Welsh and History Cardiff University

Overview

Your Welsh modules will enable you to develop key academic and professional skills. There is a strong interdisciplinary aspect to the provision: you can choose modules that consider the Welsh language, its literature and culture in a range of historical and contemporary contexts.  The Welsh and History degree offered by Cardiff University develop your knowledge and critical understanding of the political, social, economic, and cultural structures of past societies. The expertise reaches an extraordinary breadth of societies, periods and places, spanning the British Isles, Europe (east and west), Africa, Asia, and the Americas. 

Key facts

The modules give you the opportunity to study both well-established areas, such as political, social, cultural and gender history, or explore areas that might be new to you, such as environmental history or digital history. 

Through these modules, you can cultivate intellectual skills such as the ability to assess evidence critically, to evaluate different interpretations of the evidence, to construct arguments based on evidence, and to express opinions cogently in speech and in writing.

Career prospects

Given the Welsh Government’s target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050, there has never been a greater demand for graduates who have these attributes. Graduates in Welsh have a unique opportunity to follow an interesting and varied career through which they can have a real impact on Wales’ linguistic, cultural and economic future.

This degree cultivates key attributes in its graduates: firstly, intellectual curiosity; secondly, a thorough and critical understanding (academically and practically) of the Welsh language, its literature and culture; thirdly, first-rate linguistic skills, both written and oral; fourthly, a lively and critical understanding of the past and how it connects to the present and finally, creative, critical and employability skills that are of crucial importance in an increasingly competitive jobs market.

The degree equips you with important skills which employers’ value from collaborative working and communicating with a wide range of audiences to critical thinking and finding new ways to address problems. Training and careers events are delivered in and out of the curriculum with a focus on developing skills while in university and articulating those skills successfully in future applications. We work closely with Student Futures who not only deliver training and workshops on our core modules, but also offer a wealth of opportunities. Beyond your formal studies we run programmes that provide you with opportunities to engage with local schools and communities or work with local heritage organizations to develop your own skills and profile whilst allowing you to make a difference.

Many of the graduates are now following careers in areas such as law, politics, media and the creative industries, marketing, PR and communication, administration, translation and education, or engaged in postgraduate study. Some students choose to continue with their studies and follow our postgraduate programmes.

Placements

Cardiff University ensures that placements can be incorporated into your learning. In your second year, the core module in Welsh includes a period of work experience in a workplace in which Welsh is used on a daily basis. In your final year, we offer the opportunity to take a module through which you can develop your enterprise skills, and which equips you with the skills to communicate and collaborate with external organizations. Staff also have close links with a range of local heritage and other organizations, which offer placement opportunities both in and outside semesters.

Through our links with the Student Futures, you can source placements and on-campus internships from 35 hours part-time placements to fit in around your studies to paid summer placements. In addition, Go Wales provides additional support to help you gain work experience.