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About the BA in Multilingual Communication

Our BA in Multilingual Communication equips you with the skills you need for a wide range of responsibilities and challenges in the vibrant, digitised language industry. In our programme, you develop the ability to apply your knowledge and skills in a reflective yet practical way.

With the BA in Multilingual Communication, you acquire a bachelor’s degree that qualifies you for various professions in which you can mediate between languages, cultures and specialist fields. Your professional key competence is language mediation in an increasingly multilingual world.

During your BA studies, you are exposed to a multilingual learning environment, and you become familiar with the different aspects of the diverse language industry through hands-on projects. This allows you to enhance your ability to collaborate with others in a variety of team constellations.

You learn how to mediate topics both intralingually and interlingually – for example between specialist language and lay language as well as between languages such as German, French, Italian, English and Spanish. By doing so, you facilitate what humans can do better than any kind of artificial intelligence: truly respond to an audience.

You develop your multilingual profile, which consists of at least three languages of study, through courses that are grounded in principles of applied linguistics. This enables you to reflect on your language work and successfully manage multilingual communication in a variety of professional environments.

You fine-tune your profile in one of three specialisations: Technical Communication and Information Design for mediating complex technical content, Multilingual Communication for coordinating oral interactions, projects and events, and Multimodal Communication for producing texts and translating in digital contexts.

During your BA, you can complete a semester abroad or do internships in Switzerland and abroad. Together with your language combination, this gives you the unique opportunity to individualise your studies and polish your profile with your professional career in mind. In addition, you are ideally positioned to pursue our MA in Applied Linguistics.

Good to know

How does the BA in Multilingual Communication differ from a degree in language and literature at a university?
While a degree in language and literature places considerable value on the foundations of linguistics, the BA in Multilingual Communication is grounded in the latest linguistic research and always focuses on how to apply language and linguistic skills in a variety of practical, multilingual contexts.

Is a semester abroad encouraged?
We attach great importance to foreign experience in our programme because of its focus on multilingualism and communication. For this reason, we actively promote a semester abroad at one of our many partner universities around the world or at other universities. We provide our students with individual advice on the different language regions, offer flexibility in choosing courses at the destination university and encourage students returning from a semester abroad to exchange their experiences with others. There are also various possibilities to receive credit for practical experience gained in Switzerland or abroad during your studies.

Where do graduates find employment after their studies?
Career opportunities for graduates with a BA in Multilingual Communication are wide ranging and can be found wherever people have to communicate across languages, cultures and subjects. This is particularly true for the language industry with its multifaceted careers.
Portraits of graduates

What is the language industry?
The language industry consists of far more than simply language service providers, such as translation agencies. Rather, it is made up of everyone who is involved in language production and language mediation in a multilingual environment.

Is it possible to pursue a Master’s degree afterwards?
The BA in Multilingual Communication provides you with a broad foundation on which you can further specialise in the field of applied linguistics in our MA programme with its specialisations in professional translation, conference interpreting and organisational communication, as well as in other degree programmes in Switzerland and abroad.