Intercultural Communication for Business and Professions (MA) - 2013/2014 entry

This programme offers you an opportunity to raise your cross-cultural awareness and enhance your intercultural communicative competence in international business settings, to reflect on your own culture and language use, and to develop the professional and business communication skills necessary to proceed to careers in the international business world.

It focuses on intercultural communication skills, including written, oral and interpersonal skills, and is specially designed for language and communication graduates who are looking to develop a career in international organisations or the business sector, and business graduates who would like to improve their professional and business communication skills to enhance their employability.

The programme benefits from a combination of knowledge-based and skills-oriented training, world-class experts in intercultural communication, Birkbeck’s flexible and student-friendly support, and London’s position as an international multicultural and multilingual city.

• Multidisciplinary programme bringing together applied linguistics, language studies, communication studies and business studies.
• Seeks to bridge the gap between theory and practice and to encourage you to carry out action research on your personal and professional experience. 

You will take two core modules (worth 30 credits each) and two or three option modules (worth 30 credits each), and complete a 12,000–15,000-word dissertation (worth 60 credits) or a 4500–5000-word criticial review.

Core modules: 

• Language, Culture and Communication
• Research Methods and Design.

Option modules:

• Core Issues in Language Teaching and TESOL
• International Management Communication
• Introduction to Applied Linguistics
• Issues in Translation
• Linguistic Analysis
• Marketing Communications: An Introduction 
• Professional and Business Communication
• Professional Development for Language Teaching
• Psycholinguistics of Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism
• Sociolinguistics.

Please note: option modules are subject to change.

Birkbeck College Applied Linguistics Society, an official University of London society, was formed to bring together students interested in applied linguistics and related fields (for example, multilingualism, intercultural communication, TESOL etc) in the London area.

Birkbeck’s Centre for Multilingual and Multicultural Research hosts visiting scholars from all over the world and runs regular research seminars given by speakers from overseas and other UK institutions. The centre also supports postgraduate training in applied linguistics, bilingualism, intercultural communication and translation.

If you are interested in further research, we offer a NewRoutePhD in Intercultural Communication.

Graduates go on to careers in international business, translation, education administration, intercultural consultancy, publishing, government, and tourism/hospitality.