BA, 4 years, UCAS: W4RX
Typical A level offer: AAB-ABB
Subject overview
Why languages?
The study of languages enables you to acquire excellent communication skills and enhance your understanding of your own and other cultures. Knowledge of a foreign language gives you access to the intellectual achievements and social developments of the countries where the target languages are spoken. In addition, the ability to speak a second language and the experience of having spent time studying or working abroad are major assets in the employment market. To quote Nelson Mandela: ‘If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.’
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Why languages at Sussex?
Intellectually stimulating courses with relevant practical applications.
Start post-A level and/or from beginner’s level at the appropriate standard.
Reach a high level of proficiency with the expert tuition of experienced language tutors.
Enjoy all the academic, social, personal and, ultimately, professional benefits of the year abroad, whether working, teaching or studying at a partner university.
Profit from studying alongside visiting and exchange students from continental Europe and beyond.
Sussex offers different ways to study languages:
- courses: we offer a single-honours course (two languages) and, in some subject areas, joint courses including a language with the choice of French, Italian or Spanish. All these courses are four years long and incorporate a third year abroad, studying or working in a foreign-language setting
- other opportunities to study a language: students on a wide range of non-language courses can gain proficiency in a variety of languages as one of the electives available within their course.
Other opportunities to study a language
Electives
The University is enhancing the opportunities it provides for you to broaden and enrich your studies through a new system of electives in single-honours subjects. Most subjects across the arts, sciences and social sciences are offering electives, the exceptions being where professional-body requirements do not provide sufficient space within the curriculum (eg law, accountancy, engineering). Under the electives system, you will be able to choose to spend 25 per cent of your time in your first and second year on a range of subjects.
Electives will either be offered as stand-alone modules you choose to broaden or enrich your studies, or as a specific named pathway over Years 1 and 2 (refer to Language as an elective below). Students successfully completing a named pathway will have this recorded on their degree certificate.
We are also developing new ‘pathways’ of electives, which will allow you to choose a series of electives that together make up a coherent strand of learning. We already have these in place for languages and teaching English as a foreign language, as explained on the right. We will be looking to create other pathways from the range of electives we offer for 2014. If you choose a pathway from the start of your course and complete the electives, you will be able to have this recorded as part of your final degree and transcript – giving added value to your studies and showing the skills and knowledge you have developed at Sussex. For the latest information on these elective pathways, visit Undergraduate courses 2014.
Language as an elective
As part of the electives system, we have developed a flexible language programme, allowing students on a wide range of single-honours courses to opt for the award of ‘... with proficiency in (a specific language)’ at intermediate or advanced level. This is recorded on your degree certificate, as a named part of your degree.
You take language electives as part of your course for two years. Depending on your prior level of study of your chosen language, you start at beginner’s level and progress to intermediate level, or start at intermediate level and progress to advanced level. To qualify for the ‘... with proficiency in (a specific language)’ award, you need to successfully complete the two-year programme in one language at intermediate or advanced level. As we offer languages from beginner’s level, there are no language entry requirements for this scheme.
For 2014 entry, the range of languages will include French, German, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese and Mandarin Chinese.
English Language Teaching as an elective
As well as modern foreign languages, we are also offering English Language Teaching as an elective, taken over Years 1 and 2. Students successfully completing this elective may obtain a professional qualification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). This qualification will significantly enhance your employability and future opportunities as a graduate.
Open language courses
If you are interested in learning a new language or improving your existing foreign-language skills outside the context of your chosen course, Sussex offers the opportunity to study a language on a weekly basis with other students, members of the University staff and the local community. You can choose from Arabic, British Sign Language, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Mandarin Chinese, Russian and Spanish classes. The majority of classes take place in the early evening.
All of our open language courses offer the opportunity to develop language skills and to learn about the country and customs concerned.
Independent language learning
The Language Learning Centre provides state-of-the-art technology that supports self-access language learning. Foreign-language newspapers and magazines are also available. Further information about these courses and tuition fees is available from the Open Course Office (email opencourses@sussex.ac.uk) or at the Sussex Centre for Language Studies.
Why drama studies?
Studying drama equips you with a broad range of skills, both practical and theoretical, that are transferable in a variety of cultural spheres and contexts.
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Why drama studies at Sussex?
