About This Course
Wales has two major literatures, in two languages, with a long and rich history. This is a course for those who want to study the two traditions in parallel: in England and Wales from medieval times to the present, and also in the rest of Britain and around the world. As you read, research and write, you will develop analytical and critical skills relevant to a wide range of careers.Ìý
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The Welsh language at Bangor is a living language for this century and the next, without forgetting its long history. Here you will have the opportunity to not only study and enjoy one of the most remarkable Celtic literatures in the world, but also to pursue more practical modules that will prepare you for a career and the world of work. In Welsh and English, this course will enable you to research independently, to practise original thinking, to gain an intimate knowledge of literatures and cultures and to master various language registers. Our lecturers include world-renowned creative writers, in both languages, and, if you wish, you can take modules led by these experienced novelists, playwrights and poets.Ìý
You will also gain an awareness of Welsh and English in wide international contexts. What is the relationship of Welsh to the other languages of the world? What is ‘world literature’? How have writers and poets responded to global themes such as slavery, the Holocaust and the ecological challenge of the modern industrial world? From the earliest times to the present, the choice of modules is wide and the opportunities to broaden your horizons are endless.
A BA course such as this gives you much more than a certificate: it is a complete cultural and intercultural experience that will enable you to play a professional role in the excitement of a truly bilingual Wales. You can study literatures and cultures alongside language studies, on a rigorous academic course relevant to the social and linguistic needs of Wales. Our graduates work in areas such as the civil service, public relations, marketing, local government, broadcasting, publishing, teaching, translation, the arts and heritage. ÌýÌý
Why choose Â鶹´«Ã½¸ßÇå°æ for this course?
- Lecturers with international profiles, both academic and creative.
- Taught in small groups, which allows due attention to you and your work.
- Active theatre and poetry groups, both at university and in the wider community.
Additional Course Options
This course is available with a Placement YearÌýoption where you will study for 1 additional year. The Placement Year is undertaken at the end of the second year and students are away for the whole of the academic year.
The Placement Year provides you with a fantastic opportunity to broaden your horizons and develop valuable skills and contacts through working with a self-sourced organisation relevant to your degree subject. The minimum period in placement (at one or more locations) is seven calendar months; more usually you would spend 10-12 months with a placement provider.ÌýYou would normally start sometime in the period June to September of your second year and finish between June and September the following year.ÌýPlacements can be UK-based or overseas and you will work with staff to plan and finalise the placement arrangements.Ìý
You will be expected to find and arrange a suitable placement to complement your degree and will be fully supported throughout by a dedicated member of staff at your academic School and the University’s Careers and Employability Services.
You will have the opportunity to fully consider thisÌýoptionÌýwhen you have started your course at Bangor and can make an application for a transfer onto thisÌýpathway at the appropriate time. Read more about the work experience opportunities that may be available to you or, if you have any questions, please get in touch. Ìý
This course is available with an International Experience YearÌýoption where you will study or work abroad for 1 additional year.Ìý You will have ‘with International Experience’ added to your degree title on graduating.
Â鶹´«Ã½¸ßÇå°æing abroad is a great opportunity to see a different way of life, learn about new cultures and broaden your horizons.ÌýWith international experience of this kind, you’ll really improve your career prospects. There are a wide variety of destinationsÌýand partner universities to choose from. If you plan to study in a country where English is not spoken natively, there may be language courses available for you at Bangor and in your host university to improve your language skills.Ìý
You will have the opportunity to fully consider thisÌýoption at any time during your degree at Bangor and make your application. If you have any questions in the meantime, please get in touch.Ìý
Read more about the International Experience Year programme and see the studying or working abroad options on theÌýStudent Exchanges section of our website.
