
- UCAS course code
- QQ61
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Course description
Through our course, you will explore the sounds and structure of languages across the globe, studying topics such as how languages change over time; how children acquire their first language; how language varies between different groups of people and across regions; how we communicate as individuals and within groups; what languages across the world have in common and how they differ; and what happens when speakers of different languages come into contact.
With its diverse local communities, Manchester is an ideal site for carrying out research on linguistic variation and multilingualism.
We have two laboratories, where you'll have the chance to use ultrasound imaging, laryngography and eye tracking technology.
You'll also be able to learn quantitative methods and use large language corpora, skills which you'll then be able to apply to other fields throughout your life.
You will also study Latin language and literature in each of your three years of study. You can learn Latin either as a beginner or from A-level standard. There is also the opportunity to take specialist courses in Ancient History, Philosophy, Art, Archaeology and Egyptology.
Our course will help you to develop analytical and problem-solving skills. Often dealing with granular and complex data, your combination of humanities and scientific understanding will allow you to make connections across multiple fields of employment.
Special features
Placement year option
Apply your subject-specific knowledge in a real-world context through a placement year in your third year of study, enabling you to enhance your employment prospects, clarify your career goals and build your external networks.
Study abroad
You may apply to spend one semester studying abroad during Year 2.
Exchange partners are offered through the international exchange scheme (eg. USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore).
Explore world-class collections
Enjoy unique opportunities to explore special archived material and carry out research in a wide range of archives, libraries, museums and other research institutions in Manchester and beyond. You'll have exclusive access to the Special Collections of the John Rylands Research Institute and Library, including papyri, medieval manuscripts and early printed books.
Applied learning
Explore the practical application of your subject knowledge by taking part in teaching enhancement projects.
For example, some of our students have developed an online atlas of dialect variation in the UK and storyboards for the use in fieldwork.
Coursework and assessment
Assessment practices in different course units vary, but our basic aim is to achieve a good balance between formal written examinations, continuous assessment, and project work.
Course content for year 1
You will gain a solid grounding in linguistics, taking core course units in (English) grammar and either the sounds of language or the study of meaning. You may also choose additional, optional units such as an introduction to the relation between language, the mind and the brain.
Course units for year 1
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 |
---|---|---|---|
Virgil's Aeneid | CAHE10421 | 20 | Mandatory |
English Word and Sentence Structure | LELA10301 | 20 | Mandatory |
Constructing Archaic Greek History | CAHE10012 | 20 | Optional |
From Republic to Empire: Introduction to Roman History, Society & Culture 218-31BC | CAHE10021 | 20 | Optional |
Introduction to Egyptian Hieroglyphs | CAHE10032 | 20 | Optional |
The Odyssey | CAHE10102 | 20 | Optional |
The Making of the Mediterranean | CAHE10131 | 20 | Optional |
Cities and Citizens | CAHE10231 | 20 | Optional |
Introduction to the History and Culture of Pharaonic Egypt | CAHE10651 | 20 | Optional |
Intensive Greek 1 | CAHE20151 | 20 | Optional |
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Course content for year 2
You'll begin to tailor your degree to suit your interests in Linguistics. While studying two compulsory units in subjects like phonology, syntax, or semantics, and typology or multilingualism, you'll choose from a wide range of optional units tapping into academic expertise in several specialist fields such as experimental phonetics and psycholinguistics.
Course units for year 2
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 |
---|---|---|---|
The World of Late Antiquity: Europe and the Med from the Severan Dynasty to the Rise of Islam | CAHE20022 | 20 | Optional |
The Conquering Hero: The Life, Times and Legacy of Alexander The Great | CAHE20041 | 20 | Optional |
The Roman Empire 31BC - AD313 Rome's Golden Age | CAHE20052 | 20 | Optional |
Politics and Society in Classical Greece | CAHE20061 | 20 | Optional |
Social Life in Ancient Egypt | CAHE20072 | 20 | Optional |
Literature, Literacy, and Textual Transmission in Pharaonic Egypt | CAHE20091 | 20 | Optional |
Greco-Roman Society and Technology | CAHE20122 | 20 | Optional |
Neolithic Britain | CAHE20131 | 20 | Optional |
From Cloud Cuckoo Land to Atlantis: Utopian thinking in the Ancient World | CAHE20142 | 20 | Optional |
Intensive Greek 1 | CAHE20151 | 20 | Optional |
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Course content for year 3
In Linguistics, you have complete freedom of choice among a wealth of different options, spanning subjects as diverse as forensic linguistics, sociolinguistics, formal semantics and syntax, computational linguistics and child language acquisition.
Course units for year 3
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 |
---|---|---|---|
Classics, Ancient History, Archaeology and Egyptology Dissertation | CAHE30000 | 40 | Optional |
The World of Late Antiquity: Europe and the Med from the Severan Dynasty to the Rise of Islam | CAHE30022 | 20 | Optional |
Social Life in Ancient Egypt | CAHE30072 | 20 | Optional |
Literature, Literacy, and Textual Transmission in Pharaonic Egypt | CAHE30091 | 20 | Optional |
Greco-Roman Society and Technology | CAHE30122 | 20 | Optional |
Neolithic Britain | CAHE30131 | 20 | Optional |
From Cloud Cuckoo Land to Atlantis: Utopian thinking in the Ancient World | CAHE30142 | 20 | Optional |
Advanced Latin Language 2 | CAHE30210 | 20 | Optional |
The Emergence of Civilisation: Palaces, Peak Sanctuaries, and Politics in Minoan Crete | CAHE30221 | 20 | Optional |
Advanced Latin Language 3 | CAHE30310 | 20 | Optional |
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Facilities

The John Rylands Library
At The John Rylands Library , you'll have exclusive access to our internationally significant collections, including papyri, medieval manuscripts and early printed books such as very early copies of the Homeric poems.
Manchester Museum
Manchester Museum is The University's own award-winning facility, home to important prehistoric, classical and ethnographic collections, which you'll draw from in your learning.
You'll go behind the scenes to handle, analyse and interpret rare artefacts, including one of the finest Egyptology collections in Britain.
Our ongoing collaboration between the museum and the global work of archaeology staff offers unique opportunities for students to get involved in the design of major exhibitions.
Linguistic labs
For your Linguistics studies, we have two laboratories where you'll have the chance to use ultrasound imaging, laryngography and eye tracking technology. You'll also be able to use quantitative methods in the study of large language corpora.
Find out more on the facilities pages for Classics and Ancient History and Linguistics and English Language .