Skip to main content

Undergraduate Study

BA Media & Communications and Modern Languages - 2026 entry

Please note: The below is for 2026 entry. Click here for 2025 entry.
UCAS code Q332
Duration 4 years
Entry year 2026
Campus Streatham Campus
Discipline Media and Communications
Contact
Typical offer

View full entry requirements

A-Level: ABB
IB: 32/655
BTEC: DDM

Contextual offers

A-Level: BBC
IB: 28/554
BTEC: DDM-DMM

Overview

  • Combine a solid foundation in Communications with the study of a language and its culture.
  • You will hone practical and professional skills, equipping you to work across the creative industries or anywhere requiring people who understand how communications work.
  • Opportunity to experience different ways of learning, with specialist modules that cover everything from the history of communications and professional writing, to language and social interaction and global communications.
  • Excellent facilities on campus include our Special Collections relating to world-renowned writers, The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum which is a unique film and popular culture resource and our Digital Humanities Lab. Exeter has also recently been awarded UNESCO City of Literature status.
  • Option to spend your third year studying or working abroad in a country where you can develop your chosen language
  • You can choose to study any of our languages from beginners: Chinese (Mandarin); French; German; Italian; Portuguese; Russian; or Spanish

View 2025 Entry

Request a prospectus

Open Days and visiting us

How to apply

Contact

Web: Enquire online

Phone: +44 (0)1392 72 72 72

Rosette icon

Top 10 for Communication and Media Studies

8th in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025

Top 150 icon

Top 150 in world subject rankings for Modern Languages and Cultures

QS World University Subject Rankings 2025

An image of a globe on a stand, depicted through a line drawing, showcasing the continents and countries of the world.

Choose our 4 year course to spend a year abroad, studying at a partner university or in employment

Film icon

Unique on-site resources: Exeter’s Special Collections archive and The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum

Rosette icon

Top 10 for Communication and Media Studies

8th in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025

Top 150 icon

Top 150 in world subject rankings for Modern Languages and Cultures

QS World University Subject Rankings 2025

An image of a globe on a stand, depicted through a line drawing, showcasing the continents and countries of the world.

Choose our 4 year course to spend a year abroad, studying at a partner university or in employment

Film icon

Unique on-site resources: Exeter’s Special Collections archive and The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum

Course duration

International Placement (work or study)

Study/Work Abroad in Year 3 

A pivotal part of all Modern Language programmes is the International Placement, either studying at one of our prestigious partner universities, teaching on a British Council placement, or working in other employment. By immersing yourself in the culture you study, you will not only enhance your language skills, but cultivate:

  • strong intercultural understanding
  • improved communication skills
  • the ability to think and study in different ways
  • resilience and confidence
  • analytical skills and the ability to make cross-cultural comparisons
  • adaptability, independence and valuable life experience

During your International Placement, you will still be registered as an Exeter student and therefore supported in several ways. You will retain your personal tutor and be expected to keep in contact with them. You will also have the support of the Exeter Global Opportunities team for advice on any matter.

Study Abroad

Studying abroad offers a range of possibilities, with over 40 different partner universities worldwide available to Modern Languages students. This can provide you with the opportunity to experience a different academic environment with local and other international students broadening your knowledge of the language and culture you study.

Please note that Study Abroad placements at partner universities are subject to availability and the allocation of these places is competitive and based on first-year marks.

Why Study Abroad?

Living and studying in a different country is an exciting experience that broadens your academic and cultural horizons, as well as giving you the opportunity to widen your circle of friends. Students who have studied abroad demonstrate initiative, independence, motivation and, depending on where they stay, may also have gained a working knowledge of another language – all key qualities that employers are looking for in today’s competitive employment environment.

Does it count towards my degree?

Yes - the International Placement is an assessed year and the marks obtained count towards your final degree classification. If you begin a language in your first year at Exeter and intend to take that language in your final year, you must do your International Placement in that language. If you are a beginner and decide not to do an International Placement, you will be moved to the three-year Media & Communications and Global Cultural Studies BA programme.

How does it affect my tuition fee and funding?

For your International Placement you will pay a significantly reduced tuition fee to Exeter – for more information visit our fees pages. You will also continue to receive any Student Finance support for which you are eligible. Other financial support may also be available for certain students.

