Bachelor of Arts (Global Languages)

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Course Overview
Key Facts
Course Outline
Further Education
Why Choose This Course?
Course Fees
Find Out More

Entry Points (2024)

377

Course Overview

This is a degree designed for students who are passionate about languages and who know that they want to work with languages.

This innovative and specialist language degree allows you to study two languages, with the possibility of taking another language at Beginner’s Level in the First year. Linguistics, Translation Studies and Media are embedded at all levels of the programme. At Undergraduate level, small language classes, with native speakers of the target language, facilitate the acquisition of a high degree of linguistic competence. Students will also study literary and other cultural products of their target language. Students may also choose to take short introductory courses in Chinese and modules in Latin will also be available.

This four-year degree programme incorporates a mandatory year of study abroad, typically involving study at partner institution(s). Students taking two languages will spend a semester immersed in each of their languages.

Learning outcomes for the programme

Students will be able to:

Communicate fluently and accurately in at least two languages at an Advanced level as defined by the proficiency criteria of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Demonstrate familiarity with major European literatures and cultures.
Demonstrate advanced translation skills. This will be achieved through exposure, over four years, to a wide selection of texts covering a range of registers, including journalistic and literary.
Demonstrate independent research skills.
Demonstrate familiarity in using technology for language mediation, at an advanced level.

“If you talk to a person in a language they understand, that goes to their head. If you talk to them in their own language - that goes to their heart.”

Nelson Mandela
Politician & Philanthropist

Applications and Selections

Who Teaches this Course

Requirements and Assessment

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

Minimum of Grade H5 in two subjects and a minimum of a H4 in a modern European language other than Irish and English and a passes in three other subjects at 06/H7 in the Leaving Certificate, including English.

Additional Requirements

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Duration

4 years

Next start date

September 2025

A Level Grades (2024)

universityofgalway.ie/alevels

Average intake

QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes

2 (More Info)

Closing Date

NFQ level

Mode of study

ECTS weighting

Award

CAO

GY128

Course code

Course Outline

Year 1:

In Year 1 of the BA (Global Languages), students take two languages with Global Language Studies, or alternatively choose three languages.

Pathway A	Pathway B
Language 1 (20 ECTS)	Language 1 (20 ECTS)
Language 2 (20 ECTS)	Language 2 (20 ECTS)
Global Language Studies (20 ECTS)	Language 3 (20 ECTS)

All students must take at least one language at post-Leaving Certificate level, or equivalent. We recommend that students taking three languages take no more than one at Beginner level

Global Language Studies

There are 3 core modules and 2 optional modules in first year:

Module Title

Code

Semester

ECTS

Skills for Language Learning

GLSK1100

1&2

Europe in Cinema	GL1102	1	5
Introduction to Translation	GL1101	2	5
Written Words and Spoken Languages in the Ancient World (Optional)	CC114	1&2	5
An Introduction to Chinese Language & Culture 1 (Optional)	CI1100	1&2	5

Year 2:

In Year 2 of the BA (Global Languages) students take one major language and one minor language with Global Language Studies, or one major and two minor languages.

Pathway A	Pathway B
Language 1 (30 ECTS)	Language 1 (30 ECTS)
Language 2 (15 ECTS)	Language 2 (15 ECTS)
Global Language Studies (15 ECTS)	Language 3 (15 ECTS)

Global Language Studies

There are 3 core modules in second year:

Module Title	Code	Semester	ECTS
Media and Sociocultural Representation in Europe	GL2100	1 & 2	5
Translation in the World: Skills and Concepts	GL2101	2	5
Introduction to Linguistics	GL2102	1	5

Year 3:

Year 3 of the the BA (Global Languages) programme is a structured year of mandatory immersion in the target languages. Students taking Gaeilge as one of their languages will spend one semester in the Gaeltacht, and one semester on Erasmus in one of the countries of their other language. Students taking two European languages will take one of the following routes:

Academic year on Erasmus in one of the language areas (and minimum of 12 weeks in the other language area).
One Semester on Erasmus in each of the language areas.
Work placement as Language Assistant for a year in one of the language areas (and minimum of 12 weeks in the other language area).

