Home:
Work
And Study Abroad
Dual Qualification
Index
Student profile
The programme
Objectives
Awards
Opportunities
Students on dual qualification programmes come from a wide range of backgrounds. Students on single language or two language programmes usually study the Applied Languages programme or Translation or Interpreting degree programme in the country where their major language is spoken. Students following joint or combined programmes in Languages with another major subject, in perhaps Business or a technical subject, might well opt to follow a dual qualification programme in their other major subject through their foreign language. Students must, in any case, be ready to accept the challenge of tackling new subjects in the country they visit.
The typical student on the programme will be determined and hardworking and sure of what he/she wants to attain. They would normally have above average skills in the major foreign language to enable them to study the full programme at the foreign institution and to pass all the exams. They will need their dedication to enable them to continue on their chosen pathway even when the going gets tough. They will need application to ensure that in an environment more competitive than the British system that they obtain the grades they require. Those who rise to the challenge are gifted people likely to succeed in their chosen career.
The dual qualification programme enables students to gain two distinct European qualifications through study normally for one full academic year at a foreign University. The curriculum will be designated specifically so that students progress naturally between countries and levels. It will represent a full diet of modules studied at the requisite level in the foreign partner institution, and will normally represent more hours of study per week than would be the norm at a British institution. This should be compared with the typical Erasmus programme where students follow a more open choice of units, often for a reduced number of hours per week (often around 15 hours).
Students develop and improve oral/aural and written skills to a high level of fluency, accuracy and confidence in the major foreign language studied. The opportunity to gain insight and understanding of the social, cultural and political context of the target language country is an important aspect of the programme. Students also become more aware of differing cultural, educational and business practices in operation in the country they visit. This, in its turn, assists the students in becoming more able to adapt to the cultural environment in the country they visit, enabling them to adapt quickly to new circumstances.
This is a stimulating programme but it is also hard work. It is also a major opportunity to gain a second European qualification concurrently whilst completing the degree programme undertaken at the home institution. This obviously gives the student a competitive edge in the market place following graduation.
Students completing the programme who are following a single honours programme or students on Joint Honours programmes or combined majors programmes wishing to emphasise study in one major foreign language normally obtain the Licence LEA from a French University, or a Diplom from the German University or Diploma from the Spanish University.
There is also, in France, the opportunity for students to complete a Premier cycle (equivalent to the British Diploma of Higher Education/ Part I degree programme) and to obtain the DEUG.
Students who are following a joint programme of study with a major in another subject, such as Business Studies or Engineering, may well complete a programme of study with a bias to study of the other major subject through the use of the foreign language whilst abroad. In France, this might lead to the DEUG or, in the case of a technical subject, to the DUT.
Dual qualification offers the student a real opportunity to immerse him/herself in the local culture and educational environment, to perfect their language skills in the language studied and to gain a qualification highly valued by employers. In this way, future career opportunities are enhanced.
Lesley Twomey
University of Northumbria at Newcastle
15.2.99