BA English and Business
Students will acquire specialist knowledge in two principal subject fields, English and business, from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and International Business School Suzhou (IBSS) respectively. The business component includes two pathways: the Finance and Economics pathway, and the Management pathway.
September 2025
Full time
Three or four years
Not Available
Suzhou
XJTLU undergraduate students earn two degrees: an XJTLU degree recognised by the Chinese Ministry of Education and a globally respected University of Liverpool degree.
Knowledge and skills
By the time you graduate from BA English and Business, you will have:
- professional bilingual competence with expertise in business persuasion and argumentation;
- the ability to produce creative marketing discourse in business activities;
- the ability to conduct specialised financial or market analysis and to formulate critical insights into business operations;
- insights into how language works in a wide range of social and business contexts;
- the ability to teach specialised knowledge in finance or management through English;
- sensitivity to cultural nuances and how languages may be used in multicultural workplaces; and
- translation and interpreting skills along with good working knowledge of finance or management.
This interdisciplinary programme includes a range of specialised modules on English and business studies. Upon completion of this programme, our graduates can pursue a range of careers, and demonstrate flexibility and diversity in their postgraduate application, ranging from financial studies to marketing or creative industries, and to applied linguistics or education. In particular, the ability to combine language expertise with business skills would certainly open more doors for our graduates and gives them a huge advantage in today’s globalised world.
Yan Zhao
Programme director
Modules
*Programme modules listed are illustrative only and subject to change. XJTLU students are advised to log in to the e-Bridge Portal to view the effectuated module structure.
Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University offers a wide range of courses in the first year, including English for academic purposes (EAP), mathematics and physics, and humanities and social sciences. Click to learn more.
Core Modules
Introduction To The Practice Of Statistics
Introduction to Literary Studies
Literature in Context
AI-Empowered Translation Skills
Introduction to Translation and Interpreting
Optional Modules
Essentials of Economics
Foundations of Finance
Sounds of English
Introduction to Linguistics: Grammar
History of English
Introduction to Linguistics: Spoken & Written Discourse
Core Modules
Financial Management
Enlightenment: Literature and Philosophy (1690-1795)
Postcolonial Literature
Language and Society
Language Acquisition
Translation: Theory and Practice
Interpreting
Optional Modules
Econometrics I
International Development
Intermediate Microeconomics
Corporate Finance
Securities Markets
Literature and Gender
Jane Austen
Tragedy in the Age of Shakespeare
Modern British Fiction on Page and Screen
The Short Story
Contemporary Western Approaches to Literature
Romanticism: Nature, Mind, and Society (1780-1840)
Language and Media
Bilingualism
Language and Gender
Semantics and Pragmatics
Cognitive Linguistics
Psycholinguistics
Corpus Linguistics
Language Documentation
Syntax
Morphology
Language Studies for Translation
Sight Translation
Translation and AI Technology
Translation and Culture
Translation and Journalism
Literary Translation
Translation and Computation
Core Modules
International Economic Relations
Business Finance
Finance and Markets
Postmodern Literature (1945-present)
Literature of Modernity (1900-1940)
Analyzing text
Intercultural Communication
Technology-Enhanced Audiovisual Translation
Translation Workshop I
Optional Modules
Final Year Project
Health Humanities
Literature: Final Year Project
Climate Change and Literature
Utopia: The History of an Idea
Final Year Project
Chinese Linguistics
Historical Linguistics
Translation and Interpreting: Final Year Project
Conference Interpreting
Translation and Society
After completing an English and Business degree at XJTLU, I went on to complete a master’s in English Literature at The University of Edinburgh. Coming from a non-finance background, I was looking for a role that values transferable skills over technical expertise. I learned that graduate audit trainee roles at Big Four firms welcome people from various degrees, as long as you’re willing to learn and have strong communication skills and analytical thinking. I spent time researching the role, understanding the company culture, and making sure I could meet the language proficiency needed for both professional reports and client interactions. One thing I’ve learned is that your degree doesn’t have to define your path – focusing on your transferable skills can open up more opportunities than your academic background alone.
Yuwei Xu
Alumna, BA English and Business, working at a Big Four firm
Numbers and languages are two windows through which we perceive and comprehend the world. Through numbers, I gained insight into financial markets. Through languages, I gained insight into diverse cultures and varied ways of communication. This combination is similar to the mixed methods in research methodology. There is precise objectivity; there is also nuanced interpretation. These two complement each other. Thanks to this interdisciplinary programme, I found a way to use the quantitative methods and economic principles that I had acquired in the finance modules in my research on language education. This enables me to do research which contributes to educational equality from a unique perspective.
Manru Zhang
Alumna, BA English and Business, MPhil in Education at the University of Cambridge
Through interdisciplinary courses and diverse career exploration experiences at XJTLU’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences, I gradually developed a strong foundation in academic research and intercultural communication, which guided me toward a career in education and sustainable development.
Wei Zhu
Alumna, BA English and Business, MSc in Education at the University of Oxford
Careers
Graduates from this programme will master multiple languages for the purposes of strategic business negotiation and presentation, creation of innovative promotional texts, and effective cross-cultural communication. Our graduates will also have a strong foundation of business knowledge and skills. They will be well-prepared for a wide range of roles within international companies, including administration, translation and interpreting for business, marketing and public relations, managerial, accounting and consultancy.
Our graduates can also pursue a career in teaching, such as business teachers, teaching English for Business Purposes in international schools, or working as English teachers in public schools in China. Many of our graduates have continued their academic journey in a variety of postgraduate programmes including education, cross-cultural studies, applied linguistics, MBA, marketing, finance and investment, e-business management, or business innovation and entrepreneurship in prestigious institutions all over the world, such as:
- University of Oxford, UK;
- University of Cambridge, UK;
- Warwick Business School, UK;
- London School of Economics, UK;
- University College London, UK;
- King’s College London, UK;
- The University of Edinburgh, Scotland;
- The University of Sydney, Australia;
- New York University, US;
- Georgetown University, US; and
- Washington University in St. Louis, US.
Overview
There are two key features of BA English and Business. Firstly, this interdisciplinary programme doesn’t simply teach business English, neither does it merely provide a non-specialised introduction to general business theories. Instead, BA English and Business allows students to develop knowledge and skills in linguistics, translation, and interpreting with specialist expertise either in finance and economics or in management and marketing. Currently in China, very few English degree programmes have achieved this.
Secondly, the component of English studies in BA English and Business allows students to choose from a range of optional modules within the disciplines of linguistics, translation and interpreting. This design enables students to personalise their learning experience and build their own academic profile, for an enhanced competitive edge in future employment opportunities and postgraduate applications.
Why should I study English and Business at XJTLU?