How do I apply?

You may apply directly to the four-year Media & Communications and Modern Languages BA with International Placement programme via UCAS – these students will be given priority of available study abroad placements. Alternatively, you may apply to the three-year Media & Communications and Modern Languages BA and are able to request to apply to change onto the four-year programme once you are at Exeter, subject to meeting eligibility criteria.

Please note that study abroad placements at partner universities are subject to availability and are not guaranteed on either option. The allocation of study abroad places is competitive based on your first-year average grade along with your successful completion of Years 1 and 2.

What happens if I am unable to secure a study placement?

Once at Exeter, if students cannot go or are unwilling to go on their International Placement year, they can apply to move to either the three-year Media & Communications and Modern Languages BA or the three-year Media & Communications and Global Cultural Studies BA programme, dependent on their language level by the final year. This would need to be approved by the department.

Entry requirements (typical offer)

Qualification Typical offer Required subjects
A-Level ABB Dependent on subjects chosen
IB 32/655 Dependent on subjects chosen
BTEC DDM Dependent on subjects chosen
GCSE C or 4 English Language
Access to HE 24 L3 Credits at Distinction Grade and 21 L3 credits at Merit Grade. Dependent on level chosen the required L3 credits in Modern Foreign Language subject area
T-Level Distinction Dependent on subjects chosen, GCE AL in a Modern Foreign Language will also be required.
Contextual Offer

A-Level: BBC
IB: 28/554
BTEC: DDM-DMM

Specific subject requirements must still be achieved where stated above. Find out more about contextual offers.

Other accepted qualifications

View other accepted qualifications

English language requirements

International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course. The required test scores for this course fall under Profile B2. Please visit our English language requirements page to view the required test scores and equivalencies from your country.

NB General Studies is not included in any offer.

Grades advertised on each programme webpage are the typical level at which our offers are made and provide information on any specific subjects an applicant will need to have studied in order to be considered for a place on the programme. However, if we receive a large number of applications for the programme we may not be able to make an offer to all those who are predicted to achieve/have achieved grades which are in line with our typical offer. For more information on how applications are assessed and when decisions are released, please see: After you apply

Language requirements

  • No previous language qualifications are required.
  • You may only choose one language.
  • French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish can be studied either from A level or beginner’s level, with both cohorts reaching degree level in the final year. Portuguese and Chinese can normally only be studied from beginner’s level, not from A Level; students of these two languages reach degree level in final year.
  • If you choose a beginners language, you must take the four-year variant of the course with an International Placement.

Languages and levels available for Combined Honours courses

I want to study a new language at beginner level alongside my other subject (excluding programmes with Arabic)

Modern Languages requirements No previous language qualifications required. We strongly recommend that students who want to start a languages degree with no previous linguistic experience should contact us.
Advanced level languages available n/a
Beginners level languages available Chinese (Mandarin); French; German; Italian; Portuguese; Russian; Spanish

I want to study my A level (or equivalent) language at advanced level alongside my other subject (including programmes with Arabic)

Modern Languages requirements A level grade B or IB HL5 or SL6 (or equivalent) in the language chosen at advanced level
Advanced level languages available French; German; Italian; Russian; Spanish
Beginners level languages available n/a

Completing your UCAS form

In the section named ‘further details’ on your UCAS application form please indicate in the ‘choices’ field the language and route you wish to study using the abbreviations below, separated by a space:

French Fren
Chinese (Mandarin) Chin
German Germ
Italian Ital
Portuguese Port
Russian Russ
Spanish Span

 

Read more

Course content

The modules we outline here provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.

Stage 1: 60 credits of compulsory Media & Communications modules, 30 credits of compulsory modules in your chosen language, 30 credits of optional Modern Languages modules

Compulsory modules

Subject to choosing 120 credits for the stage overall, you must:

a select 30 credits of compulsory modules in your chosen language.

