BSc/MSci: Mathematics with Modern Languages (G1T9/G1TX)

Increasing numbers of students are interested in careers which may involve them with Europe and elsewhere overseas. These degree programmes allow students to concentrate mainly on mathematics while at the same time achieving proficiency in two or more modern languages.

UCL has a Language Centre which has a fully equipped Self-Access Centre with the latest language-learning technology, including a CD-Rom interactive video facility, an audio laboratory, and computers for Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), satellite television offering programmes from a variety of European stations and a wide range of audio-visual material.

Seven main languages –Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish - are available for study and all levels of competence can be catered for. Each student will be interviewed at the beginning of the year to determine what is their appropriate level. It is sometimes possible to provide study in other languages such as Dutch, Hebrew, Portuguese, Scandinavian and Slavonic languages and many others. It is also possible to study a course leading to a qualification in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). in addition it may be possible to study general courses in European Studies.

Courses are offered at seven levels, from complete beginners (level 1) to advanced (level 4) and post A level (levels 5-7). Courses at level 5 and above are especially suitable for students requiring the language for a special purpose, with emphasis on vocational purposes (Business and Current Affairs; Current Affairs and Culture (Social, Historical and Political); Professional Purposes II) and study abroad purposes (Academic Purposes II). Each student is expected to study at least one language to level 4, and students are encouraged to study other languages in addition.

Each half-unit of language tuition involves a block of two hours tuition per week over an academic year. With such a wide range of options it is sometimes necessary to timetable tuition early in the day or in the late afternoon. Students are expected to supplement this tuition with at least a further four hours of self-study a week on coursework including the use of the Self-Access Centre. All the four skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) are covered by the courses, and each counts for 25% of the final mark.

Students who have obtained level 4 in a particular language may also be able to study courses in the corresponding UCL academic language department.

Unlike similar courses in other universities this course does not involve a required extra year abroad.

Details of the Language Centre and its courses can be found here. No previous knowledge of any particular language is required for these degrees. For example, it is not necessary to have any A levels in a modern language.

In the first two years of these programmes, students receive a thorough grounding in pure mathematics and mathematical methods, following the same courses as the single-subject mathematics students taking three units each year. In place of the applied mathematics courses students take one unit in modern languages each year. Having laid the basic foundations there is a wide range of options in both mathematics and language(s) in the third/fourth years.

The above is a brief description only. More details on the programme structure are available here.

This page was last modified on September 15, 2010 by Helen Higgins