Ranking
Top 10
in the UK, Iberian languages
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Course overview
Studying Spanish and Portuguese at Birmingham offers you a gateway to understanding two diverse and dynamic cultures.
Equip yourself to communicate throughout vast regions of Europe, Latin America, and Africa.
Course highlights
- Top 10
in the UK for Iberian languages
Complete University Guide 2026
- Combine advanced or beginners' Spanish with beginners' Portuguese.
- Spanish, spoken by over 500 million people, is a key global language in international business, diplomacy, and cultural exchange. Portuguese, the official language of Brazil, Portugal, and several African nations, connects you to rapidly growing markets and a wide array of cultural landscapes. Combine these two languages to enhance your global communication skills.
- Study language and topics of cultural significance, designed and delivered by expert teachers and researchers.
- Learn in a vibrant city that is culturally, ethnically and religiously diverse. Join our language and culture-based societies to further enhance your skills and contribute to the student-led Linguist Magazine.
- Enjoy focused academic contact – We pride ourselves on competitive contact hours. These take place in small groups, encouraging active language learning through engagement with cultural material.
Real-life experience on our year abroad
One of the most exciting elements of any degree in Modern Languages is the opportunity to spend your third year abroad, perfecting your language skills, developing a thorough appreciation of another culture and acquiring all manner of transferable skills.
We’ll help you organise your time away, and you’ll be supported throughout by your Year Abroad Coordinator, as well as our academic and wellbeing teams. This means you can relax and embrace hands-on opportunities working, studying or visiting in your chosen countries!
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Hear more about studying at Birmingham. Chat to one of our friendly students to find out more about your favourite course, our beautiful campus and life in our vibrant and cultural city.
Course delivery
Study at the University of Birmingham and learn from world-class experts—authors of key works and leaders with global teaching and research experience.
Lecture
Seminar
Tutorial
- Lectures: These give you an insightful, expert introduction to key topics; they also provide guidance to support your reading and assessments.
- Seminars: These are small group discussions where you share and test ideas with your academic tutor and your peers. Seminars help you understand topics better and build confidence in sharing your thoughts.
Support during your studies
At Birmingham, you’ll have plenty of support to help you adjust to university life:
- Personal Academic Tutors: You'll have a tutor assigned to you who will guide and support you throughout your studies.
- Wellbeing Officers: The Wellbeing team help with extensions, disabilities, extenuating circumstances, or any personal challenges. They’ll also connect you with further support on campus or elsewhere.
- Academic Writing Advisory Service: Tutorials, workshops and support in structuring an argument and developing your own academic voice.
- Student Experience Team: They offer research opportunities, and cultural, intellectual and social activities to enhance your university experience.
Contact hours
Your degree is designed to help you achieve 120 credits per year, which equals about 40 hours of learning each week. This includes lectures, seminars, workshops, independent study, revision, and assessments.
Assessment methods
You’ll be assessed in different ways to suit each module. At the start of a module, you’ll be told how and when you’ll be assessed. Methods will vary but may include coursework (e.g., essays), group or individual presentations and projects, exams, reports or computer-based assignments.
Feedback: You will receive timely feedback on each assessment, so you can learn from it and improve your performance in future assessments.
Module information
The modules listed for this programme are regularly reviewed to ensure they are up-to-date and informed by the latest research and teaching methods.
The optional module information listed for this programme is intended to be indicative, and the availability of optional modules may vary from year to year. Where a module is no longer available, we will let you know as soon as we can and help you to make other choices.
Year 1
Year 1
2026/27 Session
The following must be taken:
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Discover: Personal, Academic and Professional Development in Modern Languages | 20 |
Students must take a minimum of 80 credits in Spanish and 40 credits in Portuguese.
Spanish (choose either the Beginners or Advanced Module):
Students must also take Introduction to Hispanic Cultures.
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Spanish Language 1 (Advanced) | 20 |
| Spanish Language 1 (Beginners) | 20 |
Portuguese (These modules are compulsory for all students studying Portuguese):
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Environment, Sustainability and Development in the Portuguese-speaking world | 20 |
| Portuguese Language 1 (Beginners): Boas-vindas! | 20 |
Optional Modules
Students must take one 20 credit optional module (includes departmental options). Please refer to the module choice information provided by Modern Languages.
Availability of particular modules varies from year to year and is subject to timetabling constraints.