Drama studies at Sussex was ranked 4th (87 per cent) for organisation and management and also scored 93 per cent in the teaching category of the 2012 National Student Survey (NSS).
Drama at Sussex was ranked in the top 15 in the UK in The Complete University Guide 2014 and in the top 20 in the UK inThe Times Good University Guide 2013 and The Sunday Times University Guide 2012.
In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), 95 per cent of our drama research was rated as recognised internationally or higher, and over half rated as internationally excellent or higher.
Throughout your course, you will explore a range of ideas, issues and questions relating to theatre and performance, in particular how such practices relate to different social, political, aesthetic and cultural arenas. You will address these through a rigorous combination of theory and practice, and develop confidence and ability both as a creative practitioner and thinker.
Specialist teaching from active practitioners and researchers in specific historical periods, as well as in international contemporary theatre practices and performance.
Our curriculum explores the relationship between theory and practice in the seminar room, in studio workshops and with professional visiting artists and practitioners.
Programme of study that moves from the introduction of first principles, via their more sophisticated application, to areas of research-led individual specialism.
Strong relationships with local and national arts organisations (including the Brighton International Festival), and opportunities to work with them during your course. We encourage you to gain valuable professional experience and thus develop your career prospects.
Emphasis on group work and collaboration in teaching and assessment.
Full-scale performance project taught to professional standard (final year) to an invited public.
Programme content
This course combines drama and language studies, and offers you the opportunity to acquire a foreign language and historical, dramatic and cultural knowledge in an integrated fashion. The course allows you to develop language skills while spending a year at a university in a country where your chosen language is spoken.
Alongside your drama modules, you focus on a language in combination with modules on the culture of the country in which it is spoken, or of Europe generally.
We continue to develop and update our modules for 2014 entry to ensure you have the best student experience. In addition to the course structure below, you may find it helpful to refer to the 2012 modules tab.
Core content
Year 1
You study your target language(s), with the focus on accuracy and fluency in both speaking and writing. You can explore study skills that allow you to make the best of our well-equipped Language Learning Centre
Alongside language study you follow modules giving you an insight into the ideas and events that underpin modern society in the countries of Europe and beyond. What is it like to live and work in France, Italy and Spain today? What place does Europe have within the wider international context and what are the attitudes of Europeans towards their own countries, Britain, the rest of Europe and the world beyond?
You are also introduced to aspects of cultural difference. What is culture? What part does cultural competence play in communication between speakers of different mother tongues?
Year 2
Your language study becomes more demanding, with the focus on high levels of competence in tasks such as giving oral presentations, writing reports, summarising spoken and written texts, writing book and film reviews, and holding meetings and discussions. The advanced study of your language prepares you for your third year abroad. In addition to your language study, you explore cultural, political, historical, literary and social aspects of countries in and beyond Europe where French, Italian or Spanish are spoken. You also learn about language in use and consider ways in which language is affected by differing social contexts. How does language reflect culture? How do we signal politeness, formality, irony, etc in English? How does this compare with other languages? What issues do such questions raise for translation and mediation between cultures? You have the opportunity to investigate these and other related areas
Year 3
Your third year is spent abroad, studying at one of our partner universities, on a work placement or as a teaching assistant in a school
Year 4
You take language modules including an introduction to the vocational skills of translation and interpreting. You will also develop and deepen your knowledge of relevant social or cultural issues through the study of special subjects
How will I learn?
Learning and teaching are focused around language classes, complemented by lectures and seminars both on broad European issues of modern and contemporary importance, and on specific topics relevant to the target language(s). Subjects range widely from popular culture and current affairs to philosophy, politics, history, information technology, art and photography, film and theatre.
There will be ample opportunity for group work, as well as for individual research and self-directed study. Materials include texts from literary and journalistic sources, as well as input from audiovisual and internet media. Assessment methods include coursework, learning journals, essay writing, spoken presentations, oral and aural examining, written examinations, extended essays, projects, reports and dissertations.
For more information, visit Studying at Sussex.
What will I achieve?