The key outcomes of the third year of the programme are as follows:

Students will achieve a high level of proficiency in their target languages in the four key areas of speaking, listening, writing and reading, using formal or informal registers where appropriate.
Intercultural competency and cultural sensitivity: students will appreciate the internal diversity and cross-cultural connectedness of cultures and demonstrate openness towards other cultures.
Develop strategies of language-learning suited to their personal needs and foster independent study skills.
Develop skills of independence, self-reliance by living and working abroad.
Acquire a greater awareness of their own values and culture.

Year 4:

In Year four of the BA (Global Languages) students will continue to major in their primary Language (30 ECTS) and either continue their two Language minors or one Language Minor and a minor in Professional Skills modules.

Pathway A	Pathway B
Language 1 (30 ECTS)	Language 1 (30 ECTS)
Language 2 (15 ECTS)	Language 2 (15 ECTS)
Global Language Studies (15 ECTS)	Language 3 (15 ECTS)

Modules in final year will allow students to consolidate their specialism in Media, Technology, Linguistics or Translation through research projects and practice-based modules.

Curriculum Information

Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).
Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Glossary of Terms

Credits: You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.
Module: An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.
Subject: Some courses allow you to choose subjects, where related modules are grouped together. Subjects have their own required number of credits, so you must take all that subject's required modules and may also need to obtain the remainder of the subject's total credits by choosing from its available optional modules.
Optional: A module you may choose to study.
Required: A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).
Required Core Subject: A subject you must study because it's integral to that course.
Semester: Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year, so a three-year course will have six semesters in total. For clarity, this page will refer to the first semester of year 2 as 'Semester 3'.

Year 1 (60 Credits)

Year 2 (60 Credits)

Year 3 (60 Credits)

Year 4 (60 Credits)

Further Education

Graduates of the BA in Global Languages are well qualified to pursue a wide range of courses at MA and PhD level. Students may also consider conversion courses in translation, interpreting, subtitling, International Relations and International Business. University of Galway has excellent and well-established offerings including:

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

Modern Languages graduates are extremely employable and develop highly successful careers in translation, international media, diplomatic services, advertising, multinational companies, EU institutions and teaching at all levels

Graduate Attributes for the Programme.

Our graduates possess:
Excellent multilingual communication skills.
Intercultural competency and cultural sensitivity
Digital literacy and advanced skills in the use of professional translation technologies
Critical and innovative thinking
Creativity
Teamwork.

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

Transferable Skills Employers Value

Work Placement

Year 3 of the programme is a structured year abroad, involving study at partner institution(s) or a combination of study at a partner institution and work placement.

Study Abroad

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

€6,076 p.a. (€6,216 p.a. including levy) 2025/26

Fees: Tuition

€3,076 p.a. 2025/26

Fees: Student Contribution

€3,000 p.a. 2025/26

Fees: Student levy

€140 p.a. 2025/26

Fees: Non EU

€20,500 p.a. (€20,640 p.a. including levy) 2025/26

EU Fees are comprised of Tuition + Student Contribution Charge + Student Levy* €140. *Payable by all students and is not covered by SUSI. Further detail here.

For 25/26 entrants, where the course duration is greater than 1 year, there is an inflationary increase approved of 3.4% per annum for continuing years fees**.
**Excludes Full-Time EU Undergraduate fees. These are fixed and do not change.

Find out More

Dr Máire Áine Ní Mhainnín,

Senior Lecturer in French,

Head of the Discipline of French,

School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures,

Email mary.mannion@universityofgalway.ie

Tel 091 493394

What Our Students Say

Fynn Duclaux | BA (Global Languages)

This course helped me further my knowledge not only in terms of grammar but also in the understanding of the cultures behind each language. The variety of modules cover a wide aspect of how languages are used in certain careers, ranging from teaching, to translating, interpreting, communication, machine translation and many more. The Erasmus year prepares you for life, teaching you valuable inter-personal skills and immersing you in the languages you study. Languages allow us to interact with wider audiences and work together towards a common goal or interest, this module provided me with the skills to do so.