Language and Linguistics

MA

  • Entry year 2026
  • Duration Full time 1 year, Part time 2 years
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Overview

Lancaster is one of the best places in the world to study Language and Linguistics, according to the 2025 QS World Rankings. You’ll work with some of the world’s top experts in one of the UK’s largest Linguistics departments as you gain a rich insight into the way language works. We have expertise in the growing prominence of language in areas such politics, security, human cognition, language acquisition and digital communication.

From cutting-edge discoveries in the field, to core theories and principles, this course offers a fascinating exploration of the uniquely human capacity that is language.

Why Lancaster?

  • Study with one of the largest Linguistics departments in the UK, with expertise across an impressively wide range of language, linguistics and language education fields
  • Benefit from our excellence in teaching and research, with access to 3 specialist laboratories and 11 research centres
  • Tailor your degree to your professional and personal interests
  • Sharpen your career prospects with advanced skills such as data handling and research methods
  • Add an international dimension to your degree – join an international summer school or work on your dissertation from a partner university

Learn from experts

Study in an environment that is intellectually rich, active and supportive. Our MA programme is delivered by world-renowned experts in Lancaster’s School of Social Science. It has been designed to reflect the latest cutting-edge topics and developments in the field, as well as core theories and principles.

You’ll become a member of our thriving Linguistic community. Alongside taught elements of your degree programme, there are numerous opportunities to engage with the subject, from attending our research groups to hearing talks by inspiring international experts. You will have access to our state-of-the-art labs, including a phonetics lab with ultrasound, an EEG lab, an eye-tracking lab and a child-language lab.

While you may have studied a linguistics or language subject before, this isn’t essential, and we also welcome students who have a language or linguistic dimension in their current work or a personal interest in the subject.

A diverse exploration of language

The MA offers a broad range of optional modules, offering the opportunity to tailor your degree and gain knowledge, skills and understanding in the areas that interest you the most. We’ll ensure you are party to the very latest knowledge in the field, and our modules include the most up-to-date topics, theories and methods in language and linguistics.

The degree covers a very broad range of topics, such as:

  • Phonetics
  • Corpus linguistics
  • Pragmatics and sociolinguistics
  • Areas where linguistics connects with broader disciplines such as cognitive science and psychology

Lancaster has expertise in real-world areas where we are seeing a greater prominence for language. These include:

  • Power and politics
  • Language policy and multilingualism
  • Literacies and digital communication
  • Language learning and teaching
  • Security and intelligence

You will draw on your learnings from these and other topics as you choose a subject for your dissertation, delving deeper into an area of particular importance to you. Your dissertation is an opportunity to showcase your knowledge and skills as you investigate your chosen subject under the guidance of one of our academic team, with particular expertise in the subject.

Careers

The knowledge and skills you’ll gain from Lancaster’s MA in Language and Linguistics are relevant for a range of rewarding careers, including in language teaching, speech and language therapy, speech technology, publishing, translation, communications and journalism. Your strong analysis skills mean you’ll be a great fit for any role which involves interpreting large data sets.

Our graduates find rewarding roles in a range of areas including:

  • Language teaching
  • Language consultancy
  • Speech scripting and transcription
  • Speech and language therapy
  • Forensic linguistics
  • Interpreting and intelligence
  • Journalism
  • Media and communication
  • Language technology
  • Law and Business
  • Publishing
  • Translation
  • Research

If you find that you enjoy carrying out your own research, this master’s will prepare you to continue your studies with a PhD in linguistic and language studies.

Careers and employability support

Our degrees open up an extremely wide array of career pathways in businesses and organisations, large and small, in the UK and overseas. Our specialist Employability team is ready to support you, whether you are starting out your career after leaving higher education or returning to university to open up new career options.

We provide individual employability advice, application support, career events, development opportunities and resources to help you plan and achieve your career goals. We also run a paid internship scheme specifically for arts, humanities and social sciences students.

The Lancaster Award is available to all postgraduate taught students and recognises work experience, volunteering and personal development alongside your studies. Developed with employers, it helps you reflect on key skills, boost your CV and articulate your strengths with confidence.

Whether you have a clear idea of your potential career path or need some help considering the options, our friendly team is on hand.

Find out more about Lancaster’s careers events, extensive resources and personal support for Careers and Employability.

Entry requirements

Academic Requirements

2:1 Hons 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 INTO Lancaster University for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.

Course structure

Detailed module information for this postgraduate programme will follow shortly. However, if you have any questions please contact the department.

Fees and funding

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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. Find out more about our Charter and student policies.