Languages and Global Cultures

BA Hons

  • UCAS code R811
  • Entry year 2026
  • A level requirements ABB
  • Duration Full time 4 years
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We welcome applications from the United States of America

We've put together information and resources to guide your application journey as a student from the United States of America.

Overview

Top reasons to study with us

  • 3

    3rd for French

    The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide (2025)

  • 3

    3rd for Iberian Languages

    The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide (2025)

  • 4

    4th for Italian

    The Complete University Guide (2025)

Unlock opportunities, think globally, and embrace your passion for languages. You’ll graduate with expertise in two or more languages, cultural awareness, and practical experience. These are powerful assets in our complex multilingual world. Combined with the strong collaboration, communication and leadership skills you’ll develop on this course, you’re sure to stand out to employers on the world stage.

Choose up to four languages from Chinese, German, French, Italian, and Spanish at all levels and Arabic at beginners level.

Why Lancaster?

  • Study up to four languages from beginners, intermediate or advanced levels through a combination of flexible pathways, helping you become a multi-lingual graduate
  • Engage in an interactive, collaborative approach to learning supported by our academic experts
  • Benefit from an internationally recognised qualification framework, helping you develop the skills and confidence to work as a language and cultures specialist, either in the UK or abroad
  • Study languages alongside important global affairs issues such as environmental challenges and climate change, politics, health care and human rights
  • Embrace the opportunity to live, study or work abroad during your degree, giving you the chance to immerse yourself in your chosen country or countries

Choose your Language. Choose your Level

Studying Languages and Global Cultures at Lancaster gives you the flexibility to choose up to four languages at various levels. You can choose to study Chinese, German, French, Italian, and Spanish at all levels and Arabic at beginners level.

Modelled on the Common European Framework of Reference for languages and HSK proficiency levels, this course allows you to follow a progressional ladder on an internationally recognized scale, ensuring you become a multi-lingual graduate in at least two languages.

A global and future-orientated approach

This programme offers a fresh, flexible, and global approach to modern languages and cultures. You will explore the past, present, and future of global cultures, analysing major global issues and how language and cultural knowledge shape responses to these challenges.

Alongside language development, you will study topics such as the climate emergency, global health crises, human rights, and community engagement. You will learn how these topics intersect with issues of race, gender, sexuality, disability, and belief across diverse language communities around the world.

Your language learning will be enriched by cultural studies, covering film, visual media, literature, art, and history, providing a comprehensive understanding of the societal contexts of your chosen languages.

Additionally, you will investigate the future of global languages, the role of emerging technologies, and the evolving career opportunities for language specialists.

Preparing for your career

With a strong focus on skills and employability, this programme will ensure you acquire transferable multilingual skills and attributes that are attractive to employers. As a multilingual graduate you will gain enhanced cognitive function, improved memory, enhanced decision-making skills and increased neural connectivity. Speaking different languages also allows for the exchange of ideas, increases empathy, and allows access to different perspectives, attributes that are highly desirable to employers.

Many of these attributes will aid you in developing skills such as teamwork, problem-solving, negotiation, and research analysis, all of which are desirable to international companies and organisations.

In year three you will put these skills into practice by spending a minimum of 3 months abroad, working or studying in your chosen country. Alternatively, you can opt to work for an overseas company in the UK.

There are also opportunities for working on school, charity, and community projects in the UK in your non-core languages in your final year.

Expand your horizons with a year abroad

Granada. The fortress and palace complex Alhambra.

Your Global Engagement Year

Spending up to a year abroad is an integral and assessed part of our language degrees.

Through studying or working overseas, engaging globally gives you the opportunity to improve your language proficiency, broaden your cultural knowledge and gain transferable skills that are much valued by employers.

The Global Engagement Year is compulsory for students taking Chinese, French, German or Spanish. Please note that there is no placement year for Italian.

Global Engagement Year
Yu Garden or Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai

Study at a partner university

We offer flexibility to split your time abroad between different activities.

You can choose to study courses taught in your target language at one of our partner universities.

If you are studying Chinese, you will be able to study or undertake a work placement in a Chinese language environment.

Global Engagement Year
Graz city centre

Work placements

We offer flexibility to split your time abroad between different activities.

You may wish to spend your Global Engagement Year on a work placement for a company or as a Language Assistant for the British Council. This adds invaluable work experience to your academic skills.

We provide plenty of support to identify opportunities and secure an internship.

Global Engagement Year
view of Jet d'eau fountain Geneva

Work with the British Council

You may apply to spend your Global Engagement Year working as a Language Assistant with the British Council.

This role involves supporting the teaching of English in a school or university, planning activities and producing resources to help students improve their English as well as introducing UK contemporary culture through classroom and extra-curricular activities.

