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Programme Information & PLOs
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Title of the new programme – including any year abroad/ in industry variants
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BA French/German and Philosophy
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Level of qualification
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Please select:Level 6
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Please indicate if the programme is offered with any year abroad / in industry variants Year in Industry
Please select Y/N		No
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Year Abroad
Please select Y/N		No
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Department(s):
Where more than one department is involved, indicate the lead department
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Lead Department Language and Linguistic Science
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Other contributing Departments: Philosophy
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Programme Leader
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Please name the programme leader and any key members of staff responsible for designing, maintaining and overseeing the programme.
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Thomas Jochum-Critchley (Programme Leader)
Barry Lee
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Purpose and learning outcomes of the programme
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Statement of purpose for applicants to the programme
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Philosophy and French (alt. Philosophy and German) is an engaging and challenging programme which nurtures a range of specific skills that have wide applicability and open up exciting opportunities. In philosophy, you’ll investigate deep and fascinating questions about reality, thought, language and value and try to find answers, working imaginatively to identify potential solutions and applying systematic logical argument in evaluating the possibilities. In French (alt. German), you’ll get to grips with the history, politics and culture of the French-speaking world (alt. German-speaking world), working in your chosen language to build powerful and flexible communication skills grounded in a rich understanding of intercultural norms and practices. The two disciplines complement one another and cross-fertilize in interesting and useful ways. Philosophy increases your sensitivity to fine-grained differences of meaning and equips you to think your way carefully into whole systems of thought. Study of French (German) language and culture broadens your outlook and enhances your awareness of the background to ideas. In addition, investigations into the workings of language through study in linguistics will bring further depth to your understanding and give you sophisticated insight into meaning, reasoning and arguments. The programme offers the opportunity to apply the skills developed in the two disciplines in an integrated way in a final year module in which you explore a philosophical issue focusing on philosophical texts in your target language.

