Modern Languages and Cultures MA

Year of entry: 2025

Course length: 12 months Full-Time | 24 Months Part-Time

About the course

This course will prepare you for further research in constituent disciplines, but it’s also relevant if you wish to broaden and deepen your critical engagement with a wide range of languages and cultures.

The structure of the MA is flexible, meaning that you can choose to combine your interests in different languages or cultures, or focus more exclusively on one particular area.

Taught units cover topics including:

Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies
Chinese
French Studies
German Studies
Italian Studies
Japanese Studies
Russian and East European Studies
Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies

These are example course units based on 2024/25 options and are subject to change each year.

Learn more >

Where will your degree take you?

Our alumni have gone on to pursue successful careers in the arts and cultural sectors, and beyond, in professions including marketing, journalism, publishing, business politics, finance, and education.

The MA provides a thorough training in the expertise needed for further research, and many graduates have gone on to postgraduate research degrees and careers within academia.

Find out more about our graduates >

Joseph Sykes

Subtitler and Language-Learning Materials Author

MA Modern Languages

Joseph’s career involves subtitling TV dramas, documentaries, films, and commercial material from French and German into English for various clients.

How has your degree helped you in your career?

“I use my French and German every day, so I directly apply the skills that I gained at Manchester to my work every day."

What did you most enjoy about your time at Manchester?

"I enjoyed the intimate nature of the languages department, and how everyone got on well there.”

Why would you recommend the University as a good place to study? “The facilities are excellent. There are societies for just about everything. It's a great city to live in.”

Professor Erica Baffelli

Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies

Dr Erica Baffelli is a Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies. Before arriving at Manchester, between 2005-2007, she was a visiting researcher at Hosei University (Tokyo) and post- doctoral research fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Her specialisms include: Japanese Religions, New Religious Movements, Religion and Media, Religion and Violence, and Contemporary Japan.

Dr Ignacio Aguiló

Senior Lecturer in Latin American Cultural Studies

He is also the Co-Director of the University’s Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

His specialisms include: Race in Contemporary Latin American Culture, Popular Culture and Kitsch, Visual Culture, Popular Music, Decolonial/Post-Development Theory, and Digital Anthropology.

Dr Barbara Lebrun

Senior Lecturer in Contemporary French Politics and Culture

She is also the editor of Chanson et Performance (L’Harmattan, 2012), a French-language collection focusing on gender performance in French and francophone popular music. Her specialisms include: French Culture, Popular Culture, Popular Music, and Chanson.