You may also support the running of international projects and activities.

Global Engagement Year

The student experience

Our students share their experiences of spending a year abroad, the skills they gained and learning how to become more independent.

Global Engagement Year
the forbidden city in Beijing

Support

We aim to offer a range of support including:

  • Regular preparation meetings and a dedicated preparation course
  • All aspects covered: organisational, social and cultural, health and safety
  • Dedicated tutors providing individual personalised advice

We take your health and safety seriously and make sure that you feel fully prepared for any issues that may arise during your placement.

Global Engagement Year

Careers

By studying Languages and Global Cultures at Lancaster, you will graduate with a multi-lingual, multi-cultural set of skills that will help open doors to a wide range of career destinations. Language graduates are in high demand in roles which require collaboration, communication, leadership skills, and critical thinking, as well as intercultural competencies and creativity.

Graduates of this programme might choose to pursue careers in roles such as:

  • Intelligence analyst linguist
  • Global Supply Chain Manager
  • Management Consultant
  • Translator or Interpreter
  • Language Teacher
  • Marketing specialist
  • Journalist
  • Book editor
  • Civil servant
  • Security Service Personnel
  • Cultural Consultant
  • Museum or Gallery Educator

This programme will also prepare you to move into more advanced study including one of the School of Global Affairs’ master’s programmes:

MA Global Affairs

MA Sustainability and Global Environmental Futures

MA Artificial Intelligence, Society and Global Challenges

MA Global Medical and Health Humanities

Careers and employability support

Our degrees open up an extremely wide array of career pathways in businesses and organisations, large and small, in the UK and overseas.

We run a paid internship scheme specifically for our arts, humanities and social sciences students, supported by a specialist Employability Team. The team offer individual consultations and tailored application guidance, as well as careers events, development opportunities, and resources.

Whether you have a clear idea of your potential career path or need some help considering the options, our friendly team is on hand.

Lancaster is unique in that every student is eligible to participate in The Lancaster Award which recognises activities such as work experience, community engagement or volunteering and social development. A valuable addition to your CV!

Find out more about Lancaster’s careers events, extensive resources and personal support for Careers and Employability.

Careers

Find out about some of the careers our alumni have entered into after graduation.

Entry requirements

These are the typical grades that you will need to study this course. You may need to have qualifications in relevant subjects. In some cases we may also ask you to attend an interview or submit a portfolio. You must also meet our English language requirements.

Find more about these qualifications and others not shown here

Learn about how we will assess your application

Qualifications and typical requirements accordion

Important information

You will not be able to study a language if you are an L1 speaker of that language, or if you are fluent above CEFR B2. You will typically not be able to study a language from beginners' level if you have studied it to A level or equivalent. If you have studied a language to A level, we would expect you to have achieved at least grade B.

Contact Admissions

If you are thinking of applying to Lancaster and you would like to ask us a question, please complete our enquiry form and one of our team will get back to you.

International foundation programmes

Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored foundation pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University degrees. Visit the INTO Lancaster University website for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.

Contextual admissions

Contextual admissions could help you gain a place at university if you have faced additional challenges during your education which might have impacted your results. Visit our contextual admissions page to find out about how this works and whether you could be eligible.

Course structure

Enhancing our curriculum

We continually review and enhance our curriculum to ensure we are delivering the best possible learning experience, and to make sure that the subject knowledge and transferable skills you develop will prepare you for your future.

We will publish more detailed information about the structure of this degree course for 2026-entry in June 2025, ahead of our summer undergraduate open days. This will include overviews of the core modules you will take and examples of optional modules which may be available to you.

Fees and funding

We set our fees on an annual basis and the 2026/27 entry fees have not yet been set.

Fees and funding information

Additional fees and funding information accordion

Scholarships and bursaries

Details of our scholarships and bursaries for students starting in 2026 are not yet available.

You can use our scholarships for 2025-entry applicants as guidance.

Important information

The information on this site relates primarily to 2026/2027 entry to the University and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.

The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.

More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.

Our Students’ Charter

We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. View our Charter and other policies.

Undergraduate open days 2025

Our summer and autumn open days will give you Lancaster University in a day. Visit campus and put yourself in the picture.

Undergraduate Open Days
two students sitting and reading on some outdoor steps

  • Virtual tour

    Take five minutes and let us show you what Lancaster has to offer, from our beautiful green campus to our colleges, teaching and sports facilities.

  • Accommodation guide

    Most first-year undergraduate students choose to live on campus, where you’ll find accommodation to suit different preferences and budgets.

  • The city and beyond

    Our historic city is student-friendly and home to a diverse and welcoming community. Beyond the city you'll find a stunning coastline and the picturesque Lake District.