French and Italian (BA)

While French normally requires a minimum B grade at A2 level, the department will consider applications from students with an A grade at AS level. We also accept students with little or no previous knowledge of Italian, who will start with an intensive beginner’s language unit in the first year.

Applicants come from a diverse range of backgrounds and we accept a broad range of qualifications. Special consideration will be given to mature applicants, and we are happy to consider applicants with other qualifications, including QAA-approved Access to HE courses.

Students from overseas should visit the International| pages for further information on the entry requirements from their country and English language requirements.  Royal Holloway International offers an International Foundation Programme and English language pre-sessional courses, allowing students the opportunity to develop their study skills and English language before starting their undergraduate degree.

We make decisions based on achieved or predicted grades, personal statements and references. More information on how your application will be assessed, and tips for your personal statement can be found on our Applying| pages.

• You will be studying at a top-ranking languages department with an outstanding research record.
• We offer excellent quality equipment and dedicated language learning facilities.
• You will study at one of the most experienced and largest departments of Italian in the UK which offers courses at all levels – from beginners to advanced.
• You can choose from a wide range of exciting courses in each language covering literature, film and cultural studies, history and society, and philosophy and the history of ideas.
• You will spend a year abroad – joint honours students usually spend some time in each country – at a university, as a teaching assistant or on a work placement.

Each year you will take two course units in each subject. 

Both the French and Italian elements are structured around core course units in spoken and written language. (In Italian you will take either the advanced language course unit or the intensive language course unit for beginners in the first year.) You will use film resources and computer programmes designed by the School of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures; with language laboratories, satellite television and internet available all day for personal study.  

Elective course units cover areas as diverse as history, linguistics, politics, literature, theories of communication, cinema and the visual arts.

Throughout the course, you will:

• learn to converse and write confidently in French and Italian
• analyse and critique French and Italian materials in a wide variety of media
• engage with the rich and varied world-view represented through the French and Italian languages and understand their continuing role in world affairs.

All undergraduate degree courses at Royal Holloway are based on the course unit system. This system provides an effective and flexible approach to study, while ensuring that our degrees have a coherent and developmental structure. In the case of combined degree courses, this approach also makes it possible to change the balance of your subjects during your time at Royal Holloway.

The School's website| gives detailed lists of the course units taken for each different degree.

Our teaching combines a majority of seminars and small group work as well as role play and conversational activities, with some lectures. Private study and preparation are essential parts of every course, and you will have access to many online resources such as Powerpoint slideshows, copies of selected primary and secondary texts, audiovisual materials, class and seminar preparation aids, links to relevant external sites, quizzes and grammar and essay writing guidance, and the University’s comprehensive e-learning facility, Moodle. When you start with us, you are assigned a Personal Tutor to support you academically and personally and who holds regular surgery hours at least twice weekly.

Each course is assessed using a varied range of methods such as coursework and end of year examinations. Coursework includes essays, language exercises, translations and reports. Oral presentations and computer-based tests are used in some course units to assess grammar and comprehension skills. You can, to some extent, choose course units which suit your own assessment preferences.

 You will take a study skills course during your first year, designed to equip you with and enhance the writing skills you will need to be successful in your degree. This course does not count towards your final degree award but you are required to pass it to progress to your second year.

Choosing a language degree at Royal Holloway will equip you with not only a broad range of transferable skills – self-reliance, independent thinking, time-management – but the ability to communicate fluently in a foreign language is a rare skill that is highly valued by employers. As well as gaining practical skills in translation and interpretation, you will increase your cultural awareness, initiative and independence by spending time abroad.

Our recent graduates have very successfully entered a wide range of careers including many language-related fields including international management, consultancy, sales and marketing, media and publishing, banking, the arts, politics, the Civil Service, teaching, travel and tourism, translating and interpreting. Our graduates have also gone on to be language assistants and teacher trainers, as well as many going on to advanced study in a variety of fields. For more information on what our graduates are doing now, please see the School’s website|.