Language and Linguistics (MA)
- Duration: 2 years
- Mode: Part time
Open day
Find out more about studying here as a postgraduate at our next Open Day.
Why study this course
Master the skills of linguistic analysis in a flexible programme taught by leading experts in the field.
Career-focused
Designed for careers requiring language awareness and skills in linguistic analysis.
Expert-led teaching
Our teaching is informed by our research expertise across the breadth of language and linguistics.
Tailor-made
Explore your own interests to suit your career ambitions with our specialisations and optional modules.
Research grounding
Solid training in research foundations and practice.
Set in the internationally respected Centre for Language and Communication Research, our MA in Language and Linguistics delivers solid training in linguistic research methods and applications, plus the freedom to tailor the programme around your research interests and career ambitions. You’ll have the option to choose modules that will allow you to specialise in applied linguistics, sociocultural linguistics or linguistic research methods.
Over the course of your degree, you’ll explore linguistic structures and language functions and acquire an understanding of cutting-edge linguistic theories and methods. You’ll also develop an appreciation of how language interacts with various social factors, applying your knowledge to analyse communication in various communities of practice.
Our staff lead on innovative projects in many different fields, including language acquisition, sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, discourse analysis, professional communication, corpus linguistics, systemic functional linguistics and forensic linguistics, hosting a range of reading and research groups in these research fields.
We host talks with visiting academics from around the world, as well as advanced research residencies and occasional summer schools. During your studies, you’ll benefit from this thriving research environment and the support of a wide range of professionals who will guide your personal and professional development.
Where you'll study
School of English, Communication and Philosophy
Powered by pioneering research, we celebrate curiosity, engage in informed debate and critical analysis, and encourage creative thinking - across and beyond our disciplines.
Admissions criteria
In order to be considered for an offer for this programme you will need to meet all of the entry requirements. Your application will not be progressed if the information and evidence listed is not provided.
With your online application you will need to provide:
- A copy of your degree certificate and transcripts which show you have achieved a 2:2 honours degree in a relevant subject area such as English language, English language & literature (combined), linguistics, modern languages, or an equivalent international degree. If your degree certificate or result is pending, please upload any interim transcripts or provisional certificates.
- A copy of your IELTS certificate with an overall score of 7.0 with 6.5 in all subskills, or evidence of an accepted equivalent. Please include the date of your expected test if this qualification is pending. If you have alternative acceptable evidence, such as an undergraduate degree studied in the UK, please supply this in place of an IELTS.
Application Deadline
We allocate places on a first-come, first-served basis, so we recommend you apply as early as possible. Applications normally close at the end of August but may close sooner if all places are filled.
Selection process
We will review your application and if you meet all of the entry requirements, we will make you an offer.
Find out more about English language requirements.
Applicants who require a Student visa to study in the UK must present an acceptable English language qualification in order to meet UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) requirements.
Criminal convictions
You are not required to complete a DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) check or provide a Certificate of Good Conduct to study this course.
If you are currently subject to any licence condition or monitoring restriction that could affect your ability to successfully complete your studies, you will be required to disclose your criminal record. Conditions include, but are not limited to:
- access to computers or devices that can store images
- use of internet and communication tools/devices
- curfews
- freedom of movement, including the ability to travel to outside of the UK or to undertake a placement/studies outside of Cardiff University
- contact with people related to Cardiff University.
Tuition fees for 2025 entry
Your tuition fees and how you pay them will depend on your fee status. Your fee status could be home, island or overseas.
Learn how we decide your fee status
Fees for home status
Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland
If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss national, your tuition fees for 2025/26 be in line with the overseas fees for international students, unless you qualify for home fee status. UKCISA have provided information about Brexit and tuition fees.
Fees for island status
Learn more about the postgraduate fees for students from the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
Fees for overseas status
More information about tuition fees and deposits, including for part-time and continuing students.
Financial support
Financial support may be available to individuals who meet certain criteria. For more information visit our funding section. Please note that these sources of financial support are limited and therefore not everyone who meets the criteria are guaranteed to receive the support.
Additional costs
Living costs
We’re based in one of the UK’s most affordable cities. Find out more about living costs in Cardiff.
Funding
Careers and placements
From the public to the private sector, we enable careers in an impressively wide range of fields.
This programme offers preparation for a range of language-related careers. This includes careers where linguistics is used in real-life practical applications, to influence or persuade, inform or educate, from speech and language therapy or teaching to the civil service or local government. It’s also ideal for careers in language and communication research, particularly with an aim to progress to a PhD. It provides an excellent grounding for careers in public communication particularly in the media and creative economies, publishing, education and health sectors.
During your studies, you’ll have access to the services of the University’s Student Futures team, helping you to plan your future careers and offer practical advice on upskilling and career coaching.
Placements
The Research Experience module offers the opportunity to work with a member of staff on an ongoing, authentic research task within part of a larger research study. This is a distinctive form of study and offers the opportunity to gain hands-on research experience and to reflect systematically on that experience. Findings from the Research Experience module will feed directly into ongoing work in the Centre for Language and Communication Research.
Next steps
Open Day visits
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HESA Data: Copyright Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited 2021. The Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited cannot accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived by third parties from its data. Data is from the latest Graduate Outcomes Survey 2019/20, published by HESA in June 2022.