- advanced language and communication skills, as well as an introduction to skills in intercultural mediation such as translation and interpreting
- intellectual skills including the ability to acquire appropriate knowledge, to analyse and evaluate cultural products of various kinds, to make comparisons between different areas of intellectual and cultural concern and the approaches that characterise them, and to express arguments and ideas effectively in both English and your target language(s)
- knowledge and understanding of significant aspects of the culture, developments, artefacts and achievements of Europe and of countries in other continents where French, Italian or Spanish are spoken
- informed and sympathetic comprehension and appreciation of the diversity, but also the inter-relatedness, of different cultures
- through the crosscultural experience of a year spent studying or working abroad, skills and adaptability that give you excellent preparation for your future professional life.
We continue to develop and update our modules for 2014 entry to ensure you have the best student experience. In addition to the course structure below, you may find it helpful to refer to the 2012 modules tab.
Core content
Year 1
You are introduced to some of the ways theatre is made, significant theories on drama and theatre from the Greeks to the present day and the specific skills required to read and stage theatre texts. Teaching is through academic and practical methods throughout your course
Year 2
You familiarise yourself with developments and debates in contemporary theatre performance and composition • the study of the historical/cultural shift from modern to postmodern drama • writing for theatre • the early modern drama period
Final year
You specialise and choose from topics such as the study of theatre and ethics • approaches to making theatre politically • the body in performance • postdramatic theatre. You also choose from one of two final performance projects in which you undertake technical and performance roles
How will I learn?
You learn through a combination of seminars and practical workshops, where practice enables you to examine theoretical concepts, topics, methods and debates you are researching. Some modules are taught through seminar only. You also spend sustained periods in the studio, rehearsing and preparing performance projects and workshop presentations.
Your work is assessed by various means including seminar presentations, essays and longer dissertations, which train you in the academic disciplines of close reading and analysis, researching, writing, logical thought, critical evaluation of ideas, articulation of complex concepts, succinct expression and meticulous verbal presentation. There is also scope within your course to develop your own writing for theatre, as well as development of specialist production skills (eg devising, lighting, design, sound, directing). Your practical work is assessed through group workshop presentations, productions and critical reflective essays.
For more information, visit Studying at Sussex.
What will I achieve?
- a detailed knowledge of drama, theatre and performance, focusing on the modern and contemporary periods
- exploration of practical and performative concepts in drama, staging and the writing of texts
- an understanding of theatre as a social and political construct and as a form of communication. Performance offers a rich source of information about the way different cultures have developed
- intellectual understanding of the role of drama within society, as well as practical awareness – gained through exercises in writing, devising, acting and performance – of how drama is composed and staged
- by studying drama alongside other related subjects such as film, English or a language, you are able to make interdisciplinary connections
- a wide range of skills relating to analysis of texts, research, constructing bibliographies, presentation and articulation of ideas, collaboration and leadership, and critical and creative thinking
- if your course includes a language, the ability to speak and write the language to a high level, and to read dramatic texts in their original language.
Please note that these are the modules running in 2012.
Year 1
Core modules
- Europe 1900-45
- France 1900-45
- French 1A
- French 1B
- Making Theatre
- Reading Theatre Texts
- Staging Text
- Theories of Drama
Options
Year 2
Core modules
- Approaches to Contemporary Performance
- France 1945-date
- French 2A
- French 2B
- Modern and Postmodern Drama
Options
Europe 1900-45
15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 1
This module focuses on the development of essential study skills such as textual analysis, note-taking, the planning and writing of essays and summaries. You will normally work with texts written in (one of) your foreign language(s).
France 1900-45
15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 1
This module develops and extends the ideas and themes introduced in the module History and Culture in the 20th Century. Relevant works of literature, film, theatre and the press are studied in the target language, wherever possible. Written and oral material is drawn from a wide range of sources to make you aware of the context in which the country whose language you study has progressed towards its current situation. You will develop essential skills of note-taking, discussing, summarising, analysing and essay writing (including documentation).
French 1A
15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 1
French 1B
15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 1
Making Theatre
15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 1
The aim of this module is to introduce you to the processes by which theatre or performance may be created. You will participate in and reflect on group-based approaches to making theatre, be they in the field of devising and/or text-based production. Games and exercises will encourage you to work with other students, creatively and productively with a view to generating material for performance. The module aims to develop ways of making theatre that stress interaction, teamwork and the value of focused workshop practice. The module will culminate in a group presentation in which short pieces that have either been devised or directed will be performed.
