Languages and Translation with Foundation BA Honours

Course summary

Our degree courses with foundation year offer the opportunity to prepare you for advanced study before you progress onto a full honours degree at the University of Westminster. Whether you do not feel ready for degree-level study, don’t have the right qualifications, want to change your subject specialism or return to study after an absence from education, we aim to encourage a broad range of students to undertake our foundation year in order to progress onto their full honours degree with us. 

The foundation year is designed to give you the opportunity to explore new ideas, opening up new perspectives on the key debates within your chosen field. Core modules accelerate your academic and professional development, bringing together like-minded students to think about the ‘big ideas’ within your discipline. You will also take modules from areas closely related to your chosen field, giving you the chance to develop a cross-disciplinary perspective on your course. 

On successful completion of the foundation year, you will be able to move on to study for the Languages and Translation BA Honours degree over a further three years study.

Our Languages and Translation BA Honours will give you the skills, knowledge and competencies to build a career as a professional translator.

On this course, you can choose from one of two main languages - French or Spanish. Depending on your entry point, you can combine the main language with another language (Arabic, Chinese, French or Spanish) or the International Communication route.

You'll develop in-depth knowledge of language structure, register, textuality and discourse, by applying linguistic concepts to practical translation tasks. Our activities and assessments reflect real-world tasks, so you’ll experience professionally orientated training in both generic and language-specific skills and knowledge, preparing you for a career as a professional translator, while also gaining the transferable and cognitive skills necessary for lifelong personal and professional development.

Alongside core modules in translation, the course offers a wide range of option modules, covering topics including international communications, world cultures, current affairs, politics and gender issues.

One of the highlights of studying languages at Westminster is the opportunity to embark on a transformative international experience. This can be tailored to your personal circumstances, and flexible opportunities could include short fully funded field trips or summer schools, a semester spent studying abroad in the second year, and/or a year-long international experience after your second year of study.

You'll benefit from studying in the heart of a multilingual city, where over 300 languages are spoken, offering unique opportunities for linguistic exploration.

As well as careers in professional translation, our graduates have found employment as interpreters, teachers (both in foreign languages and English as a foreign language), and in various other sectors including law, marketing, journalism, and the Civil Service.

We accept intermediate (post-A level) and proficient speakers in French or Spanish. This is a linguistically challenging course and we may need to assess you in order to determine your entry point and suitability.

Top reasons to study with us 

• Develop the skills you need - we offer practical and authentic translation experience, including audio-visual translation and transcreation
• Boost your career potential – get a head start in your career with regular translation projects, career management and computer-assisted translation training
• Choose your path – proficient speakers of French or Spanish can choose between adding another language or taking International Communication modules
• Learn in an efficient way - our small group learning and personalised tutorial support ensure you'll be fully supported throughout your studies
• Gain international experience - take part in a year abroad studying, working or volunteering

Course structure

Teaching and learning take place through a combination of formal lectures, seminars, practical workshops, guided self-study, and exposure to professionally relevant simulations and real-work environments.

Assessment methods include in-class coursework, essays and projects, presentations, and oral and unseen written exams.

You can find examples of how marks have been calculated and study time distributed in the past in the Teaching and Assessment section at the bottom of this page.

The following subjects are indicative of what you will study on this course.

• Foundation Year
• Year 1
• Year 2
• Placement Year
• Year 3

Professional recognition

The University of Westminster is a Higher Education Language partner of the Chartered Institute of Linguists and a member of the Association of Programmes in Translation and Interpreting Studies APTIS.