Our BA International Relations and Modern Languages (including foundation year) is open to Home and EU students. It will be suitable for you if your academic qualifications do not yet meet our entrance requirements for the three-year version of this course and you want a programme that increases your subject knowledge as well as improves your academic skills.
This four-year course includes a foundation year (Year Zero), followed by a further three years of study. During your Year Zero, you study four academic subjects relevant to your chosen course as well as a compulsory academic skills module.
You are an Essex student from day one, a member of our global community based at the most internationally diverse campus university in the UK.
After successful completion of Year Zero in our Essex Pathways Department, you progress to complete your course with the Department of Language and Linguistics. Beginning with an overview of international relations in your first year, from global political economy to studies of conflict of security, you then have a choice of topics to explore, such as:
- Comparative politics
- International political economy
- Political theory
- Politics of the Middle East
You also study up to two of the languages offered at Essex: French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, completing at least one language to Mastery level. Each of these languages is widely used in the business world, and can take you to a level of near-fluency, and so many of our graduates go on to develop successful global careers with international firms looking for language specialists.
We also offer a month-long summer course abroad with fees paid for by us if you start your main language from scratch via the intensive route.
We are 6th in UK for research power in politics and international studies (Times Higher Education research power measure, Research Excellence Framework 2021). We are also ranked 9th in the UK for politics and international studies in the QS World University Rankings by Subject (2023)
If you want a global outlook, are interested in human communication, and want to study for a degree with real-world practical value in a world-class department, welcome to Essex.
All of our modern languages courses include a compulsory year abroad. If you would like to study languages without a year abroad, our 3 year BA Language Studies programme may be for you.