Reading Theatre Texts
15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 1
This module introduces you to ways of reading and thinking critically about theatre texts. You will examine a number of texts in relation to dramatic conventions, as well as issues of theatre production and performance. You will look at how plays from different historical periods vary in form and content, focusing on stylistic and structural differences from a comparative perspective. The module aims to introduce you to analytical approaches to reading plays and to key issues in theatre and performance. Texts to be studied may include plays from different periods of theatre history.
Staging Text
15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 1
This module concerns the staging of dramatic text in theatrical space. It will consider the many choices facing the actor or performer when delivering text, and will introduce you to contrasting practitioners' approaches to performing text. In addition, you will encounter approaches to stagecraft, which may include treatment of lighting, design, multimedia or costume, and the ways in which such issues affect the presentation of text.
Theories of Drama
15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 1
Theories of Drama will focus on the innovations of major drama theorists relating to the text, the audience, the performer and the performance space. You will study a range of writers that will include Aristotle, Stanislavsky, Brecht, Artaud, Grotowski, Boal, Lecoq and Brook. The module begins with an introductory session on what we understand by drama, theatre and performance. This will be followed by seminars based on the close study of a range of theoretical texts from Aristotle to the present. We focus on the major changes that these theorists have brought to thinking about theatre, as well as exploring their links with other forms of literary and critical theory. Each week, individual students will be asked to give short presentations based on the theme of that week's seminar. The topic will be agreed in consultation with your module tutor.
French For Bilinguals A
15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 1
This is an entry-level module in translation theory and practice. You will submit a fortnightly translation. Weekly, you will work with a tutor on a pre-distributed text and derive a translation in class. Focused attention is given to the problematics of translation, eg basic theories and strategies available, difficulties of untranslatability, cultural/linguistic matters, and the register/genre/style demands of translation. Working is in both directions, eg theme and version. In addition to exploring the relationships between, eg accuracy, fluency and appropriacy in translation, the teaching prepares you for more comparative translation, oral-aural working, and commentary activities in French Translation Theory and Practice 1B.
French For Bilinguals B
15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 1
Approaches to Contemporary Performance
15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 2
This module will familiarise you with approaches to contemporary performance, which acknowledge the opportunities afforded by theatre and theatricality in a profoundly uncertain world. You will engage with issues in contemporary stagecraft on a practical level, although workshops will necessarily be informed by a range of theoretical positions. Work will focus on the treatment of character but there will be opportunities to explore, for example, issues of signification on stage, non-linear plotting, and comprehensibility.
France 1945-date
15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 2
Relevant works of literature, film, theatre and the press are studied in French, wherever possible. Written and oral material is drawn from a wide range of sources to make you aware of the context in which France has progressed towards its current situation. You will develop essential skills of note-taking, discussing, summarising, analysing and essay writing (including documentation). The module will allow you to progress towards independent study.
French 2A
15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 2
Your knowledge of syntax will be revised and progressed and active knowledge of lexis increased. Speaking, listening, reading and written skills will be raised to a higher level through the study of authentic texts taken from a variety of media. The study of relevant current affairs will be an important element of the module.
French 2B
15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 2
Modern and Postmodern Drama
15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 2
This module will be taught as a series of seminars exploring the shift from naturalism to modernist and postmodernist theatre from the late 19th to the 21st century. It examines a number of plays that address important issues of modernity (and postmodernity), both in their form and content. We will look at the contribution and response of drama to social and cultural debates around the role of art, gender and sexuality, the family, the state and the nation. You will study a different play each week, give a short presentation in one of the seminars and engage fully in the discussion of all the texts.
Early Modern Drama and Contemporary Theatre
30 credits
Spring teaching, Year 2
This module is designed to allow you to follow your interest in the play texts and performances of the early modern theatre, studying a single play from this period in detail. This play may be chosen from the many plays that do not have modern editions (plays by Goffe, Brome and Davenant for instance), but might instead be a well-known play from the period (Shakespeare's Hamlet, for instance). A facsimile reproduction of an early edition will be used. This will allow you to encounter the text in its original format, unmediated by modern editorial conventions.