CodeModule Credits
CMM1001 Perspectives on Communications 30
CMM1004 Communications Research Methods 30
ML and MC Stage 1 Compulsory Language Module Options 25-26 [See note a above]
MLF1001 French Language 30
MLF1052 French Language for Beginners 30
MLG1001 German Language 30
MLG1052 German Language for Beginners 30
MLI1001 Italian Language 30
MLI1052 Italian Language for Beginners 30
MLM1052 Beginners Chinese 30
MLP1052 Portuguese Language for Beginners 30
MLR1001 Contemporary Russian Written and Oral 30
MLR1030 Russian Language for Beginners 30
MLS1001 Spanish Language 30
MLS1056 Spanish Language for Beginners 30

Optional modules

b select 30 credits of optional modules consisting of content related to your chosen language; on the Modern Languages side of your programme, you may select a maximum of 15 credits of either the SML- or HUM/HAS-coded modules for the year. Please note that certain modules may only be available to students on Single Honours programmes, or to students who have taken a particular language module. This information will be given in the pre-requisites or co-requisites section of the relevant module descriptor.

CodeModule Credits
ML and MC Stage 1 Language optional content modules 25-26 [See note b above]
MLF1014 Love and Death in French Culture 15
MLF1017 The Making of Modern France 15
MLF1103 The French Language, Present and Past 15
MLF1105 An Introduction to French Thought 15
MLF1121 French Visual History 15
MLG1014 A Nation Remembers: Issues in German Cultural Memory 15
MLG1020 Made in Germany: the History and Culture of a Global Brand 15
MLG1021 Outside In: An Introduction to Outcasts and Outsiders in German-language Literature and Film 15
MLI1016 Italy Inside Out: Popular Visual Narratives about Italy 15
MLI1121 A Thousand Faces: Cultures and History in 19th-Century Italy 15
MLM1010 China of the Senses: Approaching Chinese Culture and Environments 15
MLM1013 A Brief History of Modern China (1861-Present) 15
MLP1002 Introduction to the Lusophone World 15
MLR1005 Chekhov's Major Plays 15
MLR1023 Russia: Empire and Identity 15
MLS1064 An Introduction to the Hispanic World: Texts in Context 15
MLS1065 The Making of Modern Spain 15
MLS1066 The Making of Modern Latin America: History Through Literature and Culture 15
SML1015 War And Conflict In French Literature 15
SML1067 Ideology in the Hispanic World 15
SML1105 Reason and Existence: An Introduction to French Thought 15
SML1207 Introduction to Film 15
SML1208 Language, Culture, International Relations 15

30 credits of compulsory modules in your chosen language and 30 credits of core for Communications.
60 credits of optional modules (30 credits of Communications options, and 30 credits of Modern Languages options).

Compulsory modules

Subject to choosing 120 credits for the stage overall, you must:

c Select 30 credits of compulsory modules in your chosen language.

d Select 60 credits of Media & Communications modules.

e Select 30 credits of optional modules consisting of content related to your chosen language

CodeModule Credits
CMM2002 Communications in the Workplace 30
Modern Languages Stage 2 Compulsory Language Modules [See note c above]
MLF2001 French Language, Written and Oral 30
MLF2152 Intermediate French 30
MLG2001 German Language, Written and Oral 30
MLG2052 Intermediate German 30
MLI2001 Italian Language, Written and Oral 30
MLI2051 Italian Language 30
MLM2052 Intermediate Chinese (One) 30
MLP2052 Intermediate Portuguese 30
MLR2001 Contemporary Russian Written and Oral I 30
MLR2030 Intermediate Russian 30
MLS2001 Spanish Language, Written and Oral 30
MLS2156 Spanish Language (ex-beginners) 30