Completing the programme successfully will equip you with a powerful range of skills: able to think in a systematic way about new problems—generating solutions, evaluating ideas, and arriving at clear judgements backed by sharp logical arguments—and with cultural awareness and facility in your chosen language that will enable you to thrive as an effective communicator in international and multilingual professional environments. This skill set will open up opportunities in a wide range of careers, including language teaching, the law, translation services, finance, business, government, the public sector, charities, broadcasting and journalism.
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Programme Learning Outcomes
Please provide six to eight statements of what a graduate of the programme can be expected to do.
Taken together, these outcomes should capture the distinctive features of the programme. They should also be outcomes for which progressive achievement through the course of the programme can be articulated, and which will therefore be reflected in the design of the whole programme.
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PLOOn successful completion of the programme, graduates will be able to:
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1Interact and communicate effectively in French or German in a variety of contexts, showing awareness of and sensitivity to details of language and intercultural norms and practices, and solving problems of communication as they arise.
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2Draw on and develop knowledge and understanding of the cultures associated with French or German and English in engagements with a variety of sources.
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3Produce insightful and illuminating explanations of key problems and puzzles in philosophy, linguistics and French or German and apply their understanding in approaching new problems.
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4Develop and articulate solutions to problems and puzzles in philosophy and linguistics applying insights in an interdisciplinary way, where appropriate.
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5Lay out what can be said for and against potential solutions to problems, and make a measured judgement about what is the best solution in each case, supporting that judgement with a sustained line of logical argument.
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6Use a scientifically grounded understanding of the nature, use and acquisition of language to investigate complex and unfamiliar linguistic phenomena, discern relevant patterns and articulate these in illuminating ways
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7Synthesise and critically approach complex and unfamiliar French or German language and linguistic phenomena, taking into consideration arguments from a variety of standpoints
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Programme Learning Outcome for year in industry (where applicable)
For programmes which lead to the title ‘with a Year in Industry’ – typically involving an additional year – please provide either a) amended versions of some (at least one, but not necessarily all) of the standard PLOs listed above, showing how these are changed and enhanced by the additional year in industry b) an additional PLO, if and only if it is not possible to capture a key ability developed by the year in industry by alteration of the standard PLOs.
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n/a
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Programme Learning Outcome for year abroad programmes (where applicable)
For programmes which lead to the title ‘with a Year Abroad’ – typically involving an additional year – please provide either a) amended versions of some (at least one, but not necessarily all) of the standard PLOs listed above, showing how these are changed and enhanced by the additional year abroad or b) an additional PLO, if and only if it is not possible to capture a key ability developed by the year abroad by alteration of the standard PLOs.
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Students with a Year Abroad students learn to assess culturally-specific information first hand, by learning to navigate across cultures in a contextually appropriate and culturally sensitive manner, handling uncertainties with confidence; developing an awareness of and sensitivity to intercultural norms. Going on the Year Abroad will make students highly-sought after by employers, since the experience will give students international exposure, problem-solving skills, adaptability, networking and communication skills. The Year Abroad is divided into two semesters (60 credits each); students have the choice of going to a partner university, work placement or British Council Assistantship. Each term, students get assessed at University of York. The assessment is based on two 2000 word essays in the target languages. The first assessment is due in week 4 Spring term and the second assessment is due in week 12 Summer term. The two semesters are each assessed on a PASS/FAIL basis.
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Explanation of the choice of Programme Learning Outcomes
Please explain your rationale for choosing these PLOs in a statement that can be used for students (such as in a student handbook). Please include brief reference to:
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Combined honours in French/German and Philosophy gives graduates a distinctive set of skills and competencies. They master a language at an advanced level and gain a deep appreciation of French/German culture and society in the context of philosophical studies. Combined honours give students intellectual flexibility - they have the discipline to master a language and also analyse large amounts of text. They can interrogate various types of evidence, develop their own interpretations and solve problems independently. They emerge from the degree with the tools needed to ask productive questions and formulate well informed answers in relation to a wide variety of areas of human activity. The attributes of creativity, curiosity, and interpretation are some of the most important tools students need to be successful professionals and be sensitive and responsible members of an international and multilingual professional environment.
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ii) The ways in which these outcomes are distinctive or particularly advantageous to the student:
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The combination of the multidisciplinary study of culture and society, and the development of fluency, accuracy, and critical skills, together with the study of linguistics, gives the learning outcomes their distinctive quality and justifies them in a fundamental way. Approaching the subjects of study in the target language and in small groups gives students the fluency and critical skills needed to operate in the international and bilingual professional environments.
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iii) How the programme learning outcomes develop students’ digital literacy and will make appropriate use of technology-enhanced learning (such as lecture recordings, online resources, simulations, online assessment, ‘flipped classrooms’ etc)?
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One of the focal points of our language programmes is the focus on content based language learning, this engages students in becoming effective in working with IT across the language curriculum, such as wikis, video, digital portfolios, google documents and blogs, etc. French/German and Philosophy students will also undertake research and identify material using the internet and digital database and repositories. They are adept at finding useful resources but also highly skilled in evaluating the reliability and value of digital material. Students are thus encouraged to develop their digital identity within and outside the University.
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iv) How the PLOs support and enhance the students’ employability (for example, opportunities for students to apply their learning in a real world setting)?
The programme's employablity objectives should be informed by the University's Employability Strategy:
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http://www.york.ac.uk/about/departments/support-and-admin/careers/staff/
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The PLOs support and enhance student employability by focusing on the development of communicative, multicultural and critical competencies in order to ensure that our students are highly sought-after graduates who can navigate and operate in international and bilingual professional environments. Other great skills our students gain through the joint honours French/German and Philosophy are: problem solving, analysis and critical reflexion, capacity for collaboration, capacity to innovate and adapt as a reflective practice and intercultural awareness and sensitivity.
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vi) How will students who need additional support for academic and transferable skills be identified and supported by the Department?
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Contact with staff is key, both in academic and pastoral contexts. The department has a host of monitoring and reporting mechanisms in place to identify students who may be in need of further support. Module and Year coordinators liaise directly with supervisors and once a student has been identified a plan of action, in consultation with the university's support services is put in place. The programme leaders may also take an active consultative role in this process. Supervisors identify students in difficulty by reviewing attendance through regular supervision meetings, reviewing attendance, and communication with module leaders. They ensure that students in need receive appropriate support through the relevant department and/or utilizing the appropriate university support services (e.g. the Open Door Team, Disability Services, the Careers Office).
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vii) How is teaching informed and led by research in the department/ centre/ University?
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The Philosophy and Language and Linguistic Departments have a strong commitment to research-led and scholarship-led teaching. A wide range of specialist modules in the final year are designed with flexibility in mind so that they can provide a structured environment for teaching that is centred around the research interests of members of individual members of the department. There is a lot of opportunities for independent study in both disciplines, providing them with the chance to conduct independent research under the supervision of staff members.
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Stage-level progression
Please complete the table below, to summarise students’ progressive development towards the achievement of PLOs, in terms of the characteristics that you expect students to demonstrate at the end of each year. This summary may be particularly helpful to students and the programme team where there is a high proportion of option modules.

