MA Linguistics

Year of entry: 2019

Overview

Degree awarded

Duration

12 months full-time, 24 months part-time.

Entry requirements

Applicants should hold a good, Upper Second Class Honours degree, or its overseas equivalent, normally in a relevant subject.

Full entry requirements

Number of places/applicants

There is no limit on the number of places available.

How to apply

Please refer to the following School page regarding subject-specific requirements. These are in addition to the basic prerequisites as shown under entry requirements:

http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/study/masters/applying/

For references, please email the following link to your referees:

References for master's applications

They will submit your references directly to us and we will add them to your application.

Please use the Online Application Form to apply. Once you register, you can search for the course to which you wish to apply and upload the required supporting documents towards the end of this process.

Course options

	Full-time	Part-time	Full-time distance learning	Part-time distance learning
MA	Y	Y	N	N
PGDip	Y	N	N	N

Course overview

Gain a thorough grounding in the full breadth and depth of linguistic theory.
Access innovative resources, including psycholinguistics and phonetics laboratories with facilities for signal analysis, speech synthesis, laryngography and electropalatography.
Build the necessary intellectual skills to plan and carry out independent research.

Open days

The School's next Open Day will be held on the afternoon of Wednesday, 8 May . The event will enable you to:

Discover more about course content through subject specific talks or taster sessions.
Meet academics and current students and find out more about life as a postgraduate student at Manchester.
Explore available funding options and find out how to apply.
Take a tour of our dedicated Graduate School and our award-winning cultural venues.
Find out more about our world-leading research.

Please Register via our Eventbrite page .

If you have any questions about the event, please contact us at MASALC@manchester.ac.uk or by phoning 0161 306 1259.

Fees

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2019, the tuition fees are as follows:

MA (full-time)
UK/EU students (per annum): £9,500
International students (per annum): £18,500
MA (part-time)
UK/EU students (per annum): £4,750
PGDip (full-time)
UK/EU students (per annum): £6,334
International students (per annum): £12,334

The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive for the course tuition, administration and computational costs during your studies.

All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of courses lasting more than a year for UK/EU students (fees are typically fixed for International students, for the course duration at the year of entry). For general fees information please visit: postgraduate fees . Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

Self-funded international applicants for this course will be required to pay a deposit of £1000 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. This deposit will only be refunded if immigration permission is refused. We will notify you about how and when to make this payment.

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships/sponsorships

Each year the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures offer a number of School awards and Subject-specific bursaries (the values of which are usually set at Home/EU fees level), open to both Home/EU and international students. The deadline for these is early February each year. Details of all funding opportunities, including deadlines, eligibility and how to apply, can be found on the School's funding page where you can also find details of the Government Postgraduate Loan Scheme.

See also the University's postgraduate funding database to see if you are eligible for any other funding opportunities.

The Manchester Postgraduate Scholarship of Academic Excellence offers up to 100 fee waiver scholarships worth £2,000 each to high-achieving undergraduates from any UK University with an offer to study a Master's degree in the School.

For University of Manchester graduates, the Manchester Alumni Bursary offers a £3,000 reduction in tuition fees to University of Manchester alumni who achieved a 1st within the last three years and are progressing to a postgraduate taught masters course for September 2019 entry.

The Manchester Master's Bursary is a University-wide scheme that offers 100 bursaries worth £3,000 in funding for students from underrepresented groups.

Postgraduate 1+3 funding is available from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for students to pursue postgraduate study through a master's (one year) leading into a PhD (3 years). It requires a project proposal as part of the application. Information is available here:

Applying to 1+3 with NWSSDTP

Contact details

School/Faculty: School of Arts, Languages and Cultures
Contact name: PG Taught Admissions
Telephone: +44 (0)161 306 1259
Email: MASALC@manchester.ac.uk
Website: http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/linguistics-and-english-language/
School/Faculty: See: About us

Courses in related subject areas

Use the links below to view lists of courses in related subject areas.

Linguistics and English Language

Entry requirements

Academic entry qualification overview

Applicants should hold a good, Upper Second Class Honours degree, or its overseas equivalent, normally in a relevant subject.

