Languages Degrees

If you are registered for one of the degrees with a language, the proportion of language units that you are required to take will depend upon your qualifications on entry: if you have an A level in your chosen language at grade B or above, you will take 100 credits in biological sciences and 20 credits in your chosen language, excluding cultural units (route a); if not, you will take 80 credits in biological sciences and 40 credits in your chosen language, including cultural units (route b). Details of the biological sciences units can be found on the academic advisements for the relevant life science degree programme. Details of the language units can be found on the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures website www.alc.manchester.ac.uk and you should discuss your choice of units with the relevant Language School. Timetabling may be challenging so you must check carefully that all mandatory units do not clash (tell the staff in the Student Support Office immediately if they do). You may only choose optional units that do not clash with other units.

You will be expected to spend the third year of the programme working in a University in the country of your chosen language. The placements are usually arranged via Erasmus+ a network of European Universities to which Manchester belongs, or arrangements are made with partner Universities in Japan or China. The Language placement coordinator (Dr Patrick Gallois) will contact you during your second year to begin discussions about potential placements.

Language placements are for 9 months (in Europe) or 10 months (Japan and China). These placements are with Universities with whom the School has a student exchange agreement and a list of these Erasmus Exchange Partners can be found on the intranet .

You will be expected to visit the websites of these Universities and identify and contact potential project supervisors during the first semester of your second year. The Placement Office can also provide you with the contact details of the individual responsible for student exchanges, who may also offer assistance. Note that while you are guaranteed a placement under the exchange agreement, it is up to individual academics to decide if they can supervise a project with you in their lab and you may therefore have to approach a number of individuals before you are accepted. You should keep the Placement Office and Language Placement Coordinator (Dr Patrick Gallois) informed of your progress and any difficulties that may arise.

If you feel that you no longer wish to continue on a programme with a language and would like to transfer to a standard three-year BSc degree, please discuss this with your Programme Director and/or Academic Advisor. A completed Degree Programme Change form should be submitted to the Student Support Office if you do decide to transfer off the language programme.