Optional modules

CodeModule Credits
Combined Hons MC Stage 2 Media and Communications Module Options 25-26 [See note d above]
CMM2008 Communications Research Methods 30
CMM2010 Professional Writing 30
CMM2012 Communications and the Climate Crisis 30
CMM2014 Design Thinking 30
CMM2016 Economies of Engagement: Gamification and Platform Cultures 30
CMM2017 Internet Foundations and Frontiers 30
CMM2018 Media and the Law: Regulation, Governance, Ethics 30
EAF2502 Shots in the Dark 30
ML and MC Stage 2 Language optional content modules 25-26 [See note e above]
MLF2012 Evolution of the French Language 15
MLF2029 Varieties of French 15
MLF2056 Provoking Thoughts - French Literature and Philosophy from the Renaissance to the 20th Century 15
MLF2063 Crime and Punishment in French Fiction 15
MLF2065 Contemporary French Film: Issues and Debates 15
MLF2066 Intimate Spaces of the French Enlightenment 15
MLF2069 East is East? Cross-Cultural Encounters in Medieval French Literature 15
MLF2070 Violence and Virtue: Early Modern French Theatre 15
MLF2074 Translating Exile: Contemporary Francophone Women Writers 15
MLF2076 Subversive Texts: Baudelaire and Rachilde 15
MLG2003 Youth and Age: Generations in German Fiction and Film 15
MLG2018 Berlin - Culture, History and Politics 15
MLG2019 Gender, Race and Migration in 20th and 21st-century German Literature 15
AHV2208 Ideal Cities? Urban Cultures of Renaissance Italy 15
MLI2018 Love (and Marriage?) in Contemporary Italian Film Comedy 15
MLM2002 Politics of Contemporary China 15
MLM2010 Reading China: from Mandarins to Revolutionists 15
MLP2002 Portuguese as a Global Language 15
MLP2005 Travelling Identities in the Lusophone World 15
MLR2021 Understanding Russia 15
MLR2024 Exploring Revolution: The Making of Soviet Society and Culture in the 1920s 15
MLS2045 Federico Garcia Lorca: Theatre and Poetry 15
MLS2060 Love and Death in Spanish Drama 15
MLS2061 The Latin American Short Story 15
MLS2070 Catalonia Is Not Spain? Modern Catalan Culture in Context 15
MLS2072 Place and Identity in Contemporary Venezuelan Culture 15
MLS2158 "What is Love? And Do I Need It?" An Introduction to Spanish Renaissance Love Poetry 15
MLS2159 Key Modern Poets from Spain and Latin America 15
MLS2160 Fiction in Post-War Spain: Voices of Conformity and Subversion 15
ML and MC Stage 2 optional modules 25-26
SML2209 Music in Medieval Europe 15
SML2244 Multilingualism in Society 15
SML2246 Intercultural Communication 15
HUM2000 Humanities in the Workplace 30
HUM2001 Humanities in the Workplace 15
HUM2004 Making a Career in Publishing 15
HUM2005 Tales of Freedom, Necessity and Providence 15

If you choose the with International Placement variant of this course, your placement will take place in Year 3.

120 credit compulsory placement module

Compulsory modules

g - You must take one of these modules.

CodeModule Credits
SML3010 Work and Study Abroad [See note f above]120
SML3020 Study Abroad at a Partner University (with Assessment in the Foreign Language) [See note f above]120
SML3025 Internship Abroad Combined with Study at a Partner University Abroad [See note f above]120

Stage 3: 30 credits of compulsory dissertation, 30 credits of compulsory modules in your chosen language, 60 credits of optional modules including 30 credits of Media & Communications modules and 30 credits of optional modules consisting of content related to your chosen language.

Compulsory modules

Subject to choosing 120 credits in the stage overall, you must:

Select a Dissertation in either Media & Communications or Modern Languages: either CMM3002 or CMM3003 or SML3030 (you cannot choose more than one module from this group).

Select 30 credits of compulsory modules in your chosen language.

CodeModule Credits
CMM3002 Communications: Dissertation [See note h above]30
CMM3003 Communications: Practical Research Project [See note h above]30
SML3030 Extended Dissertation [See note h above]30
Modern Languages Final Stage Compulsory Language Modules [See note i above]
MLM3111 Advanced Chinese Language Skills 30
MLF3111 Advanced French Language Skills 30
MLG3111 Advanced German Language Skills 30
MLI3111 Advanced Italian Language Skills 30
MLP3111 Advanced Portuguese Language Skills 30
MLR3111 Advanced Russian Language Skills 30
MLS3111 Advanced Spanish Language Skills 30

Optional modules

j Select 30 - 60 credits of optional Media & Communications modules

select 0 – 30 credits of optional modules consisting of content related to your chosen language.

