Centre for Language Study (CLS)
The Centre for Language Study is a constituent part of the Department of Modern Languages within the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Southampton and is located at the Avenue Campus. CLS is responsible for all the language teaching at the University and students include specialist linguists, students taking a language as a degree option, International students learning English, as well as members of the public taking evening classes.
Modern Languages
Modern Languages has a highly innovative, student-centred approach to education, offering undergraduate programmes in French, German, Spanish and Portuguese, as well as in Linguistics, Language Learning, Language and Society, and Contemporary Europe. Arabic, English (as a foreign language), Italian, Chinese, Russian and Japanese are also offered as part of undergraduate degree programmes.
Teaching, including language teaching, is delivered by specialists in those areas, allowing research led staff to concentrate on their own fields of research expertise. A distinctive feature of the language provision at Southampton is its organisation into 7 language stages, which are independent of the year of study, offering multiple entry and exit points. Modern Languages has maintained buoyant applications from highly qualified students despite the national decline in languages at A Level. It hosts the Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies and has a strong presence in national and European networks.
Full details of staff, research interests and units taught can be found on the Modern Languages web pages at
The Faculty of Humanities
The Faculty of Humanities is one of the largest of the University’s eight Faculties, with some 300 staff, 3500 students (2700 FTE), and an annual income of around £40 million. Most academic staff are based in one of seven Departments: Archaeology, English, Film, History, Modern Languages, Music and Philosophy. There are several interdisciplinary groupings and research-based Centres, including some which involve other Faculties within the University. Some of the most active are focused around major archives held in Southampton, such as theParkes collection and the papers of Wellington, Palmerston and Mountbatten, or around special local connections, such as that with the Chawton House Library, and its links with Jane Austen. Recent initiatives include the Marine and Maritime Institute, Web Science and Digital Humanities.
The Faculty of Humanities has emerged as one of the strongest research areas at the University of Southampton in the 2014 REF (research excellence framework). Three of the six Humanities submissions are ranked in the top 5 in their subject group (History, Languages and Linguistics, Music) as measured by the quality of their research. In the authoritative Times Higher Education tables, Modern Languages and Film came out fifth in the Languages and Linguistics subject group. Music was ranked 2nd, and History 3rd.
There is a vigorous culture of postgraduate research, with around 200 students undertaking research degrees, and programmes of research training at discipline and School levels. A Faculty Graduate School provides support for postgraduates. An extensive range of taught MA programmes have been developed, with a combined annual cohort of nearly 200 students.
The Faculty has a wide range of undergraduate programmes, with an excellent reputation for Honours degrees across all its disciplines, a flourishing programme of part-time studies and a growing number of international students. It also provides University-wide language programmes. As one of the most student-rich groups in the University, Humanities is committed to providing a world-class experience for its students, with innovative curricula and supportive administrative and pastoral structures. There are robust processes for quality assurance and enhancement, and new junior staff are required to undertake training in academic practice. The student voice is valued, including detailed feedback from students, and systematic liaison with student representatives. The person appointed will be an excellent teacher, and will be expected to contribute to the development of the undergraduate curriculum.
More information is available on the website:
The University
Southampton is an expanding research-led university with a strong commitment to improving its position as a leading research university of international standing. The University has set out an ambitious strategy for growth and international excellence.
The University is a member of the Russell Group, the leading group of research universities in the U.K. With key strengths in science, engineering, social sciences and medicine, as well as arts and humanities, the University is at the centre of a substantial network of higher education in the region and internationally.
The University is one of the top ten UK universities in terms of research achievement. The success of our researchers has resulted in the University being ranked in the top-5 in the UK across a wide range of subjects: Engineering and Computer Science, Modern Languages, Music, Nursing, Statistics, Sociology and Social Policy, in, and in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences.
The University is a member of the Worldwide University Network (WUN), an alliance of research-led universities in the UK, US, Europe and the Far East. It offers first-rate opportunities and facilities for study and research, including a world-class library with some outstanding collections. It has a record of working closely with business and industry, and has a strong enterprise agenda. It currently has around 23,000 students and 5,500 staff based across several campuses in Southampton and Winchester. It has a broad discipline base, encompassing all the major academic subjects, and has a particular commitment to innovation, which is evidenced both in its outstanding research and scholarship at the leading edge, and also in its ability to pioneer new approaches and techniques relevant to the world today. It has an excellent social environment, with substantial sports and leisure facilities available to staff.
The predominant ethos is informal and participatory, with a strongly devolved structure based on 8 academic Faculties, of which Humanities is one of the largest and most diverse.
More detailed information is available at the University’s website: