Bachelor of Arts (BA)

BA Linguistics

Examine the science of language - an everyday phenomenon which impacts our lives on a global scale.

  • Duration: 3 years
  • Year of entry: 2025
  • UCAS course code: Q100 / Institution code: M20

Full entry requirementsHow to apply

Course description

Our BA Linguistics course will enable you to delve into the science of language - an everyday phenomenon which impacts our lives on an individual and a global scale.

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;
  • 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 conduct empirical and theoretical research and particularly a combination of the two.

You will have access to one of the largest holdings of linguistics texts in the UK, and the opportunity to conduct research using English manuscripts held in our prestigious Special Collections.

We have two laboratories, where you'll have the chance to use ultrasound imaging, laryngography and eye tracking technology.

You will also be able to learn quantitative methods and use large language corpora skills which you will then be able to apply to other fields throughout your life.

Linguistics at Manchester is unrivalled in its breadth of subject areas and theoretical approaches.

Our strengths include, among others, phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics and child language acquisition, forensic linguistics, field linguistics and quantitative corpus-based approaches.

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 study abroad during Year 2.

We have partnerships with many institutions throughout Europe and across the globe.

Get involved with interesting projects

Our students are encouraged to take an active role in funded teaching-enhancement projects, whose outputs benefit them individually and collectively.

For example, some of our students have developed an online atlas of dialect variation in the UK and storyboards for the use in fieldwork.

Teaching and learning

You'll be taught through a mixture of:

  • formal lectures;
  • tutorials;
  • one-to-one supervision.

You'll spend approximately 12 hours each week in formal study sessions and further time in independent study.

In your independent study time, you may be reading, producing written work, revising for examinations, or working as part of a team of students.

You can also study a modern language.

Coursework and assessment

Our courses are assessed in various ways - for example, written examinations, oral presentations, and different types of coursework.

Coursework may include library research, linguistic fieldwork and data collection, or web-based research.

In your final year, you'll have the option to write a dissertation.

You'll undertake research on a topic of your own choice under the supervision of a member of staff in English Language and Linguistics.

Course content for year 1

Gain a solid grounding in linguistics, taking core course units including phonetics and phonology, sociolinguistics, semantics and (English) grammar, introductions to the principles of linguistics and 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.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Language, Mind and Brain LELA10201 20 Mandatory
English Word and Sentence Structure LELA10301 20 Mandatory
The Sounds of Language LELA10322 20 Mandatory
Study of Meaning LELA10331 20 Mandatory
Study Skills LELA10601 0 Mandatory
The Sounds of Language LELA10322 20 Optional
Study of Meaning LELA10331 20 Optional
History and Varieties of English LELA10342 20 Optional
From Text to Linguistic Evidence LELA10402 20 Optional

Course content for year 2

You'll begin to tailor your degree to suit your interests.

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.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
History and Varieties of English LELA10342 20 Optional
From Text to Linguistic Evidence LELA10402 20 Optional
Phonology LELA20012 20 Optional
Analysing Grammar LELA20021 20 Optional
Typology LELA20032 20 Optional
Societal Multilingualism LELA20101 20 Optional
Quantitative Methods in Language Sciences LELA20231 20 Optional
Semantics LELA20282 20 Optional
Pragmatics: Meaning, Context, and Interaction LELA20291 20 Optional
Experimental Phonetics LELA20341 20 Optional
The Changing English Language LELA20401 20 Optional
Variationist Sociolinguistics LELA20502 20 Optional
Psycholinguistics LELA20961 20 Optional
Stylistics of English LELA21512 20 Optional
Spanish Linguistics SPLA20772 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 15 course units for year 2

Course content for year 3

Have complete freedom of choice among a wealth of different course 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.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Topics in Romance Linguistics ITAL32001 20 Optional
Phonology LELA20012 20 Optional
Analysing Grammar LELA20021 20 Optional
Typology LELA20032 20 Optional
Societal Multilingualism LELA20101 20 Optional
Semantics LELA20282 20 Optional
Pragmatics: Meaning, Context, and Interaction LELA20291 20 Optional
The Changing English Language LELA20401 20 Optional
Variationist Sociolinguistics LELA20502 20 Optional
Psycholinguistics LELA20961 20 Optional
Stylistics of English LELA21512 20 Optional
Dissertation LELA30000 40 Optional
Topics in the Study of Meaning LELA30032 20 Optional
Topics in Language Development LELA30671 20 Optional
Advanced Syntax LELA30972 20 Optional
Forensic Linguistics LELA31632 20 Optional
Romance Linguistics LELA32001 20 Optional
Quantitative Methods in Language Sciences LELA32011 20 Optional
Experimental Phonetics LELA32021 20 Optional
Computational Linguistics LELA32052 20 Optional
Discourse as Social Practice LELA32061 20 Optional
Spanish Linguistics SPLA20772 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 22 course units for year 3

Facilities

You will access resources to enhance your learning, including an extensive collection of linguistics texts and our psycholinguistics and phonetics laboratories, with facilities for:

  • signal analysis;
  • speech synthesis;
  • laryngography;
  • electropalatography.

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