The module will be divided into two sections. The first will be based on an exploration of the playing conditions of the early modern theatre, the text itself and/or the context in which the play under consideration was both written and initially performed. The teaching and study will be tailored towards the themes of the play under consideration in any given year. You will work in a group towards producing a basic edited version of the play (with notes where necessary), familiarising yourself with the issues involved in editing such a text - for example questions of punctuation, format, spelling conventions, and textual variations.
The second part of the module will take what you have learned from your intensive focus upon the text, and use the edition you have produced as the basis for a performance that you will devise in a workshop environment. This will be done in conjunction with further study of the play and its performance history, and will aim particularly at using performance to elucidate interesting or contentious areas of the play text that can be identified. The final assessed performance that you produce will not necessarily be a simple performance or reading of the play itself, but will use the play as a starting point.
Europe 1945-date
15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 2
The module provides you with an overview of important historical and cultural developments in the second part of the 20th century, focussing on the period from the 1940s through to the present day. Movements and trends in the political, historical and social area and their impact on the arts and literature are addressed in the lectures. For all these topics, various national settings (France, Germany, Italy and Spain) are examined and discussed. The lecture series seeks to establish a comparative perspective on the relevant issues.
Language and Nation
15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 2
Following a short introduction, the module falls into two parts. The first looks at how we discover the links between Language, Thought and Nation, and try to identify and analyse covert as well as overt associations between these. Who are the guardians and gatekeepers of our 'native' languages, and what are the pressures to have English in England, French in France but Castillian in Spain and Post-Florentine in Italy? Are some languages more equal than others, conferring more status to their users? And why do languages still change despite 'Academies'? The second part looks at instances of how expressions of the relationship between a nation and its language emerge as various literary and other genres (with particular reference to the novel), and how these feed back into the collective identity (with particular reference to representations in the cinema of various countries).
Writing for Theatre
30 credits
Spring teaching, Year 2
This module focuses on writing for the theatre from a critical and creative perspective. You will explore the work of a number of contemporary playwrights, examining the way they approach writing, and the techniques they employ. You will focus on how playwrights have experimented with theatrical form and structure, and investigate the way in which themes and critical issues become manifest in theatrical writing. You will also consider how such writers might provide starting points for your own work. To complement this, a range of creative writing exercises will encourage you to develop your own theatre writing, through the composition of monologues, dialogues and dramatic scenes.
Europe Mandatory Year Abroad - Modern Languages
120 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3
Final Year Performance Project
30 credits
Spring teaching, Year 4
The aim of this module is to allow you to engage in depth with processes leading to a full-length production or performance. You will be expected to feed into their work (and into that of the group) the most relevant areas of skill and knowledge which they have gained elsewhere on the programme. In the context of preparing and rehearsing for performance, you will be expected to practice, to extend and to develop the physical, creative, intellectual and practical skills necessary for the work. You will also analyse and reflect on their own and the group's processes. You will be expected to develop their own approaches to researching and studying the text or material which forms the basis for the process and the performance. You will be expected to document and analyse your own work and the group's work effectively, and make suggestions of how it might be developed further.
French 3A
15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 4
The two hours per week classroom contact throughout this 25-week module are devoted, on the one hand, to oral and interpreting work and, on the other, to translation and composition. There is therefore an emphasis upon oral proficiency, both in everyday conversation and in more formal contexts, such as presentations and mediation between speakers of French and English. There is a similar emphasis upon written proficiency, whether writing French 'freely' within the framework of a discursive essay, translating from English into French or, indeed, from French into English. Roughly equal contact time is devoted to these three written skills and the same weighting is accorded to each of them in assessments.
French 3B
15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 4
French Special Subject 1
15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 4
This module, delivered in French to all single-honours and joint-major students studying French as part of their degree, will address some key works by two of the most significant writers in 20th-century French literature, namely Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone deBeauvoir. The texts themselves may vary from year to year, but they will normally include at least one notable exemplar of the theatre, prose fiction, biography and/or autobiography, and the discursive or polemical essay (whether literary, political, philosophical or sociological in theme). A prime focus of analysis will be the manner in which this famous existentialist couple transposed their lived experience – and, to an extent, their own relationship – into a plethora of literary forms.
