Welsh (a Pathway for Second Language Students) with a Year in Industry

What influence does the Welsh language have on international matters? How is culture communicated through the language? How important is it that content is created through the medium of a minority language today? Here are only a few big questions that form the part of our BA Welsh (Second Language) course at Swansea University.

Immerse yourself in the literature, and poetry of Wales while learning about the social, cultural, and political history of the language. You will study a wide range of literature including plays, short stories, and novels, as well as poetry from the medieval bardic tradition to modern protest songs.

The third year of this 4-year course with a Year in Industry will be spent on placement. You will have the opportunity to gain real-world industry experience and develop your employability skill set. We have a strong network of industry contacts, and you will receive dedicated support from our employability team, ranging from CV advice through to mock interviews.

You will develop a keen understanding of Welsh language and grammar, sociolinguistics, language planning policy, and learn valuable translation skills.

Throughout your studies, you will develop excellent research and analytical skills and learn to present your ideas effectively both verbally and in writing, which can all lead to various career opportunities.

Why Welsh (a Pathway for Second Language Students) at Swansea?

A BA Welsh degree from Swansea University explores the Welsh language in an international context, discussing language policy, world literature and translation.
All modules have been designed by expert researchers, with a focus on ensuring our student community learns the necessary skills to succeed in the world of work.
Celtic Studies at Swansea is ranked:

• 2nd in the UK Overall (Times Good University Guide 2025)

Your Welsh (a Pathway for Second Language Students) Experience
Every step of our BA Welsh (First Language) degree has been designed to ensure you can learn to communicate confidently and are equipped with thorough research skills.

Tailoring our modules and assessment to ensure you can gain the professional skills employers value is very important to us, and we work alongside institutions in Wales and beyond to ensure that our Welsh degree responds to the demands of a global job market.

We offer a wide variety of assessment methods that have been carefully designed to ensure you gain skills that will help you achieve your career goals or post-graduate ambitions.

As part of our community of students, you’ll receive the best support for your educational needs.

Your first year will include a mixture of compulsory and optional modules, with examples of compulsory modules from recent years including:

• Defnyddio'r Laith

• Trawsieithu

Your second and third years will comprise entirely optional modules from an expansive range of subject areas. Examples of optional modules in recent years have included:

• Hawliau Laith yn y Cyd-destun Rhyngwladol

• Amlddiwylliannedd a'r Gymraeg

• Cyfraith Hywel

• Blas ar Ymchwil

• Y Gymraeg, Datganoli a'r Gyfraith

The third year of this 4-year course with a Year in Industry will be spent on placement. You will have the opportunity to gain real-world industry experience and develop your employability skill set. We have a strong network of industry contacts, and you will receive dedicated support from our employability team, ranging from CV advice through to mock interviews.
Your final year will include an optional independent dissertation project.

For the full programme structure and module breakdown, please visit our webpage at: https://www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/culture-communication/welsh/ba-welsh-second-language

We are proud to provide an outstanding educational experience, using the most effective learning and teaching approaches, carefully tailored to suit the specific needs of your course. Apart from a small number of online-only courses, most of our courses consist of in-person, on-campus teaching, enabling full engagement with your lecturers and fellow students. Practical skills sessions, lab work seminars, and workshops predominantly take place in person, allowing for group working and demonstrations. We also operate virtual labs and Simulated Learning Environments which will facilitate greater access to training opportunities in the future. However, our approach also includes the use of some online learning to support and enhance traditional face-to-face teaching. Online learning may take place ‘live’ using software such as Zoom, allowing you to interact with the lecturer and other students and to ask questions. Lecture recordings also allow for more flexibility to revisit material, to revise for assessments and to enhance learning outside of the classroom. Some modules have extra resources in Canvas, such as videos, slides and quizzes enabling further flexible study. This course may offer some modules taught through the medium of Welsh or bilingually for students who consider themselves to be fluent Welsh speakers. For more details on the provision available see the Welsh Provision expander below.