- UCAS course code
- RT41
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
BA Spanish and Chinese
Gain specialist language and culture skills with a focus on Spain, Latin America and China.
- Typical A-level offer: ABB including specific subjects
- Typical contextual A-level offer: BBC including specific subjects
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: BBC including specific subjects
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 34 points overall with 6,5,5 at HL including specific subjects
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 will 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, you may have the option to undertake 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.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/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 |
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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 may include 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.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/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 |
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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, which may include 'modern Spanish music' and 'the supernatural in Latin America film and literature'.
- Elect to do a 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.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/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 |
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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 on our Facilities page.