Music and a Modern Language (BA)

This is a 4-year degree programme and it is structured to enable you to develop the language and musical competencies and skills to become a resourceful, independent, pluri-lingual critical thinker, equipped for professional employment.

In each year of the programme, you’ll study 120 credits. Your third year will be spent studying or working in a country where your chosen language is spoken. 

Several modules are prerequisites for the study of similar topics at more advanced levels in later years, so you are advised to consider the entire range of modules when selecting modules at the start to make sure you are able to follow through a ‘pathway’ of your choice. For example, in music, to complete the ‘major project’ composition portfolio module in year 3, you must successfully complete all prerequisite ‘composition’ modules in years 1 and 2. Modules in music are designed specifically to support you and ensure that you are equipped with sufficient techniques, skills, and experience in order to succeed on the programme.

The modules shown are an example of the typical curriculum and will be reviewed prior to the 2025/2026 academic year. The final modules will be published by September 2025.

Year one

Year 1 is designed to equip you with the essential skills and knowledge that will form the foundation of your studies. Combining music with your chosen language allows you to experience more than one field of study and to develop the flexibility and intercultural competence that potential employers are looking for. You’ll take 60 credits of music modules and 60 credits of language and cultural modules.

On the languages side, you’ll study one modern foreign language at either Elementary or Upper Elementary level. The first year provides a thorough foundation in the grammar of the language for students on the Elementary pathway and develops the linguistic skills for students on the Upper Elementary pathway. In addition to your language tuition, you’ll study a cultural-historical module for your chosen language.

In music, entirely optional modules are offered in music theory and analysis, composition (solo instruments and small ensembles), practical musicianship (solo performance), practical portfolio (ensembles, conducting, aural training), and techniques in jazz and popular music. There are also a trio of modules which will provide you with much needed support in historical and stylistic awareness of musical genres and traditions (Western and Non-Western, Popular, Jazz and Film Music, as well as Music Theatre) and developing an ability to write and talk confidently, fluently and critically about music.

To complement your academic study, you are actively encouraged to join the School-led  core ensembles if you choose not to formally take them as academic modules.

Year two

In year 2, you’ll study two 30-credit modules in modern languages and three 20-credit modules in music.

The language elements of year 2 build on the work undertaken in year 1. You’ll have advanced from the level of your year 1 language modules, and should see how your linguistic abilities, cultural awareness and overall confidence as a language user keep growing. You’ll advance your linguistic skills by studying a language module at Intermediate or Upper-intermediate level. This module prepares you for your time abroad in year 3.

In addition to language, you’ll study 30 credits looking at cultures, societies and histories of your chosen language from a global perspective. You’ll develop a more advanced and critical awareness of how these linguistic and geographic regions have shaped and been shaped by other cultures, global developments and events.

You can gain increased linguistic and professional skills by opting to study a business language or specialised translation module for one of your languages.

In year 2 music, you have the opportunity to consolidate your strengths while maintaining activity in a breadth of disciplines, choosing your modules from at least three of four groups:

• Analytical & Critical Skills
• Composition & Production
• Practical Musicianship
• Musicology & Placement

Year 2 modules on the Business of Music are designed to help you better understand different branches of the music profession and give an opportunity for a short work placement in an area related to music or the arts, in the spring semester.

Outside of your formal studies, you’ll have the opportunity to take part in our Modern Foreign Language (MFL) Mentoring project, supported by the Welsh Government. Mentors are trained to inspire and motivate secondary-school pupils and to help them consider their position and role in our multilingual and multicultural world.

You may also choose to take part in the Student Language Ambassador (SLA) scheme, acting as advocates for language learning. Following specific training, as an SLA you may get the opportunity to speak publicly at events, sharing your personal experience of language learning. You may take part in a range of activities, such as language taster sessions, presenting and promoting the year abroad, supporting school language

Year three: Sandwich year

Your third year will be spent in a foreign language-speaking country enabling you to develop your language skills, deepen your understanding of the culture and develop your independence, resourcefulness and resilience. Studying or working abroad is excellent preparation for your final year and gives you a level of self-confidence and maturity that has proven popular with employers.

You’ll spend a full academic year in the country of the language you are studying.

There are 3 options for your year abroad.

1. We have established exchange programmes which provide opportunities to study in institutions in cities in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.
2. A teaching placement - placements for teaching assistants on a scheme run by the British Council can take you to either a major city or a small, rural town in a wide variety of countries. This option provides first-hand teaching experience and allows you to earn a salary sufficient to live on, although you only work on a part-time basis. Prior to the start of your placement, the British Council provides a training weekend in the destination country. In addition, the school you have been assigned to should also guide you in your role as a teacher and help you to find a place to live.
3. A work placement - you’ll undertake a work placement with an organisation or company in the modern language-speaking world. The necessary arrangements can be made through personal contacts you may have or by approaching organisations directly. The school may also advertise suitable work placements. To ensure that your work placement affords you plenty of opportunity to speak your chosen language and provides you with a beneficial experience, such arrangements will require prior approval by the school.

No matter what you choose, the year abroad is a fantastic opportunity for you to improve your understanding of the language, immerse yourself in another culture, and gain international study or work experience.

Students who do not have citizenship rights in the relevant country must acquire a visa in order to work or study abroad. We have no control or influence over VISA application processes but will work with you to support and guide you in your preparations for visa applications and for your Year Abroad more broadly.

Year four

When we welcome you back to Cardiff in your final year, you’ll develop your linguistic, critical thinking and research skills further.

You’ll study one 30-credit Advanced language module, one 30-credit optional module from the language side of your degree plus 60 credits from the School of Music.

You’ll be able to expand your skills base and horizons through optional cultural-historical modules and through a wealth of extra-curricular options. Final year optional modules may vary from year to year, but they generally feature an array of contemporary topics and themes pertinent to one language or presented in a comparative, transnational framework. Themes and topics may include literature, film and visual culture, history, colonialism, and gender studies.

In music you can choose from at least 3 of the 4 subject groups and have the opportunity to study one of the 4 major project modules: dissertation, project in Ethnomusicology, project in Music Analysis, and Composition 3 (Composition Portfolio). There is also the opportunity to take a ‘minor project’ in performance (Practical Musicianship) worth 20 credits.

You’ll have the opportunity to write a dissertation, in which you’ll design and carry out a research project on a topic of your choice, supervised by a member of academic staff.

You may also take part in our very popular teaching module, during which you’ll undertake a teaching placement at one of our partner schools in the area.

The University is committed to providing a wide range of module options where possible, but please be aware that whilst every effort is made to offer choice this may be limited in certain circumstances. This is due to the fact that some modules have limited numbers of places available, which are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, while others have minimum student numbers required before they will run, to ensure that an appropriate quality of education can be delivered; some modules require students to have already taken particular subjects, and others are core or required on the programme you are taking. Modules may also be limited due to timetable clashes, and although the University works to minimise disruption to choice, we advise you to seek advice from the relevant School on the module choices available.