French Special Subject 2
15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 4
Genres in European Literature
15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 4
This weekly lecture plus fortnightly seminar module, delivered in English to all Single Honours linguists (one or two languages) will consider key genres or styles in 20th-century European prose literature. These will vary from year to year, but will typically include some of the following: the novel and narrative theory, the short story, women's writing, biography, autobiography, fantasy, juvenilia and writing about youth. Equally, the authors and works selected for study (in English translation) will vary, but will normally include at least one prominent writer in each of the four European languages offered at this level, namely French, German, Italian and Spanish.
Modern Languages Dissertation
15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 4
This module is available as an option both to single-honours and joint-major modern linguists. It provides the opportunity to conduct a self-assigned piece of research and to write it up in the target language, as an alternative to working in English in "Genres" (R9033). Each student will be allocated a supervisor in the relevant language, with whom s/he will agree the topic of her/his research and the title of the dissertation. However, that research will be essentially self-directed under the light-touch guidance of the supervisor, provided initially through shared workshops and, later on, through one-to-one tutorials. The student will be required to produce two excerpts of work in progress, at mutually agreed points in TB1, so that the supervisor can check that s/he is on the right lines and offer helpful formative feedback. For illustrative purposes, research topics might include: modern French authors, especially Sartre and the existentialists; post-war German literature; cinema adaptations of European literary works; Golden Age Spanish drama.
Performing the Body
15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 4
This module considers some of the ways theatre and performance studies documents and theorizes the body in and as performance. In particular, you will focus on the use and representation of the body in performance, from the late 20th century to the present day. We will consider the complex and intriguing ways in which live performance (theatre, dance, performance art, protest marches, exhibitions) positions the body as a fluid and performative site through which historical, cultural and social identities can be located and contested. How do constructions of the body produce hierarchizing and marginalizing effects? How does embodiment both delimit and explode the rhetorics and discourses that frame the body in live performance? You will examine a range of key debates that focus on the body and on notions of subjectivity and identity politics. You will examine specific performance "scenes" and artists in order to develop in-depth discussions that will culminate in a series of performative seminar presentations. The module will foreground some of the critical issues that arise when we consider the body as an event that problematizes the distinction between the live and the mediated, the "real" and the performed, the staged and the everyday.
Postdramatic Theatre
15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 4
This course will introduce you to notions of post-dramatic theatre by examining theoretical positions and practical applications. You will consider what might constitute theatre in a post-representation world, and the ways in which the fundamentals of dramatic theatre - character, plot and dialogue - are called into question. You will also examine the aesthetics of the post-dramatic through your own practice and will be invited to develop approaches to performance that seek to bracket or banish representation in the theatre.
Theatre, Performance and Ethics
15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 4
This module looks at a series of contemporary plays and theatre productions in relation to the ethics of representation. It will explore the writer's or the director's responsibilities in staging the self and the other in theatre and the strategies they adopt to highlight and problematise this process. By combining theoretical, textual and performance analysis, the module will engage with debates surrounding the representation of violence, trauma, sexuality, alterity and cultural and autobiographical memory in theatre. We will look at concepts such as meta-theatre and the role of the author in the theatre text as well as practices that aim to embody ethical positions in and through performance. In addition to recent thinking about ethics and representation in theatre and performance, the module will cover contemporary British and Irish playwrights and productions by contemporary theatre practitioners from the UK and France.
Entry requirements
Sussex welcomes applications from students of all ages who show evidence of the academic maturity and broad educational background that suggests readiness to study at degree level. For most students, this will mean formal public examinations; details of some of the most common qualifications we accept are shown below. If you are an overseas student, refer to Applicants from outside the UK.
All teaching at Sussex is in the English language. If your first language is not English, you will also need to demonstrate that you meet our English language requirements.
- A level
Typical offer: AAB-ABB
Specific entry requirements: A levels must include French, at least grade B
- International Baccalaureate
Typical offer: 34 points overall
Specific entry requirements: Successful applicants will need Higher Level French, with at least grade 5
For more information refer to International Baccalaureate.
- Access to HE Diploma
Typical offer: Pass the Access to HE Diploma with at least 45 credits at Level 3, of which 30 credits must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit or higher.
Specific entry requirements: The Access to HE Diploma should be in the humanities or social sciences. Successful applicants will normally also need A level French, at least grade B (or other evidence of A level standard French).
For more information refer to Access to HE Diploma.