The following is an indicative list:
Departmental Modules [available to all students]:
Departmental Modules [available to students taking Advanced languages only]:
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Translation in Practice I | 10 |
| Translation in Practice II | 10 |
Spanish Optional Modules:
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Latin American Histories and Cultures A | 10 |
| Latin American Histories and Cultures B | 10 |
| Hispanic Visual Cultures A | 10 |
| Hispanic Visual Cultures B | 10 |
Catalan Optional Modules [available to all students]:
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Beginners Catalan Language A | 10 |
| Beginners Catalan Language B | 10 |
| Catalan Culture Project A | 10 |
| Catalan Culture Project B | 10 |
Year 2
Year 2
2027/28 Session
To proceed from Stage I to Stage II a student must have a minimum of 100 credits, to include the relevant compulsory language module(s).
The University Regulations permit students registered to Joint degrees to vary their credit weighting in their second and final year. A minimum of 40 credits and a maximum of 80 credits must be taken in each discipline in both years (subject to a total number of 120 credits in each year). Students who undertake less than 160 credits in one of their disciplines will graduate with a major/minor degree.
Students must take 80 credits in Spanish and 40 credits in Portuguese.
Spanish (students must choose either the Intermediate or Advanced module):
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Spanish Language 2 (Advanced) | 20 |
| Spanish Language 2 (Intermediate) | 20 |
Portuguese (These modules are compulsory for all students studying Portuguese):
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Cultural Industries: Creativity in Change | 20 |
| Portuguese Language 2 (Intermediate): Vamos lá! | 20 |
Optional Modules
Students should aim for an even balance of credits. Depending on the number of credits students opt to take in each subject, optional module choices may be restricted. Availability of particular modules varies from year to year and is subject to timetabling constraints.
The following is an indicative list:
Russian Optional Modules [available to all students]:
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| 19th Century Russia through the Lens of the Novel | 20 |
Departmental Optional Modules [available to all students]:
Departmental Optional Modules [available to students taking Advanced languages only]:
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Translation in the Workplace | 20 |
Spanish Optional Modules:
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Digital Media and Spanish Youth Culture | 20 |
| Histories of the Excluded: Inquisition and the Birth of Human Rights | 20 |
| Icons of the Hispanic World | 20 |
| Mexican and Chicano Art in the Twentieth Century: Revolution and Beyond | 20 |
| Reading the World in Contemporary Spanish American Fiction | 20 |
| Structures and Varieties of the Modern Hispanic Languages | 20 |
Catalan Optional Modules [available to all students]:
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Beginners Catalan Language A | 10 |
| Beginners Catalan Language B | 10 |
| Intermediate Catalan Language A | 10 |
| Intermediate Catalan Language B | 10 |
| Artistic and Literary Representations of Barcelona | 20 |
| Gender, New Media and Cultural Identity | 20 |
Italian Optional Module
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Exploring Italian cities: texts and contexts | 20 |
Year abroad
Year abroad
2028/29 Session
To proceed from Stage II to Stage IIb (Year Abroad) a student must have a minimum of 100 credits to include the relevant compulsory language modules.
Year 2 will be weighted at 25% and final year at 75%. The Year Abroad will be assessed on a pass/fail basis only and it will not count towards the final degree classification.
There is no automatic right to do a work placement in any of the languages.
Where students can show valid grounds, as defined and approved by the Department of Modern Languages, exemption from the year abroad may be permitted. In such cases, students will transfer to a 3 year programme.
Year 4
Year 4
2029/30 Session
A minimum of 40 credits and a maximum of 80 credits must be taken in each discipline in both years (subject to a total number of 120 credits in each year). Students who undertake less than 160 credits in one of their disciplines will graduate with a major/minor degree.
Students must take a minimum of 40 credits in Spanish and 40 credits in Portuguese.
Independent Study
Students must choose ONE or TWO of the following to a maximum of 40 credits:
Portuguese:
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Portuguese Language Final Year: Avante! | 20 |
| Thinking Otherwise: Decolonial Approaches to Contemporary Thought and Culture | 20 |
Spanish:
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Spanish Language Final Year | 20 |
Optional Modules
Availability of particular modules varies from year to year and is subject to timetabling constraints.
