About This Course
This course is much more than a degree scheme. It is a cultural package that will enable you to play a professional role in the revival of Welsh and the creation of a truly bilingual Wales. It combines the study of literature and culture with linguistic studies. This course is both academically rigorous and relevant to the societal and linguistic needs of Wales. Our graduates work in areas such as the civil service, public relations, marketing, local government, broadcasting, publishing, teaching, and the translation, arts and heritage sectors.
Did you know that a BA in Welsh at Bangor is much more than a degree course? It is a complete cultural experience that will enable you to play a professional role in the excitement of creating a truly bilingual Wales. In areas such as education, the creative industries and the heritage, broadcasting and media sectors, public relations and marketing, translation, language planning and public administration, Bangor graduates fulfill important roles. They are among the leaders of our contemporary Wales and shaping our future.
Welsh at Bangor is a living language of the present day rather than a relic of the past. Here you will have the opportunity to not only study and enjoy one of the most remarkable Celtic literatures in the world, but there will also be opportunities to pursue more practical modules that will prepare you for a career. This course will enable you to research independently, to practise original thinking, to get to know Welsh literature and culture in depth and to master the various registers of the language. If you so wish, you will have the opportunity to pursue your creative interests under the guidance of experienced writers and poets. You will also gain an awareness of the Welsh language in wider international contexts. What is the relationship of Welsh with the other languages of the world? How does the fate of the language compare with languages like Basque and Irish? How have Welsh writers and poets responded to global themes such as slavery, the Holocaust and the ecological challenge of the modern industrial world? From the earliest times to the present, the choice of modules is wide and the opportunities to broaden your horizons are endless.
Students from both first and second language backgrounds are accepted to follow this course. It is also a natural progression for students who followed the Welsh for Beginners foundation year. It is also suitable for those who have achieved proficiency in Welsh, e.g. through the Learn Welsh courses at the National Centre for Learning Welsh.
Why choose Bangor University for this course?
- 1st in the UK for Celtic Studies (Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021).
- 1st in the UK for Student Satisfaction (Complete University Guide 2021).
- 90% go on to work and / or study within 15 months after the course (Discover Uni).
- A world-renowned centre for the study of Welsh and Celtic Studies.
- Study in the unique Celtic linguistic environment of Gwynedd (north-west Wales) where Welsh remains the language of the majority.
Course Content
The teaching is through lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops. You will write essays, undertake various weekly exercises and tasks, reading and preparing for seminars. Assessment is a combination of coursework and examinations, with some modules assessed solely on the basis of coursework. Your modules each year will be equivalent to 120 credits. (If you are from a second language background, 60 credits in the first year will be specifically for you and a continuation of your language experiences to date. You will join first language students to study the other 60 credits and tutorials will be arranged to support you. Additional language support is also provided in the second and third years.)
The first year will be an opportunity to build on your experiences and open new doors: e.g. discussing the language in contexts relating to its history and present-day state, learning new critical skills and responding originally to literature. You will choose from a wide range of modules in your second and third years, e.g. the novel from Daniel Owen to Dewi Prysor, Welsh language theatre from Saunders Lewis to Aled Jones Williams, modern poetry and eisteddfod authors, Meic Povey’s television dramas, Dafydd ap Gwilym, the Mabinogion - or why not study Welsh American Welsh language culture and even ask "What is Literature?" Language modules range from historical to sociological, from the opportunity to learn Irish and Breton to modules that develop professional Welsh language skills in the workplace and also Welsh language skills for creative purposes. In the third year you will write a dissertation and research an interesting topic of your choice. Recent topics include individuals such as Dafydd ap Gwilym, Kate Roberts, Mihangel Morgan, Angharad Tomos, Caryl Lewis, Meic Stevens and Geraint Jarman and areas such as eco-criticism, gender and transgender, the language of Pembrokeshire, Welsh literature and slavery, literature and horses and football in literature.
