Course overview

This course is designed to produce highly competent linguists for the modern business and media world. Combining the theory with the practice of communication, it has a distinctive vocational orientation and focuses on English as the medium of communication. Graduates will understand the nature and function of communication in the modern world and will be able to produce text (written, spoken, printed and broadcast) according to a range of different agendas.

Additionally, there will be opportunities to develop high-level multilingual communication skills in a translation context. The choice of languages includes Chinese, French, German, Italian and Spanish. These bilingual units are entirely optional.

The course is designed for graduates from any discipline who wish to work in business, commerce and the media as highly competent linguists. The course combines the theory of communication with the practice of communication, has a distinctive vocational orientation and focuses on English as the medium of communication.

Course content

Communication and Language Skills balances theory and practice and features units that have a high degree of professional relevance and training.

The course is structured on the basis of core units and optional units.

• Theory & Practice of Communication
• Communication in Different Contexts: Writing & Speech
• Dissertation/Major Project
• 2 options from:
  • Electronic Media
  • Communicating with Different Audiences
  • Independent Learning
  • Intercultural Communication
  • Specialised Translation

Please note. All optional units are subject to staff availability and student demand.

Exit levels

The credit system creates a flexible framework in which you can graduate with one of the following awards, depending on the number of credits gained:

• MA in Communication and Language Skills (four core units plus the research management and dissertation units) 180 credits
• Postgraduate Diploma in Communication and Language Skills : 120 credits
• Postgraduate Certificate in Communication and Language Skills: 60 credits

Teaching and assessment

There are no formal examinations. A variety of different assessment methods are used which include essays, projects, portfolios, practical translation assignments, presentations, in-class tests and your dissertation. The research management unit will prepare you for your dissertation and you will be allocated a dissertation supervisor who will oversee your work throughout the process. You will also be encouraged to start thinking about it from the start of the course and submit a series of interim documents.

Full time study is one full academic year, consisting of a taught part from October to June and a research part, in which the dissertation is written, from June to September. Part time students study for a period of two years. The dissertation is written in the summer period of the second year of study.

Career prospects

Graduates will be able to progress to jobs in the public and private sectors in various areas of communication including, advertising, publishing, human resources departments, in higher education in their own country or elsewhere, or continue on to undertake doctoral research. Possession of a Masters qualification is often viewed as a requirement for promotion to a more responsible position where you may already be working.

Facilities and features

The School of Languages and Area Studies is a university department with an established national and growing international reputation. We welcome students from across the world to our large portfolio of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Our staff actively contribute to the European Studies Research Centre, which in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise successfully obtained a grading of five, one of the top grades. In addition to organising conferences and seminars, the School is home to a number of postgraduate students registered for a PhD.

You will also have easy access to lecturers with a rich variety of experience in terms of both theory and practice, as well as to our own modern communications equipment, which includes:

• satellite receivers
• 150 computers
• three dedicated digital multimedia laboratories
• an editing suite
• a multimedia development unit

The School also has its own learning resources centre providing a variety of open access resources which range from newspapers and journals, self-access texts, reference resources such as dictionaries and grammar books, to audio booths, video viewing facilities and stand-alone computers.

Entry requirements

The entry requirements for MA Communication and Language Skills are shown above, for more detailed information please contact:

Department: School of Languages and Area Studies (SLAS)
Tel: +44 (0)23 9284 8299
Email: humanities.admissions@port.ac.uk