Liberal Arts with a Language Year Abroad

A Liberal Arts degree is ideal for creative and inquisitive individuals who have a wide range of interests. Choosing to take this highly-prized yet rarely available degree at Royal Holloway will provide you with the opportunity to create a bespoke programme that is perfectly aligned to your individual interests and passions. Liberal Arts involves an internationally-recognised approach to study that will prepare you for life in our rapidly changing world. Multifaceted, diverse and adaptable graduates are increasingly sought by employers looking for people able to respond quickly and effectively to shifting needs and opportunities.

This degree is truly interdisciplinary and will allow you to have adopt either a concentrated or a broad focus in your studies, as you choose from a vast range of subjects available across the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. The core courses will enable you to connect with your fellow Liberal Arts students and provide you with a strong foundation upon which to base your chosen studies, and you will prompted to think about how to bring different disciplines into conversation with each other.

You will study a Modern European language (French, German, Italian or Spanish) throughout your degree, starting either as a beginner or at an advanced level, ensuring that you learn to speak and write fluently. This will prepare you for an exciting year abroad working, studying or both. This will enable you to immerse yourself in the language and culture and develop a global perspective, taking advantage of the partnerships we have with many prestigious universities or in an approved work placement overseas.

You will be taught by internationally renowned experts in their fields and be fully supported by a Personal Tutor. This programme has a strong emphasis on teamwork alongside individual development and will equip you with skills of critical thinking, creativity and adaptability.

• A globally recognised degree; Liberal Arts degrees are well-established in the USA and Canada and are becoming increasingly popular in the UK

• Careers support; you will have the opportunity to boost your skills by applying for work placements and take advantage of the careers support that we offer to graduates.

• Inspiring international community; you will be part of our close-knit international community, the 8,500 students at Royal Holloway are from 130 countries.

Course Modules

Core Modules

Year 1

• Critical and Cultural Encounters

Year 2

• Power, Society and Cultural Practice

Year 3

• Liberal Arts Language Year Abroad

Year 4

• All modules are optional

Optional Modules

For more information on optional modules, please see the list here: https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/undergraduate/liberal-arts/liberal-arts-with-a-language-year-abroad/

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/undergraduate/liberal-arts/liberal-arts-with-a-language-year-abroad/

Teaching & assessment

• The course has a modular structure. You will take 120 credits’ worth of modules each year in years 1, 2 and 4, and 60 during your year abroad.

• You will take the equivalent of four units each year. These will be drawn from a variety of departments, and so the teaching and assessment methods will vary widely, depending upon your own choices.

• In most cases, you will be taught by a mixture of lectures, seminars, and small group tutorials.

• In all these cases, your learning will be informed by your own independent research.

• You will be supported in your studies by a Personal Tutor, who will be available to discuss your progress and to provide advice on all academic matters.

• You will also have access to your instructors for more specific advice about courses.

• Assessment methods will include essays, reports, oral presentations, texts, projects, and examinations.

• In your final year, you will write a dissertation, a long essay based on your own, independent research, which will be up to 8,000 words in length.

• You will also take a study skills module during your first year, designed to equip you with and enhance the writing skills you will need to be successful in your degree. This module does not count towards your final degree award but you are required to pass it to progress to your second year.