Course Content
The teaching is through lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops. You will write essays, undertake various weekly exercises and tasks, read, and prepare for seminars. Assessment is a combination of coursework and examinations, with some modules assessed solely on the basis of coursework. Your modules each year will be equivalent to 120 credits, and you will usually take half of these in English Literature, and half pertaining to Welsh.Ìý
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The first year will be an opportunity to build on your experiences and open new doors: e.g. discussing the Welsh language in contexts relating to its history and present-day state, learning new critical skills and responding originally to literature old and new, in both languages. You can choose from a wide range of modules in your second and third years: e.g., the novel from Daniel Owen and Charles Dickens to Manon Steffan Ros and Zadie Smith; the Welsh theatre; Romantic literature; experimental writing; modern poetry and eisteddfod odes; from Dafydd ap Gwilym to the Mabinogion; from Beowulf to Shakespeare - or why not study Welsh American culture and even ask "What is Literature?" Language modules range from historical to sociological, from the opportunity to learn Irish and Breton to modules that develop professional Welsh language skills in the workplace and also creative skills. In the third year you will write a dissertation and research a topic which you find particularly interesting. Recent topics selected have focused on individuals such as Dafydd ap Gwilym, Kate Roberts, Mihangel Morgan, Angharad Tomos, Caryl Lewis, Meic Stevens and Geraint Jarman and areas such as eco-criticism, gender and transgender, the language of Pembrokeshire, Welsh literature and slavery and even literature and horses or football in literature. ÌýÌý
Modules for the current academic year
Module listings are for guide purposes only and are subject to change. Find out what our students are currently studying on the Welsh and English Literature BA (Hons) Modules page.
Course content is for guidance purposes only and may be subject to change.
Facilities
General University Facilities
Library and Archive Services
Our four libraries provide a range of attractive study environments including collaborative work areas, meeting rooms and silent study spaces.
We have an extensive collection of books and journals and many of the journals are available online in full-text format.
We house one of the largest university-based archives not only in Wales, but also the UK. Allied to the Archives is the Special Collections of rare printed books.
Learning Resources
There is a range of learning resources available, supported by experienced staff, to help you in your studies.Ìý
The University’s IT Services provides computing, media and reprographics facilities and services including:
- Over 1,150 computers for students, with some PC rooms open 24 hours a day
- Blackboard, a commercial Virtual Learning Environment, that makes learning materials available on-line.Ìý
Entry Requirements
Offers are tariff based, 96 - 128 tariff points from a Level 3 qualification e.g.:
- A Levels:Ìý including grade B in Welsh (or a grade B in a humanities subject studies through the medium of Welsh - e.g. History, Geography, Religious Studies);ÌýEnglish Literature/English Language/English preferred but not required; General Studies and Key Skills not normally accepted
- BTEC National Extended Diploma**: MMM-DDM
- Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma**: MMM-DDM
- City & Guilds Advanced Technical Extended Diploma (1080): considered on a case-by-case basis
- International Baccalaureate Diploma: Including grade H5 in Welsh** and grade H5 in English Literature/Language
- Access**: pass required
- Welsh Baccalaureate:ÌýWe will accept this qualification in conjunction with other level 3 qualifications
- T Levels: T Levels in a relevant subject considered on a case-by-case basis
- Extended Project Qualification:ÌýPoints can include a relevant Extended Project (EPQ) but must include a minimum 2 full A-levels, or equivalent.
We are happy to accept combinations of the qualifications listed above, as well as alternative Level 3 qualifications such as City & Guilds, Access and Cambridge Technical Diplomas.Ìý
We also welcome applications from mature learners.
International Candidates: school leaving qualifications that are equivalent to A levels/Level 3 and/or college diplomas are accepted from countries worldwide (subject to minimum English Language requirements). More information can be found on ourÌýInternational pages.Ìý
*For a full list of accepted Level 3 qualifications, go toÌý.
**Can be considered in conjunction with another qualification in Welsh or taken through the medium of Welsh (e.g. A Levels).
Offers are tariff based, 104 - 128 tariff points from a Level 3 qualification e.g.:
- A Levels:Ìý including grade B in Welsh (or a grade B in a humanities subject studies through the medium of Welsh - e.g. History, Geography, Religious Studies);ÌýEnglish Literature/English Language/English preferred but not required; General Studies and Key Skills not normally accepted
- BTEC National Extended Diploma**: DMM-DDM
- Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma**: DMM-DDM
- City & Guilds Advanced Technical Extended Diploma (1080): considered on a case-by-case basis
- International Baccalaureate Diploma: Including grade H5 in Welsh** and grade H5 in English Literature/Language
- Access**: pass required
- Welsh Baccalaureate:ÌýWe will accept this qualification in conjunction with other level 3 qualifications
- T Levels: T Levels in a relevant subject considered on a case-by-case basis
- Extended Project Qualification:ÌýPoints can include a relevant Extended Project (EPQ) but must include a minimum 2 full A-levels, or equivalent.