- Advanced Diploma
Typical offer: Pass with at least grade B in the Diploma and A in the Additional and Specialist Learning
Specific entry requirements: The Additional and Specialist Learning must be an A-level in French
For more information refer to Advanced Diploma.
- BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma
Typical offer: DDD-DDM
Specific entry requirements: In addition to the BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma, successful applicants will also need A level (or equivalent) French, grade B.
For more information refer to BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma.
- European Baccalaureate
Typical offer: Overall result of at least 77%
Specific entry requirements: Evidence of existing academic ability in French is essential
For more information refer to European Baccalaureate.
- Finnish Ylioppilastutkinto
Typical offer: Overall average result in the final matriculation examinations of at least 6.0
Specific entry requirements: Evidence of existing academic ability in French is essential
- French Baccalauréat
Typical offer: Overall final result of at least 13/20
- German Abitur
Typical offer: Overall result of 1.8 or better
Specific entry requirements: Evidence of existing academic ability in French is essential
- Irish Leaving Certificate (Higher level)
Typical offer: AAAABB-AABBBB
Specific entry requirements: Evidence of existing academic ability in French is essential
- Italian Diploma di Maturità or Diploma Pass di Esame di Stato
Typical offer: Final Diploma mark of at least 90/100
Specific entry requirements: Evidence of existing academic ability in French is essential
- Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers
Typical offer: AAABB-AABBB
Specific entry requirements: Highers must include French, with at least grade B. Ideally, applicants will have French at Advanced Higher, also grade B
For more information refer to Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers.
- Spanish Titulo de Bachillerato (LOGSE)
Typical offer: Overall average result of at least 8.0
Specific entry requirements: Evidence of existing academic ability in French is essential
- Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma
Typical offer: Pass the Core plus at least AB in two A-levels
Specific entry requirements: A levels must include French, at least grade B
For more information refer to Welsh Baccalaureate.
English language requirements
IELTS 6.5 overall, with not less than 6.0 in each section. Internet-based TOEFL with 88 overall, with at least 20 in Listening, 19 in Reading, 21 in Speaking and 23 in Writing.
For more information, refer to alternative English language requirements.
For more information about the admissions process at Sussex:
Undergraduate Admissions,
Sussex House,
University of Sussex, Falmer,
Brighton BN1 9RH, UK
T +44 (0)1273 678416
F +44 (0)1273 678545
E ug.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk
Related subjects
Fees and funding
Fees
Home/EU students: £9,0001
Channel Island and Isle of Man students: £9,0002
Overseas students: £13,0003
1 The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
2 The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
3 The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
To find out about your fee status, living expenses and other costs, visit further financial information.
Funding
The funding sources listed below are for the subject area you are viewing and may not apply to all degrees listed within it. Please check the description of the individual funding source to make sure it is relevant to your chosen degree.
To find out more about funding and part-time work, visit further financial information.
Care Leavers Award (2014)
Region: UK
Level: UG
Application deadline: 31 July 2015
For students have been in council care before starting at Sussex.
First-Generation Scholars Scheme (2014)
Region: UK
Level: UG
Application deadline: 12 June 2015
The scheme is targeted to help students from relatively low income families – ie those whose family income is up to £42,622.
First-Generation Scholars Scheme EU Student Award (2014)
Region: Europe (Non UK)
Level: UG
Application deadline: 12 June 2015
£3,000 fee waiver for UG Non-UK EU students whose family income is below £25,000
Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust for Undergraduate Study (2014)
Region: UK
Level: UG
Application deadline: 1 March 2014
The Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust are offering bursaries to Undergraduate students following an undergraduate degree courses in any subject.
Careers and profiles
Employers will value your communication and language skills, not to mention the maturity and life experience gained during your year abroad. More than 80 per cent of employers surveyed said they actively sought graduates who had studied abroad (QS Global Employer Survey Report 2011).
Careers that are open to our graduates include: arts and the media • journalism and publishing • business and marketing • commerce and finance • civil and diplomatic services • the institutions of the European Union • public service and politics • teaching and academia.
Recent destinations of our graduates include: Amnesty International • Red Cross • Sony • Headstar • DeHavilland News • Imperial College, London • Keble College, Oxford.