Note: it is not expected that a position statement is written for each PLO, but this can be done if preferred (please add information in the 'individual statement' boxes). For a statement that applies across all PLOs in the stage fill in the 'Global statement' box.
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Stage 0 (if your programme has a Foundation year, use the toggles to the left to show the hidden rows)
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Stage 1
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On progression from the first year (Stage 1), students will be able to:
Note on ‘Staged Challenges’ approach to stage outcomes: Students are expected to work in increasingly sophisticated, complex, and autonomous ways as they progress through the programme. The differences between the stages of the programme can be understood in terms of ‘staged challenges’: progressively more difficult materials are addressed; the quantity of basic-level guidance and analysis provided by academic staff is reduced; and expectations of students rise. There is a path of progression and increased challenge through the programme, from participation, examination and discussion in Stage 1, though more contextually considered and critically reflective work in Stage 2, to a focus on research specialisms and increased independence in Stage 3. (The following characterizations of the staged challenges should be read in conjunction with the PLOs.)

By the end of first year:
French/German: Students develop sensitivity to different registers and have acquired effective communicative strategies in the target languages. They have acquired language learning processes and strategies in order to become autonomous learners and have begun to develop their analytical and critical skills in the target language under guidance. Students have also developed, through the study of linguisitcs, a broad understanding of the nature and functioning of language in general.
Philosophy: Students are exposed to carefully framed presentations of issues and debates with selected readings (of an appropriate level of difficulty) that they are not required to go beyond (as the aim at this stage is to focus attention and get to grips with those readings), with significant support from introductory material and guiding questions. Students are expected to be able to recognize and articulate key differences between the positions considered, to rehearse arguments accurately with a reasonable level of understanding, and to be able to make evaluative judgements about positions and arguments based on the evidence, showing sensitivity to key features of arguments such as validity and plausibility of premises. Students are expected to be able to engage in discussions of philosophical texts: expressing their responses to study questions, listening carefully to the contributions of others and responding constructively.
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PLO 1PLO 2PLO 3PLO 4PLO 5PLO 6PLO 7PLO 8
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Develop a sensitivity to different registers and acquire effective communicative strategies. Start to develop critical skills in a target language under guidance. Understand and explain the main features of some key problems, issues, and debates presented in module materials

Understand and explain some key fundamental concepts, terminology, and notation required for understanding philosophical texts and discussions

In Linguistics, understand and recognise foundational methods of analysis for a range of linguistic phenomena		In relation to particular problems and issues, be able to articulate some alternative solutions laid out in central module materials (including set readings, lecture slides, and handouts)

In Linguistics, be able to deploy an understanding of what constitutes a principled solution to a linguistic problem		Articulate arguments laid out in central module materials for and against the alternative solutions considered in relation to a particular problem, and go on to make a judgement about what is the best view on that problem, relating this to the evidence considered, showing sensitivity to key features of arguments including validity and plausibility of premisses

In Linguistics, appreciate the value and force of different types of argument: empirical, analytical, theoretical, conceptual		Apply foundational methods of analysis to a range of linguistic phenomena, distinguishing what counts as "data" -- different objects of study -- in different fields of linguistics
Identify and analyse unfamiliar linguistic patterns encountered in authentic materials
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Stage 2
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On progression from the second year (Stage 2), students will be able to:At the end of second year:

French/German: students approach complex and unfamiliar language structures and content with self-confidence. They are able to research, synthesise and critically assess culturally sensitive information, developing a clear line of reasoning both in English and the target languages. Students understand the importance of teamwork as well as the necessity to adapt to different roles in various settings. Finally, they engage critically with a wide range of feedback practices (self-reflection and peer feedback).

