  spent abroad  under approved conditions.

Course content for year 4

You may choose to divide your studies equally between both languages or study up to two thirds from either language.

Russian

  • The compulsory element of your studies consists of an advanced Russian language course, which focuses on oral proficiencBusiness Russian, translation studies, Soviet and post-Soviet popular culture and cinema, and politics and society in Russia, the Soviet Union and post-Soviet countries round out your studies.
  • You 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 your 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.

Chinese

  • In Chinese, the language-teaching programme continues, with practical interpreting and translation skills. Options include the study of Chinese pop culture and new media, contemporary politics, and a dissertation.

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
Socialism in China CHIN32012 20 Optional
Mass Media in Modern China CHIN35221 20 Optional
Business Chinese CHIN38682 20 Optional
Chinese Language 6 CHIN51060 20 Optional
Languages-Based Project 1 CHIN51071 10 Optional
Language-Based Project 2 CHIN51072 10 Optional
War, Memory and Politics of Commemoration in Eastern Europe HIST31842 20 Optional
Dissertation in Modern Languages and Cultures LALC30000 40 Optional
Russian Translation: Theory and practice RUSS30442 20 Optional
Culture, Media and Politics in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia RUSS30601 20 Optional
Russian Language 5 RUSS51050 20 Optional
LEAP Polish 2 (A2) ULPL51020 20 Optional
LEAP Polish 3 (A2/B1) ULPL51030 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 13 course units for year 4

Facilities

The University Language Centre is home to language resources, including a new interpreting suite, purpose-built recording rooms, and resources for more than 70 languages.  

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 at facilities

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