Welsh for Beginners BA (Hons) Undergraduate - September 2025/26* Entry

J.R.R. Tolkien once asserted that Welsh “is of this soil, this island, the senior language of…Britain; and Welsh is beautiful”. As Wales develops into a dynamic bilingual country there has never been a more exciting time to study the most vibrant of the Celtic languages. Follow the story of Welsh from the medieval tales of the Mabinogion to the multifaceted Welsh-language culture of contemporary Wales. This four-year programme is designed for beginners and unconfident speakers. It includes an intensive language-focussed Foundation Year, followed by the comprehensive Welsh (second-language pathway) three-year BA degree scheme.

Along this path, Welsh-medium teaching increases gradually as your skills develop, and special modules are designed to facilitate 'crossing the bridge' from learner to enterprising speaker with a degree in Welsh .

Don't worry if you don't have A levels Welsh - we are always happy to consider other qualifications, and alternative experiences: Welsh is a subject for students of all backgrounds. And this four year course allows complete beginners to study with us, even if they have never spoken a word of Welsh.

Doing a degree in Welsh allows you to enjoy and appreciate one of Europe's richest literary cultures - the culture of Wales. You will be given every help to fully participate in the Welsh life of the university and the locality, and you will also learn about Welsh in wider international contexts. We ask questions such as how the fate of the language compares with languages such as Basque and Irish, or how Welsh writers and poets have responded to global themes such as slavery, the Holocaust and the ecological challenge of the modern world.

Why choose Bangor University for this course?

• 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.

Additional Course Options

During the Foundation Year, you will follow intensive language courses with professional tutors from the Welsh for Adults Centre, a centre with over 40 years experience of providing language learning courses. Learn more about Welsh literature, history and culture. You then have three years learning through lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops. You will write essays, undertake various weekly exercises and tasks, reading and preparing for seminar discussions. Assessments vary from coursework to exams. At least half of your modules in your second year will be specially designed for students from a second language background, in order to develop specific skills. You will join first language students in other modules, and special tutorials will be arranged to support you. Additional language support is also provided in the third and fourth years.

After the Foundation Year you will have the 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 initially to literature. In the following two years, you will have a wide choice of modules: e.g. the Welsh novel; Welsh theatre; modern poetry and eisteddfod odes (awdlau); television dramas; Dafydd ap Gwilym; the Mabinogion - or why not study American Welsh culture and even ask "What is Literature?" Language modules range from historical to sociological, from the opportunity to learn Irish or Breton to modules that develop professional Welsh language skills in the workplace and also Welsh language skills for creative purposes. In the final year, you will have the opportunity to explore in more depth a topic of particular interest to you, and write a dissertation. Students have recently written dissertations on individuals such as Dafydd ap Gwilym, Caryl Lewis, Meic Stevens and Geraint Jarman, and on areas such as eco-criticism, gender and transgender, literature and slavery, attitudes to linguistic regeneration, 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 Welsh for Beginners BA (Hons) Modules page.

Course content is for guidance purposes only and may be subject to change.

General University Costs

Home (UK) students

• The cost of a full-time undergraduate course is £9,250 per year (2025/26).
• The fee for all integrated study abroad years is  £1,385 (2025/26).
• The fee for an integrated year in industry as part of a sandwich programme is £1,850 (2025/26).

More information on fees and finance for Home (UK) students.

International (including EU) students

• International Student Tuition Fees
• International Student Living Costs and Scholarships

Additional Costs
There are also some common additional costs that are likely to arise for students on all courses, for example:

• If you choose to study abroad or take the International Experience Year as part of your course.
• If you attend your Graduation Ceremony, there will be a cost for gown hire (£25-£75) and cost for additional guest tickets (c.£12 each).

Course-specific additional costs
Depending on the course you are studying, there may be additional course-specific costs that you will be required to meet. These fall into three categories:

1. Mandatory Costs: these are related to a particular core or compulsory module that you’ll be required to complete to achieve your qualification e.g. compulsory field trips, uniforms for students on placement, DBS Check.
2. Necessarily Incurred Costs: these may not be experienced by all students, and will vary depending on the course e.g. professional body membership, travel to placements, specialist software, personal safety equipment.
3. Optional Costs: these depend on your choice of modules or activity and they are shown to give you an indication of the optional costs that may arise to make sure your choice is as informed as possible. These can include graduation events for your course, optional field trips, Welcome Week trips.

General University Requirements

To study for a degree, you’ll be asked for a minimum of UCAS Tariff points. For a fuller explanation of the UCAS Tariff Points, please see www.ucas.com.

We accept students with a wide range of qualifications and backgrounds and consider each application individually.

All students need to have good basic skills and the University also values IT and communication skills.

As part of the University’s policy, we consider applications from prospective disabled students on the same grounds as all other students.

We also consider applications from mature students who can demonstrate the motivation and commitment to study a university programme. Each year we enrol a significant number of mature students. For more information about studying as a mature student, see our Studying at Bangor section of the website.

EU and International Students' Entry Requirements

For detailed guidance on the entry requirements for EU and International Students, including the minimum English Language entry requirement, please visit the Entry Requirements by Country pages. International applicants can also visit the International Education Centre section of our website for further details.

Bangor University offers International Incorporated Bachelor Degrees for International students whose High School qualification is not equivalent to the UK school leaving qualification. The first year (or Year 0) is studied at Bangor University International College, an embedded College on our University campus and delivered by Oxford International Education Group.

Bangor's second language students have enjoyed great success recently. Many have gained first class degrees, and some have won University awards for their work (competing with first language students). Some have chosen to go on to successful careers where their Welsh language skills are essential; others have decided to stay in academia, and complete postgraduate degrees in Welsh, either here at Bangor or at other universities internationally.

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 this goal there will be a considerable demand for confident Welsh speaking graduates. A degree in Welsh will qualify you as well as any other route in the Humanities would - and doing so better than many other subjects. Employability statistics show, year on year, that graduates from the School of Welsh succeed exceptionally well in finding qualified work. The ability to communicate effectively in spoken and written Welsh is an essential skill in an ever-increasing number of jobs, and Welsh is not a subject that closes any doors on finding work internationally either.

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 graduates 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.   

Opportunities at Bangor

The University’s Careers and Employability Service provides a wide range of resources to help you achieve your graduate ambitions. 

The Bangor Employability Award (BEA)

The BEA is a comprehensive online course that you can work through at your own pace, taking you through all the steps you need to take to explore, prepare and apply for your dream career.

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 volunteering on the Students’ Union’s website.