Year Abroad
This unique and valuable experience is one of the most attractive aspects of studying languages at university.
Your year abroad
Study languages and embrace the opportunity to live abroad - improve your language skills and increase your confidence. The experience will broaden your outlook on the world too.
When will I go?
Our year abroad is now optional meaning you can choose to study abroad in your third year (making your degree four years) or you can opt out (which will make your degree three years). You do not have to choose right away and you can talk through your options with your degree programme director once you arrive at Newcastle.
Year abroad support
You'll receive lots of help to prepare for your year abroad, including:
- briefings covering practicalities like insurance, student safety and country-specific information
- support in finding a work placement
- a Tandem Learning Scheme, to practise conversation in your foreign language and make in-country contacts, before you travel
- a training course for language assistants
There are also events in your second year when you can meet:
- students who have already done their year abroad
- Erasmus students from our partner universities in Europe
- Chinese and Japanese exchange students from our host universities in East Asia
Where can I travel to?
The year abroad is highly flexible and students can choose to either spend their year abroad in one country or divide it between two countries.
You can also study at a partner university in one semester and undertake a work placement in another. For students wishing to take either Chinese or Japanese in their final year, the whole year abroad must be spent in either China or Japan.
Careers placement year
We are offering all modern language students not taking a year abroad the opportunity to undertake a Careers Placement Year in the UK.