Queen's University Belfast

Source: https://www.qub.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/french-irish-ba-qr51/ Parent: https://www.qub.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/

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Undergraduate 2027

Undergraduate 2025

BA | Undergraduate

French and Irish

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Entry year : Academic Year 2027/28

Entry requirements : ABB

Attendance : 4 years (Full-time) \

UCAS Code : QR51

Overview
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Learning languages enriches the mind and opens up new horizons, both personal and professional. The emphasis in both French and Irish is on modern language and culture, and issues of language and identity will be at the core of the joint programme. In French, the course offers insight into the language and society of both metropolitan France and a range of Francophone cultures throughout the world. Students can begin their studies in French as a beginner. In Irish, you will develop a broad understanding of diverse aspects of Irish culture and society, including cinema, the short story, the novel and modern poetry.

French at Queen’s is 2nd in the UK for Teaching Quality and 4th for Student Experience in the Times University Rankings 2026.

Course highlights

Global Opportunities

After Stage 2, you will spend a period of residence (normally 8 months) in a French-speaking country. Students will have the possibility of acquiring professional experience by teaching in a school, undertaking a work placement, or doing voluntary work. They may also elect to study at a French university.\ \ Students in Languages at Queen’s have specialised classes to prepare them for the Year Abroad and members of our staff act as Year Abroad Officers.\ \ Queen's University Belfast is committed to providing a range of international opportunities to its students during their degree programme. Details of this provision are currently being finalised and will be available from the University website once confirmed.

Students taking a BA in French and Irish undertake an extended period of residence abroad (typically 8 months), normally working as an assistant in a school or undertaking a paid work placement in a French-speaking country (previous students have gone to France but also, for example, Belgium, Canada and Guadeloupe). Students can also elect to study at a French-speaking university. In addition to the benefits for oral competence, the residence provides a unique opportunity for immersion in French and francophone culture. Moreover, the Year Abroad is a significant learning and employability enhancement opportunity. This feature of our degree programme gives students the opportunity for personal development, and further develops communication and language skills and intercultural awareness. The challenges of living abroad come to be a unique (and unforgettable) stage in their own personal development.

Industry Links

We have former students in senior positions in most Irish language sectors and we maintain good links with media production companies, the translation sector and language promotion agencies. More generally, we have excellent connections with media, print journalism and a very wide range of local, national and international companies.

World Class Facilities

Queen’s has an excellent library with an outstanding range of resources in French and Francophone cultures and in Irish. The Language Centre has state-of-the-art facilities for language learning, and IT provision more generally is excellent.

Internationally Renowned Experts

French and Irish at Queen’s are taught by world-leading experts, with particular expertise in French and Irish linguistics, Gaelic names, visual cultures, medical humanities and postcolonial writing. Research in Languages at Queen’s was ranked 3rd in the UK in the 2014 Research Assessment (REF).

Student Experience

Students run a lively French Society and an Irish Society, and staff offer support through a personal tutoring system, skills development programme and a structured framework for feedback.

Students have a unique opportunity to engage with native speakers through attendance at an annual Gaeltacht residential in Rannafast, Donegal. The course lasts 3 weeks at takes place at the end of Stage 1 and Stage 2.

Irish has a bespoke online platform for language learning called Learning Branch (this contains a range of subject-specific language tasks and mirrors content in language modules)

The Irish student society, An Cumann Gaelach, is one of the biggest in QUB. The society is extremely active and holds a range of events and activities each year (annual festival, Irish classes, concerts, annual dinner-dance, etc.).

Further Study Opportunities

The MRes is a research preparation degree, allowing students to explore in depth a topic of their choice. It is an ideal preparation for PhD research. Other PG courses of possible interest for graduates of French and Irish include the MA in Arts Management and the MA in Translation.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience here at Queen’s. I have found my course to be both stimulating and enjoyable and the facilities really are ‘second-to-none’. The standard of teaching is first class and the support available to students is excellent. I would definitely recommend Queen’s to anyone."\ Maolíosa McGarry, Stage 3 student French and Irish\ https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=9xgjyYuKKmk&feature=emb_logo

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Course location

Arts, English and Languages

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