This course is designed to prepare you for doctoral study. The course combines a mixture of generic research training modules with more specialised modules covering research training and specific linguistic knowledge.

Although your focus will be on your specialist study, our aim is for you to develop a broad range of research and project management skills that will support you in your career ahead. We have nurtured a multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary and supportive environment where staff and students from across the world can come together and share their research experiences.

We offer supervision in the following areas:

Linguistic theory

This includes:

syntactic theory and comparative syntax
phonological theory
morphophonology and morphosyntax
philosophy of language
philosophy of linguistics
architecture of the language faculty

Language variation and change

This includes:

historical/diachronic linguistics
variationist/comparative linguistics
sociolinguistics
grammaticalization
dialect syntax
corpus analysis
linguistic typology

Language evolution, acquisition, and development

This includes:

first language acquisition and development
the acquisition of second language morphosyntax and phonology
evolutionary linguistics

Important information

We've highlighted important information about your course. Please take note of any deadlines.

Your course and study experience - disclaimers and terms and conditions

Please rest assured we make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the programmes, services and facilities described. However, it may be necessary to make changes due to significant disruption, for example in response to Covid-19.

View our Academic experience page, which gives information about your Newcastle University study experience for the academic year 2025-26.

See our terms and conditions and student complaints information, which gives details of circumstances that may lead to changes to programmes, modules or University services.

Qualifications explained

Find out about the different qualification options for this course.

MA - Master of Arts

An MA is a taught Master’s degree. It usually involves the study of social sciences, art and humanities, and business, consulting and management. It typically includes:

subject-specific taught modules
a dissertation or research project of approximately 15,000 – 18,000 words

You'll usually study an MA full-time over 12 months.

A Master of Arts is awarded for the successful completion of 120 credits of taught modules and a 60 credit dissertation or research project.

Find out about different types of postgraduate qualifications.

PGDip - Postgraduate Diploma

A PGDip is awarded if you successfully complete all of the taught modules (120 credits).

Find out about different types of postgraduate qualifications

What you'll learn

You'll gain a working knowledge of the methodology and skills in quantitative and qualitative research in language and linguistic studies.

As part of this Sociolinguistics MA, you'll carry out a literature review and independent fieldwork. You'll undertake sociolinguistic analysis using a variety of mathematical and computational tools.

Modules

You will study modules on this course. A module is a unit of a course with its own approved aims and outcomes and assessment methods.

Course content changes

The module information below is intended to provide an example of what you will study.

Our teaching is informed by research. Course content changes periodically to reflect developments in the discipline, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback.

Full details of the modules on offer will be published through the Programme Regulations and Specifications ahead of each academic year. This usually happens in May.

To find out more please see our terms and conditions.

Optional modules availability

Some courses have optional modules. Student demand for optional modules may affect availability.

Sociolinguistics (Research) MA modules

Compulsory Modules	Credits
Information Skills	10
Quantitative Analysis	20
The Making and Unmaking of Knowledge	10
Language and Society	20
Lexical Innovation	20
The Social History of English	20
Research Methods in Language and Linguistics	20
MA Sociolinguistics Dissertation	60

Sociolinguistics (Research) PGDip modules

Compulsory Modules	Credits
Information Skills	10
Quantitative Analysis	20
The Making and Unmaking of Knowledge	10
Language and Society	20
Lexical Innovation	20
The Social History of English	20
Research Methods in Language and Linguistics	20

How you'll learn

Assessment methods

Depending on your modules, you'll be assessed through a combination of:

Case study
Computer assessment
Dissertation
Essay
Oral presentation
Practical lab report
Report
Written exercise

Student support

Throughout your studies, you’ll have access to support from:

academic staff
personal tutors and research supervisors
our University Student Services Team
student representatives
peers

You'll also be assigned an academic member of staff, who will be your personal tutor throughout your time with us. They can help with academic and personal issues.