English language

An overall grade of 7.0 (with a minimum writing score of 7) in IELTS is required or 100+ in the TOEFL iBT with a minimum writing score of 25.

If you have obtained a different qualification, please check our English language requirements to ensure that it is accepted and equivalent to the above requirements.

English language test validity

Some English Language test results are only valid for two years. Your English Language test report must be valid on the start date of the course.

Other international entry requirements

We accept a range of qualifications from different countries. For these and general requirements including English language see entry requirements from your country .

Application and selection

How to apply

Please refer to the following School page regarding subject-specific requirements. These are in addition to the basic prerequisites as shown under entry requirements:

http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/study/masters/applying/

For references, please email the following link to your referees:

References for master's applications

They will submit your references directly to us and we will add them to your application.

Advice to applicants

Please note that this course teaches during business hours and does not offer distance learning.

The part-time mode of attendance aims to concentrate contact time onto two days.

How your application is considered

Applications are mainly considered on the basis of an assessment of past and predicted academic achievements, the academic reference(s) and any other supplementary evidence that supports the application.

We therefore strongly recommend you include a personal statement (no more than 500 words) that demonstrates your understanding of the subject and your motivation for wanting to study the programme.

If your academic background is not directly related to the programme, you should supply an academic-standard writing sample on a subject related to the programme.

If English is not your native language, then you should provide an academic-standard writing sample in English directly related to the subject.

For the specific requirements of each programme in the School, please visit our Applying page.

Re-applications

If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful you may apply again. Your application will be considered against the standard course entry criteria for that year of entry. In your new application you should demonstrate how your application has improved. We may draw upon all information from your previous applications or any previous registrations at the University as a student when assessing your suitability for your chosen course.If you are applying for a place for the same year of entry through UCAS Extra, you should provide additional evidence of your suitability for the course. If you are applying through clearing you are required to meet the clearing requirements. In both UCAS Extra and clearing the places will be subject to availability.

Course details

Course description

Our MA Linguistics master's course is a flexible programme that aims to explore the breadth and the depth of linguistics.

It builds on the widest range of teaching and research expertise, covering all aspects of theoretical and descriptive linguistics, including:

phonetics
phonology
morphology
syntax
semantics
pragmatics
discourse and conversation analysis
typology
historical linguistics
sociolinguistics
cognitive linguistics and psycholinguistics
computational and corpus linguistics
field linguistics
the documentation and description of endangered languages.

Our teaching staff work on various practical applications of linguistics (eg language codification and language policy, institutional language, language in the community, forensic linguistics).

Our internationally-recognised expertise encompasses a breadth of languages, including English and other Germanic languages, Romance languages, Russian, Polish, Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, Kurdish and other Iranian languages, Amerindian languages, languages of South Asia, indigenous languages of Australia and historical languages such as Old English, Old Saxon and Old Norse.

You will receive a solid foundation for linguistic study in three out of four core units:

Grammatical Theory (compulsory);
Phonetics and Phonology (compulsory);
Semantics and Pragmatics;
The Sociolinguistics of English.

The remainder of the course allows you to make the most of what our staff have to offer.

You can either take a variety of course units in different areas, including Forensic Linguistics, or specialise in one of the following pathways: Phonetics and Phonology, Sociolinguistics, Syntax and Semantics, Typology or Romani Linguistics.

Aims

We aim to:

give you a grounding in breadth and depth in Linguistics, by exploring the central features of linguistic theory: its history, objectives, principal theoretical frameworks, methodologies, contested areas and uncontested results;
enable you to gain experience of excellence in teaching and learning at an advanced level, in an environment that is also home to world-leading research in Linguistics.

Teaching and learning

You will learn through a variety of teaching methods.

Core course units and other MA-specific course units are typically taught as seminars, in a small group, combining lectures with discussion. Many units also have practical tutorials that will help you prepare for individual research projects.

Directed Readings involve individual or small group meetings during which pre-set readings on a particular topic are discussed.

The enhanced Level 3 undergraduate course units combine lectures or seminars, depending on the aim of the course unit, with more optional tutorials.