Philosophy: Students are expected to develop reasonable depth and breadth of knowledge and understanding in a number of key topic areas in philosophy, including the philosophy of language. They are given key readings and introduced to the issues, but they are expected to tackle more difficult puzzles and materials and/or are expected to do more in terms of developing their own understanding and exploring the relevant literature than in Year 1. They are expected to express their understanding of key problems, issues, positions, and arguments in clear and concise terms. They are expected to argue for their view on a question or issue, and to consider and weigh objections to central arguments and potential responses to those objections. They are expected to be able to engage in critical discussion with others.
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PLO 1PLO 2PLO 3PLO 4PLO 5PLO 6PLO 7PLO 8
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Interact in a safe class environment which simulates real life intercultural and multilingual communication. Hone their critical skills in a target language under guidance. Understand and explain key problems, issues, and debates across a wide range of areas of philosophy and its history

In linguistics, understand a range different research methods appropriate to a range of different linguisti questions/phenomena to be investigated
Develop and articulate ranges of alternative solutions to problems and issues in an open-minded way, drawing on module materials and seeking out novel alternatives through research, extrapolation, and analogy—applying lessons from previous study to novel problems

Recognise the ingredients of a creative and principled solution to a linguistic problem and have awareness of the scientific evaluation criteria (empirical coverage, theoretical coherence, beauty, elegance)		Articulate arguments for and against the alternative solutions considered in relation to a particular problem, drawing on module materials, identifying some points of weakness and some potential options for development, and go on to make a judgement about what is the best view on a particular problem and provide a defence of this judgement, weighing objections to arguments and responses to these objections

Engage critically with primary linguitics literature and differentiate between multiple theoretical approaches to a single problem		Be able to select and deploy different research methods appropriately given the linguistic question/phenomenon being investigated

Be able to recognise and explore more complex linguistic patterns, and develop skills for expressing formal/academic argumentation to describe those patterns		Identify and analyse unfamiliar linguistic patterns encountered in authentic material autonomously.
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Stage 3
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(For Integrated Masters) On progression from the third year (Stage 3), students will be able to:Year 3: Students are expected to engage with difficult issues and material—including some at the forefront of contemporary work—and work autonomously to develop understanding. They are expected to work autonomously to arrive at a view on particular questions/issues, and present a sustained line of argument in defence of this judgement. They are expected to have a more sophisticated appreciation of the ways in which their position and initial arguments might be resisted: identifying objections and responses, and evaluating their relative strength.
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PLO 1PLO 2PLO 3PLO 4PLO 5PLO 6PLO 7PLO 8
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Individual statements
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Programme Structure
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Module Structure and Summative Assessment Map
Please complete the summary table below which shows the module structure and the pattern of summative assessment through the programme.

‘Option module’ can be used in place of a specific named option. If the programme requires students to select option modules from specific lists these lists should be provided in the next section.

From the drop-down select 'S' to indicate the start of the module, 'A' to indicate the timing of each distinct summative assessment point (eg. essay submission/ exam), and 'E' to indicate the end of the module (if the end of the module coincides with the summative assessment select 'EA') . It is not expected that each summative task will be listed where an overall module might be assessed cumulatively (for example weekly problem sheets).

