MSci (Hons) Linguistics

The MSci Linguistics programme is a four-year Integrated Masters degree that allows students to focus on theoretical, experimental and data science approaches to analysing the human language ability, culminating in a capstone module involving an individual research project or dissertation of your design. All students will be provided with the necessary theoretical, quantitative and computational skills.

Studying the MSci Linguistics at York will allow you to explore the questions that are central to the study of language and take you on an exhilarating journey of discovery, guided by some of the world's foremost experts. Learn the basic facts about language and its structure to the cutting edge of current research. You will learn about the sound systems of languages, their morphology and syntax, how meaning is built and how we can go from the smallest aspect of sound to the meaning of a whole discourse.

Along the way you will acquire skills in quantitative data analysis and basic computational theory, as well as the foundational skills of writing, argumentation, and oral presentation. Our graduates go on to pursue careers in language technology, teaching, publishing, journalism, or careers in the police and the security services after training in forensic speech science (a speciality at York).

As an MSci student, you will benefit from working on a large research capstone project of your design. This will put concrete research experience on your CV, whether for further advanced study in linguistics or related subjects, or for analyst roles in industry. Doing linguistics at York will stretch you, expand your horizons, make you question both common and unfamiliar assumptions with confidence and astuteness and will equip you to become a lifelong independent learner and researcher.

Get a head start in Teaching English as a Foreign Language at York

At York, you'll benefit from being able to take TEFL modules in-house, as part of your degree. You can count the work you complete in your TEFL modules towards a CertTESOL qualification. This teacher training programme (also offered in-house) can qualify you to teach English to non-native speakers.

The study of linguistics opens up the mind to one of the most fundamental aspects of human life: exploring the function of language and how we use it to communicate with others.