The following is an indicative list:
Departmental Optional Modules [available to all students]:
Spanish Optional Modules:
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Imagining the Truth: Latin American Culture in a Post-truth World | 20 |
| Performing Gender/Translating Performance | 20 |
| Social and Political Processes in Contemporary Latin America | 20 |
| Spanish Exile Culture | 20 |
| The Digital Past | 20 |
| The Spanish Caribbean: History and Literature | 20 |
| US Latinx Cultures: Spanish Caribbean | 20 |
Catalan Optional Modules [available to all students]:
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Advanced Catalan Language A | 10 |
| Advanced Catalan Language B | 10 |
| Intermediate Catalan Language A | 10 |
| Intermediate Catalan Language B | 10 |
Entry requirements
To secure a place at Birmingham, you'll need to meet our general entry requirements as well as those specific to your course.
- A Level
ABB A level grade B is required for any advanced language you wish to study. See below for full information.
- IB
6,5,5 including 32 points total. See below for full information.
- BTEC
BTEC Extended Diploma: DDM, plus a B at A level in the required subject/s. See below for full information.
Number of A levels required: 3
A levels
A level grade B is required for any advanced language you wish to study. It is also possible to study two beginner (including post-GCSE) languages without taking an advanced language.
General Studies is accepted.
IB Diploma
6,5,5 in Higher level subjects plus 32 points overall. You also require a Higher Level or equivalent in the modern language that you plan to study.
BTEC qualifications
- BTEC Extended Diploma: DDM, plus a B at A level in the required subject/s mentioned above.
- BTEC Diploma: DD, plus a B at A level in the required subject/s mentioned above.
- BTEC Subsidiary Diploma: D, plus AB at A level, including the required subject/s mentioned above.
Independent language diplomas
If you would like to study advanced Spanish as part of your programme but are not currently studying the required language at A level, we are happy to consider applications from those offering an independent language diploma at B2 level as demonstration of advanced language skills.
The independent language diplomas we would consider is DELE-B2 (Spanish). This diploma is assessed against the criteria set by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, and can be studied for in your own time or through a language centre. These diplomas will be considered when taken in addition to three A levels or equivalent qualifications as outlined above.
Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)
Applicants who take the EPQ and meet our offer criteria will be made the typical offer for their programme of choice, plus an alternative offer which will be one grade lower plus a grade A in the EPQ. This offer would apply if you make Birmingham your firm choice.
Core Maths qualification
Applicants who take the Core Maths qualification and meet our offer criteria will be made the typical offer for their programme of choice, plus an alternative offer which will be one grade lower plus a grade A in Core Maths. If you are also taking A-level Maths, you will not be eligible for an alternative offer through studying Core Maths. This offer would apply if you make Birmingham your firm choice.
English language requirements
If you are an international student, you will need to demonstrate you have a suitable level of English proficiency, usually through the form of an IELTS or equivalent qualification or a Presessional English course.
- TOEFL: 88 overall with no less than 21 in Reading, 20 in Listening, 22 in Speaking and 21 in Writing.
- IELTS: 6.5 overall with no less than 6.0 in any band.
- Pearson Test of English (PTE): PTE 67 with no less than 64 in all four skills.
- Cambridge English(exams taken from 2015): Cambridge English: Advanced Minimum overall score of 176, with no less than 169 in any component
- Language Cert ESOL SELT (UKVI): B2 ‘Communicator’ with no less than 33 in each skill
- Trinity ISE II: Not applicable
- Trinity ISE III: Pass in each Skill
Presessional English courses
If you have a conditional offer for Birmingham where English is a requirement, you can take a Presessional English course as an alternative to retaking IELTS or a similar qualification. We offer on-campus courses all year round starting from September, including additional online courses in the summer term. Teaching takes place in small classes with no more than 18 students to maximise class participation.
Am I likely to receive an offer for 2026?
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Alternative Offers
Students who are eligible and complete a Pathways to Birmingham programme will receive an alternative offer, which is typically two grades below the standard offer.
Our Contextual Offer scheme
Our Contextual Offer scheme recognises the potential of students whose personal circumstances may have restricted achievement in school or college. If you are eligible to benefit from the Contextual Offer scheme, you will receive an offer which is one grade lower than the standard offer. You don’t need to apply for this – it will be assessed and applied at the point of application if you’re eligible.
- Pathways to Birmingham
BBC including a B in the advanced language you wish to study. No subject requirements if you wish to study two beginner languages.
- Contextual Offer
BBB including a B in the advanced language you wish to study. No subject requirements if you wish to study two beginner languages.