CodeModule Credits
ML and MC Final Stage Media and Communications Module Options 25-26 [See note j above]
CMM3005 Gender, Sexuality and Media 30
CMM3006 Digital Inequalities 30
CMM3007 Critical AI Studies 30
CMM3008 Imagining Tech Futures for the Common Good 30
CMM3009 Selling the Self: Influencer Culture and Digital Capitalism 30
CMM3010 Social Media and Migration 30
EAF3515 Something to See: War and Visual Media 30
EAF3518 Queering British Film and Television 30
EAF3519 Cinema in the Anthropocene 30
EAS3128 Writing the Short Film 30
ML and MC Final Stage Language optional content modules 25-26 [See note k above]
MLF3006 The Invention of Modern Love 15
MLF3034 Sociolinguistics of French 15
MLF3046 Dialectology in France 15
MLF3050 Music, Poetry and Society at the Late Medieval French Court 15
MLF3075 First-Person Outsiders in Modern French Literature 15
MLF3078 Philosophers, Prophets and Mystics in French Culture 15
MLF3079 Sex, Subversion and Censorship: Libertine Literature in Seventeenth-Century France 15
MLF3080 Les Miserables from the Nineteenth Century to the Present Day 15
MLF3081 Sexual Politics: Gender Dynamics in Early Modern France 15
MLG3036 Dictatorships on Display: History Exhibitions in Germany and Austria 15
MLG3037 Coping with Catastrophe: German Culture, Literature and Politics in the Interwar Years 15
MLG3040 Sex, Sciences and the Arts 15
AHV3002 Understanding Space in Renaissance Italy 15
MLI3032 Italian Screen Audiences: Film and television history from below 15
MLI3199 Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend 15
MLM3009 China through the Lens: Cultural Translation and Self-Presentation 15
MLM3011 China and the Third World: Foreign Relations and Nation Building in China in the Cold War Era 15
HUM3015 The Place of Meaning: Gardens in Britain and China 15
MLP3002 Afro-Brazil: Ideas of Africa in Brazilian Fiction 15
MLP3005 Changing voices: tracing the development of Portuguese over time 15
MLR3026 The Deceptive City: The Creation of St Petersburg in Russian Literature 15
MLR3027 The Making of Underground Russia, 1825-1917 15
MLS3037 Women and Feminism in 20th Century Spain 15
MLS3057 Cross Currents: Memory, Myth and Modernity in Latin America 15
MLS3067 "Monster of Nature and Phoenix of Wits." An Introduction to the Work of Lope de Vega 15
MLS3068 Staging Conflicts: Spanish Romantic Drama 15
MLS3112 Spanish Modernists: Narratives of Identity, Gender and Nation 15
ML and MC Final Stage Neutral Optional modules 25-26
SML3009 Intercultural Communication in a Global World 15
SML3013 Through the Language Lens: the Relationship between Language, Culture and the Mind 15
SML3031 Advanced Translation Skills 15
SML3036 Beyond Sex and the City: Becoming a Woman in Contemporary Western Cinema 15
SML3040 Women in Translation: Gender and Publishing in the 21st Century 15
SML3041 Green Matters in Modern Languages and Cultures 15
AHV3003 The Face 15
HUM3002 Aliens Abroad: Science Fiction in Global Literature 15
HUM3003 Hacking the Humanities: How to Plan and Run Successful Digital Projects 30
HUM3003A Hacking the Humanities: How to Plan and Run Successful Digital Projects 15
HUM3004 Transforming the Tablet: Digital Approaches to Ancient Text and Artefact 15
HUM3015 The Place of Meaning: Gardens in Britain and China 15
HUM3016 Book Publishing: Principles of Book Commissioning, Editing and Design 30

Fees

Tuition fees for 2025 entry

UK students: £9,535 per year
International students: £24,700 per year

Scholarships

The University of Exeter has many different scholarships available to support your education, including £5 million in scholarships for international students applying to study with us in the 2025/26 academic year, such as our Exeter Excellence Scholarships*.

Financial support is also available for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, lower income households and other under-represented groups to help them access, succeed and progress through higher education.

* Terms and conditions apply. See online for details.

Find out more about tuition fees and scholarships

Learning and teaching

How will I learn?