Modules for the current academic year
Module listings are for guide purposes only and are subject to change. Find out what our students are currently studying on the Cymraeg / Welsh (For First- and Second-language) Modules page.
Course content is for guidance purposes only and may be subject to change.
EXPLORE MORE IN WELSH AND CELTIC STUDIES
Our honours degrees offer a wealth of valuable experience whether you wish to study courses relating to Welsh as a subject, or the fields of theatre, journalism or the media.
Facilities
General University Facilities
Library and Archive Services
Our four libraries provide a range of attractive study environments including collaborative work areas, meeting rooms and silent study spaces.
We have an extensive collection of books and journals and many of the journals are available online in full-text format.
We house one of the largest university-based archives not only in Wales, but also the UK. Allied to the Archives is the Special Collections of rare printed books.
Learning Resources
There is a range of learning resources available, supported by experienced staff, to help you in your studies.
The University’s IT Services provides computing, media and reprographics facilities and services including:
- Over 1,150 computers for students, with some PC rooms open 24 hours a day
- Blackboard, a commercial Virtual Learning Environment, that makes learning materials available on-line.
Careers
There has never been a more exciting time to study Welsh at Bangor. There has never been more demand for a workforce that can use Welsh at senior professional levels. The goal is clear, it has been set by the Welsh Government - a million Welsh speakers by 2050 and a truly bilingual Wales.
In pursuit of that aim, there will be a great need for confident Welsh-speaking graduates, who can use their language skills in flexible ways, who can think analytically through the medium of the language and use it - both orally and in writing - in various work situations.
The remarkable professional success of our students in employment - and their varied careers - already proves how entirely relevant this course is to the requirements of contemporary Wales. A proportion of them go into education, to be primary and secondary teachers, headteachers, education officers and directors of education. Others go into further education and others become university lecturers. Teaching Welsh for adults is also a key area. Television and digital and print media - including the BBC centre in Bangor - offer a cross-section of interesting jobs and have attracted other alumni into book publishing, creative writing and television scripting, public relations and marketing. There is also continuing demand for bilingual administrators and local government officers. And without the presence of Bangor's Welsh graduates, the translation industry would be quite different. And present day graduates also have every right to aim high. The National Library of Wales, The National Theatre of Wales, Cwmni Da (one of Wales' largest production companies), the Welsh Parliament’s Translation and Reporting Service and Anglesey Council - what do they have in common? Bangor's Welsh graduates have reached the top of their professional careers in them and are at the forefront of them all!
Opportunities at Bangor
The University’s Skills and Employability Service provides a wide range of resources to help you achieve your graduate ambitions.
The Bangor Employability Award (BEA)
With the BEA, you can gain recognition for your extra-curricular activities (e.g. volunteering, clubs and societies, part-time work, etc.)
Internships
Bangor University runs a paid internship scheme within the university’s academic and service departments.
Student Volunteering
Volunteering widens your experience and improves your employability. Find out more about the volunteering on the Students’ Union’s website.
Placement Year
This course is available with a Placement Year option where you will study for 1 additional year. The Placement Year is undertaken at the end of the second year and students are away for the whole of the academic year.
The Placement Year provides you with a fantastic opportunity to broaden your horizons and develop valuable skills and contacts through working with a self-sourced organisation relevant to your degree subject. The minimum period in placement (at one or more locations) is seven calendar months; more usually you would spend 10-12 months with a placement provider. You would normally start sometime in the period June to September of your second year and finish between June and September the following year. Placements can be UK-based or overseas and you will work with staff to plan and finalise the placement arrangements.
You will be expected to find and arrange a suitable placement to complement your degree and will be fully supported throughout by a dedicated member of staff at your academic School and the University’s Skills and Employability Services.
You will have the opportunity to fully consider this option when you have started your course at Bangor and can make an application for a transfer onto this pathway at the appropriate time. If you have any questions in the meantime, please get in touch.
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