From Welsh American literature to medieval legends and the modern novel; from creative writing to work experience and professional development: a degree in Welsh gives you a unique perspective on our country's culture and the wider world.

Welsh is a subject for students from every background. This new 4-year course has been designed for those who do not yet speak a word of Welsh. Concentrating in the first year on acquiring spoken modern Welsh, from the second year onwards greater focus will be placed on writing skills and students will increasingly be taught with second- and first-language students. During the third and fourth years students will follow the main Welsh BA degree scheme with all modules taught through the medium of Welsh.

The specially designed foundation year (Year 1) has been designed for beginners and unconfident speakers and focuses on practical skills. Through the course of your studies there will be a gradual increase in the amount of Welsh-medium teaching, with modules specifically designed to facilitate the cross-over being a learner to becoming a confident speaker.

What is Welsh?

Welsh is a broad and varied academic subject that includes the language and its literature, from its historic beginnings to the present day. Along with some core elements, students are able to choose from a range of optional modules, which provide you with the opportunity to develop specific interests, from pure literature to issues relating to the workplace, for example:

• Welsh poetry and prose of all kinds, from all periods
• The novel
• Local and community literature
• Medieval legends
• Drama and the theatre - in Wales and beyond
• American Welsh literature
• Cultural studies and literary criticism
• Feminist and gender writing
• Literature and new media
• Translation (literary and administrative)
• Literature philosophy ('What is literature?')
• Sociolinguistics and language planning
• Celtic Studies and Irish

Creative writing is very prominent at Bangor. From among our lecturers, four have won the main poetry and prose prizes at the National Eisteddfod and have written some of the most praiseworthy books and plays in recent years. Students can choose to attend creative writing workshops - on poetry, prose and script writing - led by experienced authors.

Internships

Bangor University runs a paid internship scheme within the university’s academic and service departments.

Career

A degree in Welsh can lead to a wide range of careers. There is a great demand for graduates of Welsh and the skills that you learn by taking our more practical modules are a great preparation for a career and a job. Nationally, Welsh contributes to a wide range of fields that characterize contemporary society including: education, broadcasting, publishing, theatre, politics, administration, language planning, translation, journalism, marketing, and tourism and the heritage industry. The legislation in place to protect the Welsh language and increase its use means that the employment opportunities for graduates in the subject are greater than they have ever been.

Our recent graduates have gone on to work in a variety of areas, such as teaching (primary, secondary, further education, higher education), translation, journalism, the media, editing and publishing, marketing and public relations, press officers, language planners, administration and the civil service.