The Combined Honours programme offers you an opportunity to study two subjects at degree level.

English:

English explores the role of writing in defining and transforming human experience. Creative writing is a contemporary art practice which expresses that experience.

At the Manchester campus, the English department has access to a community of internationally renowned writers and critics through the Manchester Writing School, one of the most successful of its kind in the UK. It boasts over 95 published graduates and its Creative Director is Carol Ann Duffy DBE (Poet Laureate 2009-2019).

Against this backdrop you will examine major periods and forms of literature, learning to analyse literary and media texts by drawing on wider humanities disciplines. Creative writing students will develop the craft of writing, learning to read as a writer and collaborate with artists across the creative spectrum. Both approaches develop the necessary skills in critical thinking and communication that are of value to graduates entering a wide array of career paths or establishing practice.

French:

Proficiency in modern languages can give you the competitive edge in the global jobs market. In both the private and public sectors, there is demand for professionals with strong language skills who can work in culturally diverse environments. Studying French at Manchester Metropolitan University will give you the opportunity to learn from native speakers. Our languages department have created their own multicultural community, including British, exchange and international students, along with foreign language assistants, allowing you to be absorbed into the everyday use of your chosen language.

The University has been providing professional language courses for more than 30 years and our staff are nationally, and in many cases internationally, recognised experts in their field. Our strong local, national and global links will help to enhance your study and future employment opportunities.

Studying a combined honours degree gives you the opportunity to improve your employability by developing skills and knowledge in two subjects.

Language skills can be applied in a wide variety of careers, from teaching and translating/interpreting to business and management, finance, charity and community work. Other opportunities may exist in areas such as journalism, in central and local government, international institutions, voluntary organisations, political parties or the media.

English graduates enter a wide range of employment, especially media work and teaching, where their transferable skills are particularly relevant. Recent graduates have become school and college teachers, and gained employment in fields as diverse as banking and finance, manufacturing and retail. 

There is also the opportunity to engage in further study and professional training, for example some of our graduates go on to study MA English Studies at postgraduate level where you have the opportunity to build your own bespoke masters experience, reflecting your interests in the further study of English. Alongside this we offer MA Publishing and MA/MFA Creative Writing at our Manchester Writing School; and three courses within the Postgraduate Linguistics Network, in: MA TESOL and Applied Linguistics, MA Linguistics and English Language and MA Linguistics and English Studies, all three of which will equip you with the valuable communication skills needed to work in culturally diverse environments.

However the opportunities for further study are diverse and some students have undertaken further professional training to work in law, public administration, management, and librarianship.