Fees and scholarships
The University tuition fee covers the cost of your tuition, examination and graduation, and includes membership of the Guild of Students.
- £9,535*
per year for domestic (UK) students for 2026/27
*The University will charge the maximum approved tuition fee per year. If Parliament agrees on an increase in tuition fees, the University will increase fees for each year of study, normally in line with these changes and will communicate any change in the fees to you without delay. The fee for September 2025 entry was £9,535 for UK students. If you are applying for 2026 entry, you will be advised of the annual tuition fee once it is confirmed by the Government.
Undergraduate loans
To help with the cost of studies, undergraduate students from the UK can apply for student finance through the Student Loans Company. The support available is made up of a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan which helps to cover living costs.
Scholarships, grants and bursaries
At Birmingham, we believe that financial worries should not be a barrier to accessing higher education. That’s why we offer a range of additional financial support for students through scholarships, bursaries and other awards.
Financial support for Home students
If you're a UK student and starting university in September 2026, find out more about what financial support is available to you.
Financial support for International students
We want to help you reach your full potential. Explore our wide variety of scholarships available for international students.
Application process
Whatever your journey to university looks like, we’re here to support you every step of the way. For all undergraduate courses at Birmingham, you apply online through UCAS. The UCAS website has lots of information and advice around the process.
- 14 January 2026
Application deadline for September 2026 entry. Applications close at 18:00 GMT.
View further information on how to apply for undergraduate courses, including advice for UK and overseas applicants.
Career opportunities
On our Modern Languages courses, you’ll build skills that are useful in workplaces all over the world, preparing you to succeed in lots of different careers after university.
Our Modern Languages graduates have a wide range of skills that are valued by employers, such as:
- Strong communication and presentation skills in English and one or more other languages
- A deep understanding and appreciation of other cultures
- Independence and experience of living abroad
- Expressing thoughts, feelings and opinions in different registers
- Leadership, negotiation, debating and teamwork
- Handling complex information
- The ability to form concise and articulate arguments
Our Modern Languages students have gone on to secure roles such as Translator, Director, Founder, and Communications Manager, working for organisations such as:
- BBC News
- House of Commons
- Warner Bros. Discovery
The University has commissioned Cturtle as our data partner for tracking our alumni destinations. The data above is a subset from 43,666 alumni who completed their course up to 31 July 2024.
The University is the top choice for the UK's major employers searching for graduate recruits.
The Graduate Market in 2025, High Fliers report
Receive one-to-one careers advice, including guidance on your job applications, writing your CV and improving your interview technique.
Meet employers face-to-face at on-campus recruitment fairs and employer presentations.
Careers Network
Our aim is to make sure that success in your studies leads you on to a fulfilling career. Whatever you plan to do after your degree, the Careers Network offer support to help you identify your options, develop your skills and gain access to opportunities that propel you towards your career goal.
Built in Birmingham. Forged for the future.
Hear from some of our inspiring alumni who have gone on to work for leading employers such as the UK Space Agency and BBC Sport.
Upcoming events
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Student experience
Your experience studying at Birmingham will give you the opportunity to discover new experiences, develop different skills and make friends for life.
Our bustling campus with its beautiful grounds, friendly community, and excellent facilities will quickly make you feel at home. We offer you a huge variety of accommodation options in the UK’s second city, exciting activities to get involved in outside your studies, as well as all the support and advice you need.
Accommodation
Coming to Birmingham to study might be your first time living away from home. In our student accommodation, you can enjoy your independence in safe, welcoming and sociable surroundings.
Living in Birmingham
Our cosmopolitan city has a unique history and so much to see and do. With an ever-changing food and drink scene, a vibrant nightlife and plenty of culture, our city is more than somewhere to study.
Student support
Whoever you are and wherever you come from, we are committed to providing the best possible support to our students, both before you start and throughout your time on campus.
Campus life
Our beautiful campus is the place where our diverse community comes together to learn and socialise. Like a town of its own, it’s just minutes from the hustle and bustle of the UK’s second city.
Flexible programmes to suit you
Not sure what you want to study?
Explore your options for combining subjects and shape your degree around your interests, whilst developing key skills for the world of work.
Take a virtual tour
Explore our beautiful campus from wherever you are. Get a feel for the wide range of historic and modern spaces and state-of-the-art facilities.