This course prepares you for employment in fields such as theatre and performing arts, arts administration, further study to Masters and PhD level at professional conservatoires and drama schools, and for the media, film and journalistic professions. Other graduates will use their skills in applied and socially engaged practices, such as drama therapy, community and prison work, and teaching.
Recent graduates have taken up a range of posts with employers including: associate producer at Brand New School • marketing executive at Triniti Marketing • operations executive at Boundary i-Media • senior team leader at IMG • marketing executive at Future Publishing • PA to Head of Business and Legal Affairs at BBC Worldwide • production assistant at the Arcola Theatre.
Specific employer destinations listed are taken from recent Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education surveys, which are produced annually by the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
Also refer to School of English: Career opportunities and School of English: Student perspectives.
Careers and employability
For employers, it’s not so much what you know, but what you can do with your knowledge that counts. The experience and skills you’ll acquire during and beyond your studies will make you an attractive prospect. Initiatives such as SussexPlus, delivered by the Careers and Employability Centre, help you turn your skills to your career advantage. It’s good to know that 94 per cent of our graduates are in work or further study (Which? University).
For more information on the full range of initiatives that make up our career and employability plan for students, visit Careers and alumni.
Rebecca's student perspective
‘Sussex is a wonderful place to study languages and the facilities of the Language Learning Centre really allow you to develop your skills and fluency.
‘One of the things that attracted me to Sussex was the large number of destinations on offer in which to spend your year abroad. My year abroad in Paris was unforgettable and I’m planning on using the language skills and cultural awareness I’ve gained during my degree to work abroad in the future.
‘The feeling of mastering a foreign language is incredibly satisfying – languages set you apart from other graduates, are relevant to almost any job and employers love them! And the lovely thing about languages at Sussex is the chance to do in-depth academic work while gaining a skill at the same time.’
Rebecca Loxton
Languages student
Contact our School
Sussex Centre for Language Studies
The Sussex Centre for Language Studies has a digital language laboratory and multimedia workstations for private study of over sixty world languages, and its highly qualified and experienced staff will make your learning experience relaxed but structured.
How do I find out more?
For more information, contact the admissions tutor:
Sussex Centre for Language Studies,
University of Sussex, Falmer,
Brighton BN1 9SH, UK
E languages@sussex.ac.uk
T +44 (0)1273 877258
F +44 (0)1273 678476
Sussex Centre for Language Studies
School of English
Over the last 30 years, English at Sussex has played a key role in shaping the direction of the discipline in Britain and throughout the world. The School of English offers you exciting potential for engaging with English as a world language and literature.
How do I find out more?
For more information, contact:
Drama Studies, Arts B,
University of Sussex, Falmer,
Brighton BN1 9QN, UK
E ug.admissions@english.sussex.ac.uk
T +44 (0)1273 877303
School of English
Visit us
Sussex Open Day
Saturday 5 October 2013
Open Days offer you the chance to speak one to one with our world-leading academic staff, find out more about our courses, tour specialist facilities, explore campus, visit student accommodation, and much more. Booking is required. Go to Visit us and Open Days to book onto one of our tours.
Campus tours
Not able to attend one of our Open Days? Then book on to one of our weekly guided campus tours.
Mature-student information session
If you are 21 or over, and thinking about starting an undergraduate degree at Sussex, you may want to attend one of our mature student information sessions. Running between October and December, they include guidance on how to approach your application, finance and welfare advice, plus a guided campus tour with one of our current mature students.
Self-guided visits
If you are unable to make any of the visit opportunities listed, drop in Monday to Friday year round and collect a self-guided tour pack from Sussex House reception.
Jonathan's staff perspective
‘Sussex provides world-leading teaching and excellent academic facilities, with a vibrant student life in a fantastic location. All of this meant that I left Sussex with a unique set of experiences and a degree that has prepared me for my future.
‘Joining Student Recruitment Services at the University has enabled me to share my experiences of Sussex with others. Coming to an Open Day gives you the opportunity to meet our research-active academics and our current students, while exploring our beautiful campus. But don’t worry if you can’t make an Open Day, there’s plenty of other opportunities to visit Sussex. Check out our Visit us and Open Days pages or our Facebook page to find out more.
‘I’ve loved every moment of my time at Sussex – these have been the best years of my life.’
Jonathan Bridges
Graduate Intern, Student Recruitment Services