Program Overview

Our aim at the School of Modern Languages is to develop and educate our students to become ‘global citizens’.  In addition to developing high-level language skills, our BA Italian and Portuguese programme allows you to gain an in-depth intercultural understanding that encompasses a specific knowledge of Italian and Portuguese culture. You will develop high-level communication and critical-thinking skills, and foster resilience and independence through time spent in immersive foreign language contexts.

Italy and Portugal are major actors on the European and world stage, possessing rich and sophisticated cultures. Italian and Portuguese are both one of the official working languages of the European community and still a global language of culture and diplomacy. By studying Italian combined with Portuguese you will gain a wealth of transferable skills and knowledge beneficial to the world of employment, making you competitive and attractive in an increasingly global workforce and opening the doors to a variety of career paths.

We offer Italian and Portuguese language for both advanced students and beginners. We also offer Portuguese language for heritage learners. In terms of language acquisition, this course will enable you to develop your writing, oral and aural skills through a range of learning activities and audio-visual materials. In your first year, in addition to your language tuition, an introduction to Italian and Portuguese history and culture seeks to provide a solid foundation for more specialised studies as you progress through your course.

Your understanding of the language will be further developed and refined during your year abroad, when you will experience life in a Italian-speaking and a Portuguese-speaking country at first hand.

In the final year, you have the opportunity to write a dissertation, which stimulates initiative and can serve as a useful preparation for postgraduate study.

It is important to remember that studying languages is not just about the language itself, it involves exploring many aspects of a country, and we aspire to offer a genuinely broad course that offers challenging and stimulating modules.

On completion of this four-year programme, you will have a high level of proficiency in the both Italian and Portuguese language, as well as a critical understanding of key aspects of Italian and Portuguese history, culture, literature, politics and contemporary society.