Liberal Education in British Universities in a Global Context: A Case Study of Undergraduate Linguistics Programme at the University of Manchester

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-551-5_2How to use a DOI?

Keywords

liberal education; curriculum structure; linguistics programme

Abstract

This research explores the core principles, curriculum design, teaching methods, and the challenges faced by liberal education in a global context. To this end, it takes the undergraduate linguistics programme at the University of Manchester as an example. The researcher conducted literature analysis, collected syllabus and related materials of the undergraduate linguistics courses at the university, as well as an in-depth interview and a questionnaire survey with 22 participants. The findings indicate that the programme emphasises interdisciplinary knowledge integration and aims to develop students’ transferable skills. The curriculum encompasses multiple disciplines, including linguistics, cultural studies, and social sciences, and adopts a blended learning approach that integrates online learning with in-person discussions to motivate students to actively participate in deeper critical thinking. However, challenges such as uneven student participation and insufficient resource allocation persist in course implementation. This study provides valuable insights into the practice of liberal education, highlighting the significance of interdisciplinary integration and holistic educational development.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Xinru Wang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/26
TI  - Liberal Education in British Universities in a Global Context: A Case Study of Undergraduate Linguistics Programme at the University of Manchester
BT  - Proceeding of 2025 8th International Conference on Humanities Education and Social Sciences (ICHESS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 7
EP  - 15
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-551-5_2
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-551-5_2
ID  - Wang2026
ER  -