BA Spanish and Chinese / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course description

Our BA Spanish and Chinese joint honours degree will give you a grounding in writing, speaking and understanding the Spanish and Mandarin 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 Spanish and Mandarin 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 universities and in professional environments in Spanish- 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 the promotion of Hispanic Cultures;
  • HOME - international and contemporary art, theatre and film.

Societies

The University is home to over 30 international and language-related student societies offering a breadth of cultural activities and experiences, including the Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies Student Society.

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.

Spanish

  • In Year 1, you are trained in the modern spoken and written Spanish language through compulsory core courses. You will also be provided with an introduction to the cultural and historical development of the Hispanic world and develop the skills required to be successful in your further study of Spain and Latin America.

Chinese

  • You will study the core module 'Introduction to Chinese Studies' plus Chinese language.
  • 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
Cultures of the Hispanic World SPLA10410 20 Mandatory
Themes in Spanish and Latin American Studies SPLA10420 20 Mandatory
Introduction to Chinese Studies CHIN10050 20 Optional
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
Cultures of the Hispanic World SPLA10410 20 Optional
Spanish Language 1 SPLA51011 20 Optional
Spanish Language 2 SPLA51022 20 Optional
Spanish Language 3 SPLA51030 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.

Spanish

  • You follow a compulsory Spanish language course and take further courses (usually two) chosen from a list, which includes options such as the study of Latin American History, writing women in the Spanish Golden Age, the Cold War in Latin America, and visual cultures in Modern Spain.

Chinese

  • In addition to continuing your study in Chinese language, you develop your knowledge of China via a choice of courses on the country's literature, film, history, religion, society, culture, economics, anthropology and business. You 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
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
Visual Culture in Modern Spain: Film, Painting and Photography SPLA20062 20 Optional
Writing Women in the Spanish Golden Age SPLA20161 20 Optional
Spanish Linguistics SPLA20772 20 Optional
Culture and Cold War in Latin America SPLA20871 20 Optional
Modern Latin American Literature SPLA20882 20 Optional
Spanish Language 4 SPLA51040 20 Optional
Spanish Language 5 SPLA51050 20 Optional
Catalan Language & Culture 1 SPLA53010 20 Optional
Catalan Language & Culture 2 SPLA53020 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. 

It is possible to undertake an optional dissertation with one-to-one supervision from an academic member of staff. 

Spanish

  • Choose from a wide range of options, including 'modern Spanish music' and 'the supernatural in Latin America film and literature'.
  • Elect to do a 12,000-word dissertation supervised by a member of academic staff.

Chinese

  • You may undertake a dissertation in Chinese studies to work on an area of particular interest in depth as well as selecting from various course units in religion, historical, cultural and social science areas.
  • The language teaching programme continues to develop skills such as reading and writing Chinese and includes work on interpreting and on translation as practical skills.

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
Spanish Language 6 SPLA51060 20 Mandatory
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
Introduction to Professional Translation ELAN31182 20 Optional
Dissertation in Modern Languages and Cultures LALC30000 40 Optional
The Latin American Short Story SPLA30411 20 Optional
Modern Spanish Music: A Cultural History SPLA31081 20 Optional
The Politics of Business in Latin America SPLA31092 20 Optional
The Supernatural in Latin American Literature and Film SPLA31132 20 Optional
Memory and Culture in Post-Franco Spain SPLA31141 20 Optional
History of the Spanish Atlantic World: Empire, Trade, War SPLA31151 20 Optional
Culture and Empire in the Spanish Golden Age SPLA31162 20 Optional
Diaspora and Displacement in Iberian Film SPLA31172 20 Optional
Catalan Language & Culture 1 SPLA53010 20 Optional
Catalan Language & Culture 2 SPLA53020 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 19 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