Applied Linguistics and TESOL

MA

  • Entry year 2025 or 2024
  • Duration Full time 1 year, Part time 2 years

Overview

Take your Master's in Applied Linguistics and TESOL in one of the best Linguistics Departments in the world. We are placed 3rd in the QS World Rankings 2024.

Why Lancaster?

  • Join a department at the forefront of research in linguistics with 3 specialist laboratories and 11 research centres and groups
  • Study applied linguistics and TESOL at the same time to achieve a degree in two subjects
  • Get started with no experience – we welcome students who haven’t taught English before
  • Boost your employability by advancing your expertise in linguistics theory and application
  • Receive ongoing support with academic study skills
  • Visit one of our international summer schools or work on your dissertation at a partner university

This course is for you if (1) you want to advance your knowledge about both practical applications of linguistics and theoretical aspects, or (2) you want to learn more about language learning and teaching. With our expert insights into the world of linguistics and second language teaching, you’ll learn how theories about language can be applied in specialised contexts, such as education, business, media and communication.

Diverse expertise

As one of the largest linguistic departments in the country, we’ve designed this course to reflect the diversity of our world-leading research and expertise. Our teaching is informed by recent research, so you’ll always be up to speed with the latest developments in the fields of linguistics and language teaching.

You’ll shape your studies with a range of optional modules covering curriculum design, language testing, teaching language online, sociolinguistics, pragmatics, and more. You’ll also complete a dissertation that showcases your extensive knowledge and is tailored to your own interests.

Supporting your studies

If you’re returning to education or you’re not familiar with academic conventions used in UK, we’ll provide the support you need via our Postgraduate Academic Study Skills module. We will help you to polish your academic reading, writing and presentation skills, sharpen your critical thinking skills and help you to work more effectively.

Outside the lecture theatre, we encourage you to join our diverse departmental research centres, vibrant student and university societies to share ideas, socialise and make friends.

You may have the opportunity to visit one of our partner universities or attend an international summer school, where you can experience the local culture, enhance your academic knowledge, develop social and communicative skills, and potentially work on your dissertation.

Careers

Our MA Applied Linguistics and TESOL programme equips you with advanced theoretical knowledge, specialised techniques, and a wide range of transferable skills.

You’ll be prepared for careers in language-related industries such as:

  • Language teaching (English as a second language, English as a foreign language, other languages)
  • Curriculum & materials design

  • British Council roles
  • Language consultancy
  • Translation
  • Publishing
  • Research

If you enjoyed carrying out your own research, you might decide to pursue PhD study and work towards making your mark in the fields of applied linguistics or TESOL.

Other Study Options

If you are primarily interested in the TESOL field of study, you may be interested in pursuing an MA in TESOL with Language Testing or MA in TESOL with Corpus Linguistics degrees with us. Both degrees are taught by distance (online) via part-time mode of study.

Entry requirements

Academic Requirements

2:1 degree in a related subject is normally required. We will also consider applications where you have a degree in other subjects, have a 2:2 or equivalent result and/or extensive relevant experience. In these cases, you should clearly demonstrate how your experience and skills have prepared you for postgraduate study.

If you have studied outside of the UK, we would advise you to check our list of international qualifications before submitting your application.

English Language Requirements

We may ask you to provide a recognised English language qualification, dependent upon your nationality and where you have studied previously.

We normally require an IELTS (Academic) Test with an overall score of at least 6.5 and a minimum of 6.5 in reading and writing and 6.0 in listening and speaking. We also consider other English language qualifications.

If your score is below our requirements, you may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.

Contact: Admissions Team +44 (0) 1524 592032 or email pgadmissions@lancaster.ac.uk

Pre-master’s programmes

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

Course structure

You will study a range of modules as part of your course, some examples of which are listed below.

Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, but changes may be necessary, for example as a result of student feedback, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes, and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.

Core

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Optional

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Fees and funding

Location Full Time (per year) Part Time (per year)
Home £11,960 £5,980
International £24,830 £12,415

General fees and funding information

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Scholarships and bursaries

You may be eligible for the following funding opportunities, depending on your fee status and course. You will be automatically considered for our main scholarships and bursaries when you apply, so there's nothing extra that you need to do.

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

If you're considering postgraduate research you should look at our funded PhD opportunities.

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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.

Our Students’ Charter

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.