If summative assessment by exams will be scheduled in the summer Common Assessment period (weeks 5-7) a single ‘A’ can be used within the shaded cells as it is understood that you will not know in which week of the CAP the examination will take place.
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Stage 0 (if you have modules for Stage 0, use the toggles to the left to show the hidden rows)
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Stage 1
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CreditsModuleAutumn TermSpring Term Summer Term
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CodeTitle123456789101234567891012345678910
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20LAN00003C; LAN00004C Language and Society I; French or German SAAEA
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20LAN00006C; LAN00007C Grammar: French or German SAEA
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20LFA or Linguistics Module from option A SAAEA
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10PHI00001C Beginning Philosophy SAEA
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20PHI00005C Reason and Argument A SEAA
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20PHI00007CEthics SEA
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10PHI00010CIntroduction to Ancient PhilosophySEA
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20LAN00037CAb initio Language and Society: German SAAEA
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20LAN00040CAb initio Language skills: German SAAAEA
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20LAN00043CAb initio Grammar: German
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Students, who choose to study German, can start a German degree with no or very little experience of the language through the Ab-Initio strand. During the first year of study, students will take three 20-credit modules, listed above. These modules are an accelerated introduction to the language and culture of German speaking countries. Students have six contact hours a week in the target language. By second year, students will join their A-level language cohort, taking the same second year modules in German.
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Stage 2
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CreditsModuleAutumn TermSpring Term Summer Term
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CodeTitle123456789101234567891012345678910
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20LAN00003I; LAN00006ILanguage and Society II: French, German SAAEA
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20Language Module from option B SAEA
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20Language or Linguistics Module from option B or C SAEA
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20PHI00073I(Key Ideas) Philosophy of Language
SEA
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20VariousKey Ideas Module (Spring) - Various - See option list FSAEA
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20VariousKey Ideas Module (Spring) - Various - See option list FSAEA
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Stage 3
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CreditsModuleAutumn TermSpring Term Summer Term
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CodeTitle123456789101234567891012345678910
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20Language and Society II: French, GermanSAEA
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20Language option from option D
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20Language or linguistics option from option D, E
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20Philosophy Research-led Year 3 Module (Autumn) from option list GSEA
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20Philosophy Research-led Year 3 Module (Spring) from option list GSEA
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10Philosophy Advanced ModuleSEA
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10Philosophy/Language Bridge Module
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In Philosophy, students take two 20-credit Research-led modules across Autumn and Spring terms, one 10-credit Advanced Module in Summer, and the 10-credit Bridge Module. The bridge module is scheduled to ensure students have managable workloads.
[Note: We are looking at ways in which we might amend the Final Year Programme to accommodate a bridging element in a different way. See Enhancement Plan.]
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Optional module lists

If the programme requires students to select option modules from specific lists these lists should be provided below. If you need more space, use the toggles on the left to reveal ten further hidden rows.
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Option List A Linguistics (1st year) Option List B Language (Second Year)


(Note: Representative list only – may vary from year to year)
Option List C Linguistics (Second Year)


(Note: Representative list only – may vary from year to year)
Option List D Language (Final Year)


(Note: Representative list only – may vary from year to year)
Option List E Linguistics (Final Year)


(Note: Representative list only – may vary from year to year)
Option List F Philosophy Year 2 Key Ideas Modules

(Note: Representative list only – may vary from year to year)		Option List G
Philosophy Year 3 Reseach-led Option Modules (20 credit)

(Note: Representative list only – may vary from year to year)
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Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology Francophone world (Year long module) Intermediate phonetics and phonology (Spring-Summer) Translation methodology and practice: French, German (Year long module) Accents of Britain: The phonetics & phonology of English dialects (Spring-Summer)Key Ideas: History of Ethics 20c (Autumn)
Consciousness (Autumn)
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Introduction to Syntax Berlin Republic (Year long module) Intermediate syntax (Spring-Summer) French society on-screen (if students take this in their second year, they cannot take it again)Bilingualism (Spring-Summer) Key Ideas: Ethical Theory 20c (Autumn)
Dissertation, Short (Autumn, formerly 'Special Subject')
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Introduction Semantics Contemporary German Speaking Film (Y2)Intermediate Semantics (Spring-Summer) Contemporary German Speaking Film (if students take this in their second year, they cannot take it again)Phonological Development (Autumn) Key Ideas: Religious Ethics 20c (Autumn)
Language and Mind (Autumn)