The aim across all teaching forms is to create the opportunity for intensive scholarly work, with areas of focus determined by students and your individual interests, which can be investigated in considerable depth.

Linguistics staff

You can see a list of our academic staff on the Linguistics and English Language website .

Coursework and assessment

Course units are assessed at the end of the semester during which they are offered.

All taught course units except Introduction to Grammatical Theory and Phonetics and Phonology are assessed by examined coursework only.

All course units include formative assessments to ensure interim feedback during the semester.

Course unit details

You will undertake units totalling 180 credits. Core and optional units combine to make 120 credits, with the remaining 60 credits allocated to the dissertation.

This MA consists of the following elements:

compulsory core course units - Introduction to Grammatical Theory (15 credits), Phonetics and Phonology (15 credits), and either Semantics and Pragmatics (15 credits) or The Sociolinguistics of English (15 credits);
Research Methods I and II (2 x 15 credits);
optional course units (45 credits altogether);
dissertation (60 credits).

Alternatives to the compulsory course units in Introduction to Grammatical Theory and/or Phonetics and Phonology may be chosen if you can provide evidence of having covered comparable material in their undergraduate degree; in borderline cases, you may be asked to take a proficiency test in Welcome Week.

The optional course units can be selected to follow specialised pathways, which include Sociolinguistics, Phonetics and Phonology, Syntax and Semantics, Typology, and Romani Linguistics.

One or two course units may take the form of Directed Reading units, which are individual or small group seminars about set readings on a particular topic. These are available after consultation with an appropriate member of staff and the PGT Officer.

One or two course units may also be taken from a list of MA course units available in certain other subject areas, or from a list of enhanced Level 3 undergraduate course units in Linguistics and English Language, which supplement the MA-specific course units on offer.

Course unit list

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

Title	Code	Credit rating	Mandatory/optional
Research Methods I (Linguistics)	LELA60001	15	Mandatory
Research Methods II (Linguistics)	LELA60002	15	Mandatory
Introduction to Grammatical Theory	LELA70041	15	Mandatory
Phonetics and Phonology I	LELA70061	15	Mandatory
Language and identity in multicultural spaces	ICOM60031	15	Optional
English Phonology Past and Present	LELA60442	15	Optional
Meaning in Grammar	LELA60642	15	Optional
Historical Syntax	LELA60692	15	Optional
Language Policy and Planning	LELA60751	15	Optional
Language and Mediality: From Sand Drawings to Twitter	LELA61072	15	Optional
First and Second Language Acquisition	LELA61111	15	Optional
Topics in Romance Linguistics	LELA62001	15	Optional
Semantics and Pragmatics	LELA62021	15	Optional
Topics in the Study of Meaning	LELA70032	15	Optional
Introduction to Grammatical Theory	LELA70041	15	Optional
The Grammar of English Noun Phrases	LELA70121	15	Optional
The Sociolinguistics of English	LELA70232	15	Optional
Language Contact	LELA70292	15	Optional
Minimalist Syntax	LELA70971	15	Optional
Forensic Linguistics	LELA71631	15	Optional
Displaying 10 of 20 course units
Display all course units

What our students say

My MA at Manchester was a challenging but very enjoyable and valuable experience that gave me the opportunity to work with enthusiastic and inspiring staff.

I've developed skills that have proved useful in my current role as research assistant at the University's Multilingual Manchester project, and the master's experience has helped me prepare for a PhD in Linguistics.

Leonie Gaiser

Facilities

You will have access to innovative resources, including our psycholinguistics and phonetics laboratories, with facilities for signal analysis, speech synthesis, laryngography and electropalatography, computing facilities for speech analysis and one of the largest collections of linguistics texts in the UK.

Find out more on the Facilities page.

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk

Careers

Career opportunities

Studying Linguistics will equip you with a range of sought-after transferable skills, including written and oral communication skills, computing skills, intercultural awareness and research methods.

This course will also develop skills that will be useful in undertaking postgraduate research.

Career destinations for our graduates include language teaching, language policy, speech and language therapy, publishing and communications.