The nature of learning at university involves considerable self-guided study and research. You will be taught through a combination of lectures and discussion-based seminars. We also support the development of team-based learning by organising students into study groups, and we make full use of both traditional learning resources and our virtual learning environment. Lecturers and tutors are all available to provide further support in one-to-one consultations.

Most of your work will be done in group and self-directed study: reading or viewing module material, writing essays or preparing for your seminars. Active participation in seminars develops important transferable skills such as good verbal and visual communication and effective interaction with other people. You will also develop a range of professional abilities, such as time management and team working, plus valuable critical, analytical and communication skills.

We are actively engaged in introducing new methods of learning and teaching, including the increasing use of interactive computer-based approaches to learning. Through our virtual learning environment, you can access detailed information about modules, and interact through activities such as discussion forums. You will also have access to online subscription databases and websites, such as Early English Books Online (EEBO), Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO), MLA FirstSearch and JSTOR.

Assessment

You will be assessed in a variety of ways but primarily through exams and coursework. Coursework includes essays, a dissertation and presentation work. The ratio of formal exam to coursework is on average 40:60.

Your first year doesn’t count towards your final degree classification, but you do have to pass it in order to progress.

Other/Extra-curricular opportunities

We provide an exciting range of special lectures and seminars by visiting academics and renowned writers, actors and film directors. In addition to your academic work, the student-run English Society organises book and poetry readings, film screenings and social events, providing an opportunity to meet students who share a love of literature, culture and the arts. Students from the English department are always active on the University student newspapers, radio and TV station and in the University’s drama groups.

Optional modules outside of this course

Each year, if you have optional modules available, you can take up to 30 credits in a subject outside of your course. This can increase your employability and widen your intellectual horizons.

Proficiency in a second subject

If you complete 60 credits of modules in specified subjects, you may have the words 'with proficiency in’ added to your degree title when you graduate.

Find out more about proficiency options

Expand text

Facilities

Film students discussing artefacts at the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum

Students in the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum

We are exceptionally lucky to have some fantastic facilities and resources on the Streatham Campus.

Special Collections

We have Special Collections relating to writers such as Agatha Christie, Daphne du Maurier, and William Golding, and we integrate these into our teaching so students can share the excitement we have when discovering new insights from manuscripts, letters, and business papers.

The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum

Our unique film and popular culture resource, contains items going back hundreds of years. We regularly take students into its archives and think about the study of literature in relation to visual texts.

Digital Humanities Lab

Digital Humanities is increasingly important in all areas of humanities research, including history, archaeology, literatures and languages. This research space enables the examination, preservation and analysis of historical, literary and visual material. Facilities in the lab include:

  • a flagship seminar room equipped with a 4.2-metre video wall, encouraging interactive engagement in a shared display space
  • two state-of-the-art photography labs, including provision for the 2D digitisation of heritage material and primary sources
  • an audio-visual lab with a recording studio and sound editing suite
  • a MakerSpace equipped with 3D scanning and printing equipment

Your future

Professional experience

With practical modules on offer and opportunity to undertake professional placements, a degree in Communications and Modern Languages will give you plenty of opportunity to develop your professional portfolio which will give you the skills and experience needed to be successful in your chosen career.

Employer-valued skills this course develops

A Communications degree puts you in a great position to succeed in a range of careers. Oral and written communication is at the heart of our programme and you will learn to present your ideas in a variety of formats. You will also develop strong research and analytical skills and the ability to problem solve and make informed decisions. Through a balance of independent study and teamwork you will learn to manage your time and workload effectively.

Career paths

The programme will include module ‘Communications in the Workplace’, within which students will be encouraged to find work placements with providers in the communications and media sector, or projects which will enable them to carry out communication-related projects. In this module, students will undertake one or two work placements. The module will enable students to develop an understanding of how the skills and knowledge acquired as part of the degree apply to the workplace. Through reflexive practice, they will extend relevant work-based skills and knowledge. Students will have the opportunity to develop an understanding of a business or work environment through practical work and to gain experience in the use of technologies and applications commonly used in organisations.

Example careers

Graduates can expect to go on into roles in the following sectors:

  • Advertising
  • Digital Media
  • Events Organisation
  • Film-making
  • International Relations
  • Journalism
  • Marketing
  • Public Relations
  • Research
  • TV Production

Expand text