We are happy to accept combinations of the qualifications listed above, as well as alternative Level 3 qualifications such as City & Guilds, Access and Cambridge Technical Diplomas.Ìý
We also welcome applications from mature learners.
International Candidates: school leaving qualifications that are equivalent to A levels/Level 3 and/or college diplomas are accepted from countries worldwide (subject to minimum English Language requirements). More information can be found on ourÌýInternational pages.Ìý
*For a full list of accepted Level 3 qualifications, go toÌý.
**Can be considered in conjunction with another qualification in Welsh or taken through the medium of Welsh (e.g. A Levels).
General University Requirements
To study for a degree, you’ll be asked for a minimum of UCAS Tariff points. For a fuller explanation of the UCAS Tariff Points, please see .
We accept students with a wide range of qualifications and backgrounds and consider each application individually.
All students need to have good basic skills and the University also values IT and communication skills.
As part of the University’s policy, we consider applications from prospective disabled students on the same grounds as all other students.
We also consider applications from mature students who can demonstrate the motivation and commitment to study a university programme. Each year we enrol a significant number of mature students. For more information about studying as a mature student, see our Â鶹´«Ã½¸ßÇå°æing at Bangor section of the website.
EU and International Students' Entry Requirements
For detailed guidance on the entry requirements for EU and International Students, including the minimum English Language entry requirement, please visit the Entry Requirements by Country pages. International applicants can also visit the International Education Centre section of our website for further details.
Â鶹´«Ã½¸ßÇå°æ offers International Incorporated Bachelor Degrees for International students whose High School qualification is not equivalent to the UK school leaving qualification. The first year (or Year 0) is studied at Â鶹´«Ã½¸ßÇå°æ International College, an embedded College on our University campus and delivered by Oxford International Education Group.
Careers
There has never been a more exciting time to study Welsh at Bangor, as an individual subject or in tandem with another field such as English Literature. There has never been more demand for a workforce that can use Welsh at senior professional levels. The goal is clear, it has been set by the Welsh Government: a million Welsh speakers by 2050 and a truly bilingual Wales. Ìý
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In pursuit of that aim, there will be a great need for confident Welsh-speaking graduates, who can use their language skills in flexible ways, who can think analytically and use their languages - both orally and in writing - in various work situations. Ìý
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The remarkable professional success of our students in employment - and their varied careers - already proves how entirely relevant this course is to the requirements of contemporary Wales. A proportion of our graduates are attracted into education, to be primary and secondary teachers, headteachers, education officers and directors of education. Others go into further education and to become university lecturers. Teaching Welsh for adults is also a key area. Television and digital and print media - including the BBC centre in Bangor - offer a cross-section of interesting jobs and have attracted other alumni into book publishing, creative writing and television scripting, public relations and marketing. There is also continuing demand for bilingual administrators and local government officers. And without the presence of Bangor's Welsh graduates, the translation industry would be quite different.Ìý
And present day graduates also have every right to aim high. The National Library of Wales, The National Theatre of Wales, Cwmni Da (one of Wales' largest production companies), the Welsh Parliament’s Translation and Reporting Service and Anglesey Council - what do they have in common? Bangor's Welsh graduates have reached the top of their professional careers in them and are at the helm in each of these organisations. Ìý Ìý Ìý
Opportunities at Bangor
The University’s Careers and Employability Service provides a wide range of resources to help you achieve your graduate ambitions.Ìý
Internships
Â鶹´«Ã½¸ßÇå°æ runs a paid internship scheme within the university’s academic and service departments.
Student Volunteering
Volunteering widens your experience and improves your employability. Find out more about volunteering on the .
Foundation Year
What is a Foundation Year course?
If you don’t have the required qualifications for the degree-level course or are looking to re-enter education after time away from study, then a Foundation Year Programme might be the right choice for you.
The Foundation Year is an excellent introduction to studying this subject at university and will provide you with the knowledge, skills and confidence required to go on to study this course at degree-level.
When you have successfully completed the Foundation Year, you can progress on to the first year of this degree-level course.