Cross-Cultural Communication for International Business (MA)
ObjectivesThis programme offers you an opportunity to raise your cross-cultural awareness and enhance your cross-cultural 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 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 cross-cultural communication, Birkbeck’s flexible and student-friendly support, and London’s position as an international multicultural and multilingual city.
Entry requirementsEntry requirements Students are normally expected to have at least a second-class BA honours or equivalent. Preferred subjects include languages, linguistics, communication, TESOL, translation studies or business management. Other subjects can be considered if the candidate has relevant professional/personal experience. Work experience in an inter-cultural context is desirable, but not essential. International candidates whose first language is not English must have an IELTS score of at least 6.5 or equivalent within the last two years. In cases of non-standard applications, applicants will be required to produce evidence of academic writing skills and to attend an interview.
Academic titleCross-Cultural Communication for International Business (MA)
Course descriptionYou complete three core modules, four option modules from a range of subjects and one Research Portfolio.
Core modules
-Language and Cross-Cultural Communication
-Professional and Business Communication
-Current Issues and Research Methods in Cross-Cultural Communication.
Option modules
-Pragmatics
-Sociolinguistics
-Bilingualism
-Translation Theory
-Psycholinguistics
-Second Language Acquisition
-Linguistic Analysis
-Language Behaviour and Brain Mechanisms.
Please note: not all options are offered every year.
Research Portfolio
The Research Portfolio, ongoing throughout the year(s), is designed to ensure a good coverage of the curriculum and the full range of learning outcomes, and to bring together knowledge and skills learnt in different taught modules. It will be submitted at different times of the year and regular feedback will be given to help you to improve your performance.
Teaching
Lectures, seminars, workshops and student presentations.
Assessment
Coursework – continuous assessment; a Research Portfolio, which consists of three pieces of independent work submitted in oral or written presentation.
When to apply
You should apply as early as possible.