English Linguistics (Distance Learning)

Entry requirements

You would normally have a UK or internationally recognised honours degree, or its equivalent, in any relevant subject. An alternative would be an ordinary degree/teaching certificate and two to three years' teaching experience.

Months of entry

January, April, July, October

Course content

The MA in English Linguistics is a flexible distance-learning course. You can work at your own pace fitting your study around work and other commitments. The course is well established, having been introduced in 1992, but it continues to evolve. It’s now delivered via the University’s virtual learning environment with guided content being developed exclusively for MA students.

This course will enable you to develop advanced analytical skills and in-depth linguistic knowledge, and to gain experience as an independent researcher.

It begins with the Language Description module, designed to give you confidence in working with the essential building blocks of linguistic analysis: grammar, morphology, and phonology. You will then study the module Data, Theory & Method, which covers topics such as hypothesis testing, the role of linguistic theory, data collection, academic referencing and research ethics. The module will help you critique theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches and further develop your analytical skills.

The following modules focus on a wide range of applied linguistics topics, such as Sociolinguistics, Second Language Acquisition and Corpus Linguistics, which will enable you to tailor your studies to your individual interests and career aspirations. The final module is Major Project, which involves writing a dissertation and completing a piece of original research on a topic of your choice.

One of our key strengths is that the course is taught by leading authorities on the subjects covered. Our teaching staff are active researchers who publish world-leading journal articles, chapters and books. This research feeds directly into the MA learning materials.

You will be fully supported by a tutor assigned to you when you begin each module who can be contacted by email. There is no requirement for you to attend the University and the are no scheduled sessions online either, which means that you are fully in charge of your schedule and can complete the course irrespective of your location or time zone.

Information for international students

For anyone who has studied at undergraduate level in a non-English-speaking country, we also require an English Language qualification equivalent to a British Council IELTS score of 7.0.

Fees and funding

Learn more about postgraduate fees and funding.