Built on a solid research foundation, the curriculum offers a broad and highly flexible suite of modules enabling you to tailor the programme to your own specific interests. The MA Language and Linguistics also offers a broad-based but advanced introduction for those new to the study of language, linguistics and communication, as well as building on topics that will be familiar to those who studied language and linguistics an undergraduate level.  

The MA in Language and Linguistics enables you to develop knowledge and research skills over the course of the programme. We support you to become an independent and active learner, able to understand key issues in the different sub-fields of language and linguistics. Throughout the course you will improve your research skills by being given specific training in research methodology, planning your own work and being involved in ongoing research projects led by various members of staff. You will also gain a thorough understanding of different theoretical and methodological approaches that can be used to explore the linguistic structures of a language.

We develop your ability to undertake linguistic analysis confidently and effectively; to collect, evaluate, synthesise and interpret qualitative and/or quantitative data; and to critique arguments and research. The curriculum also develops important work-related skills, such as the ability to communicate clearly and persuasively and to work both independently and in collaboration with others.

The structure of the MA enables you to develop expertise in specific areas of linguistics and language study. Particular strengths in the Centre for Language and Communication Research are discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, systemic functional linguistics, corpus linguistics, forensic linguistics, intercultural communication and professional communication. The wide range of subject modules available ensures that you develop a strong foundation in the discipline area whilst also having the flexibility to pursue your own specific research interests within that area.

We aim to give our students experience of excellence in teaching and learning at an advanced level, in an environment where they will benefit from the fact that the Centre is home to world-leading research in linguistics and communication.

Distinctive features

• Access to an established research training programme making it possible to continue to PhD, should you wish
• Provision of an integrated foundation in research activities and bases in order that you are prepared for research activities
• Hands-on experience of working on an established staff research project in order to gain practical insights into the ways that research works in authentic team contexts
• Optional modules which form the bulk of the programme and provide a vital foundation for later dissertation-writing
• Situated in the lively Centre for Language and Communication Research, where we regularly host talks from visiting academics from around the world, Advanced Research Residencies and Summer Schools, and where a range of reading and research groups run on topics including sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, systemic functional linguistics and forensic linguistics.