The Modern Languages degree programme is highly flexible and has been designed so you may study two or three languages in the proportions which suit your interests. For example, you may wish to spend half your time on French and half on Spanish, or two thirds of your time on German and a third on Japanese, or divide your time equally between French, German and Spanish.
A further advantage of the Modern Languages degree programme is that you are allowed to vary the proportions in which you study a language from year to year. In Stages 1, 2 and 4 you can choose to divide your time between developing your chosen languages, involving writing, listening and oral work, and studying a range of optional modules. Whilst the course offers flexibility, for a subject to be named on your degree certificate, you must take at least two modules in that language at Stage 2 and two modules at Stage 4.
In choosing your languages, you need to study at least one of French, German or Spanish at post-A level (or equivalent) standard. Your second (and third) language can be chosen from Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese or Spanish, which, depending on the language, can be studied from scratch, post-GCSE or post-A level (or equivalent) standards. Stage 3 will be spent abroad, giving you invaluable experience of living in another country. You can choose to split your time equally between the countries whose languages you are studying or if you prefer you can spend the whole year in just one of these countries. When you return to Newcastle, you continue to study both language and optional non-language modules and you can choose to write a dissertation on an approved topic during Stage 4. Past dissertation topics have included Identity in Post-Unification Germany and Changing representations of Women in Spanish Cinema.