Linguistics (Study Abroad)

BA Hons

  • UCAS code Q103
  • Entry year 2025
  • A level requirements AAB
  • Duration Full time 4 years

Overview

Top reasons to study with us

  • 3

    3rd for Linguistics

    The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide (2025)

  • 4th for Graduate Prospects (Linguistics) Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025

  • World top three for Linguistics (QS World University Subject Rankings 2024)

Why Linguistics?

Language is at the heart of human behaviour, human societies and human creativity. Understanding how language works is therefore key to unlocking what it means to be human.

In this fascinating subject you will explore fundamental questions such as:

  • Where does language come from and what is it made of?
  • How is language represented in the mind/brain and how is it related to culture and society?
  • How do the world’s languages vary and how does the language you speak shape your experiences?
  • How is language learned and how can it be impaired?
  • How can technology be harnessed to study patterns in the way language is used?

Our extensive range of optional modules also gives you the chance to look at how language functions across a broad range of contexts, including business, law, politics, health and literature. You can also explore how language works in non-human systems such as speech technologies and what is required to develop these.

Linguistics is not just a fascinating area of study, you will gain a skillset that opens doors to a range of exciting and rewarding careers. Transferable skills include a capacity for critical thinking, an ability to gather, organise and analyse large quantities of data, and an aptitude for developing new and innovative ideas. You’ll have the chance to develop specialist skills including in the lexical and grammatical analysis of real and constructed languages, the acoustic analysis of speech, and computer programming for language technologies.

Why Lancaster?

We are one of the largest departments for the study of language in the United Kingdom and one of the most highly rated in the world (3rd in the QS World Rankings, 2024). Studying linguistics at Lancaster means you will be able to:

  • Explore a wealth of language-related topics – You can focus on core areas of linguistic theory like phonetics, phonology, grammar and pragmatics as well as explore new and traditional areas of applied linguistics, including forensic linguistics, computational linguistics, sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics.
  • Learn from the experts – Our staff are world leaders in their respective fields but they are also all involved in teaching to bring you the latest topics and developments in linguistics. Our staff are famous for their work in corpus linguistics, cognitive linguistics, stylistics, discourse analysis and speech science.
  • Benefit from our world-leading facilities: As a student at Lancaster, you will gain hands-on experience of research in linguistics through our cutting-edge labs which are furnished with the very latest equipment. These include a phonetics lab, an eye-tracking lab, a perception and learning lab, and an EEG lab.
  • Experience the world: Whether it be through our Schools Volunteering module, our Work Placement schemes or our Study Abroad options, our degree programme offers you the chance to gain valuable experiences which will stay with you for life.
  • A supportive environment: Our friendly staff are here to support you throughout your studies. All students are assigned an academic adviser who is there to get to know you personally and provide guidance on a range of issues.

Careers

A degree in Linguistics gives you access to a range of exciting and rewarding career paths. To provide just some examples, our graduates have gone on to become:

  • speech and language therapists for the NHS as well as private organisations
  • marketing professionals in large corporations and small businesses
  • software engineers in the technology industry
  • researchers in primatology and neuroscience labs

Linguistics graduates in the future workforce

Our increasingly digital world means that there are work opportunities in developing chatbots, improving the quality of AI-generated voices and understanding how humans interact with technology. With a grounding in the fundamentals of language, you could be a part of these exciting innovations.

Career-focused modules

Through all our modules you will develop key analytical skills that will enable you to excel in a variety of careers. You will also have the opportunity to take some of our more career-focused modules. For example, our Schools-Volunteering Module gives you the chance to spend time in a local school gaining first-hand experience of teaching. You can pursue other career aspirations through our Placement Module in which you spend time working in a sector or area of your choice.

Internships

Each year, we invite current students to apply for a research internship. These are paid opportunities in which our students work closely with academic members of staff on active research projects. Students gain advanced research skills that are valuable in a variety of employment settings. Recently, our students have worked as interns on the following projects:

  • What makes language(s) easier or harder to learn?
  • Analysing AI-Generated Speech
  • The role of creativity and working memory in second language writing performance

Visit our Employability section for full details.

Entry requirements

Grade Requirements

A Level AAB

IELTS 6.5 overall with at least 5.5 in each component. For other English language qualifications we accept, please see our English language requirements webpages.

Other Qualifications

International Baccalaureate 35 points overall with 16 points from the best 3 Higher Level subjects

BTEC Distinction, Distinction, Distinction

We welcome applications from students with a range of alternative UK and international qualifications, including combinations of qualification. Further guidance on admission to the University, including other qualifications that we accept, frequently asked questions and information on applying, can be found on our general admissions webpages.

Contact Admissions Team + 44 (0) 1524 592028 or via ugadmissions@lancaster.ac.uk

International foundation programmes

Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored foundation pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University degrees. Visit the INTO Lancaster University website for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.

Contextual admissions

Contextual admissions could help you gain a place at university if you have faced additional challenges during your education which might have impacted your results. Visit our contextual admissions page to find out about how this works and whether you could be eligible.

Course structure

Lancaster University offers a range of programmes, some of which follow a structured study programme, and some which offer the chance for you to devise a more flexible programme to complement your main specialism.

Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, and the University will make every reasonable effort to offer modules as advertised. In some cases changes may be necessary and may result in some combinations being unavailable, for example as a result of student feedback, timetabling, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.

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Fees and funding

Our annual tuition fee is set for a 12-month session, starting in the October of your year of study.

Our Undergraduate Tuition Fees for 2025/26 are:

Home International
£9,250 £24,700

Fees and funding information

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Scholarships and bursaries

You will be automatically considered for our main scholarships and bursaries when you apply, so there's nothing extra that you need to do.

You may be eligible for the following funding opportunities, depending on your fee status:

Unfortunately no scholarships and bursaries match your selection, but there are more listed on scholarships and bursaries page.

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We also have other, more specialised scholarships and bursaries - such as those for students from specific countries.

Browse Lancaster University's scholarships and bursaries.

Important information

The information on this site relates primarily to 2025/2026 entry to the University and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.

The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.

More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.

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We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. View our Charter and other policies.

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