Your teaching and learning is also supported by Canvas. Canvas is a Virtual Learning Environment. You'll use Canvas to submit your assignments and access your:

module handbooks
course materials
groups
course announcements and notifications
written feedback

Your development

Research skills

You have a unique opportunity to acquire a wide range of methodologies and exposure to diverse theoretical perspectives to enrich your own research. We have a wide range of research supervisors you can work with.

We offer subject-specific research training, including specialised practical workshops on statistical packages and software used in corpus linguistic methodologies. This specific training complements the research training programme you will be part of as a postgraduate research student.

Student work-in-progress meetings

Our 'student work in progress' meetings give you the opportunity to present your work to a student audience. You'll get instant feedback and discussions around your research.

Special interests group

Our special interests groups also facilitate researchers with common interests to share ideas, develop new skills and gain feedback on their work. The groups meet regularly and include topics like:

language variation and change
theoretical phonology
corpus linguistics
syntax
language and cognition

Guest lectures

Internationally renowned linguistic researchers have previously given guest lectures, recent speakers include:

Professor Alex D’Arcy, University of Victoria
Professor Sali Tagliamonte, University of Toronto
Professor Jenny Culbertson, University of Edinburgh

Your future

Our Careers Service

Our expert Careers Service is here to help you take the next steps in your professional life. We will support you while you’re studying with us and for up to three years after you graduate.\ \ You will have access to expert one-to-one advice and guidance through our campus careers centre and online, along with digital resources, workshops, networking opportunities, and careers and recruitment events.\ \ We’ve been awarded 5 QS Stars for Student Employability (2025). Many of our degrees are shaped by strong links with national and international businesses. We are committed to helping you access real-world experience opportunities and develop key skills through paid work placements and internships.

Visit our Careers Service website

Quality and ranking

Global Top 140 University - QS World University Rankings 2026
Top 200 for Linguistics - QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025
Top 25 in the UK and Top 200 in the world for sustainable development – Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2025
42% of our research is classified as 4* world-leading research – Research Excellence Framework 2021
65% increase in research power since 2014 – Research Excellence Framework 2021
Top 125 for Arts and Humanities – Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2026
Global Top 145 University - Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026
Joint 64th in the world and 22nd in the UK for sustainability – QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2026
Top 5 city for affordability in the UK – QS Best Student Cities 2026
World Top 50 and UK Top 5 student city – QS Best Student Cities 2026
89th in the world - TIME Magazine: World’s Top Universities 2026

Recognition of professional qualifications outside of the UK

If you’re studying an accredited degree and thinking about working in Europe after you graduate, the best place to find current information is the UK Government’s guidance on recognition of UK professional qualifications in EU member states. This official resource explains whether your profession is regulated in another country, what steps you need to take, and which organisation you should contact.

Facilities

The School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics is a lively and diverse community. We have over 700 undergraduates and 150 postgraduates.

We are based in the Percy Building. Our purpose-built postgraduate suite has dedicated computer clusters, meeting rooms, a kitchen and a lounge.

Linguistics researchers also have access to the LingLab. This space provides access to linguistics and experimental software, such as:

CHILDES
ELAN and CLAN
Praat
SONA
LabVanced
Gorilla
ShinyApps

There is also a range of specialised equipment available for loan or use, including professional-quality recording equipment:

a portable eye tracker
a portable ultrasound machine
a portable electroglottograph
ultrasound tongue imaging
multiple sound booths
iPads

Finally, the lab also has access to several linguistic corpora, including:

DECTE
Transana
ICE-GB Corpus of English
ICE-GB Great Britain Sound Files
BYU Corpora

We have two postgraduate research student study rooms. The larger room was recently upgraded with more workstations and a soft seating area. We have a Resource Centre and two on-site clinics:

The School also houses the Language Resource Centre. It has an extensive range of language learning facilities and resources, including:

access to 24 satellite television channels from around the world
listen and record facilities for speaking practice
interactive language learning software
an international film collection of over 800 titles

The award-winning Philip Robinson Library has an extensive audio-visual collection.

Fees, Funding and Scholarships

Tuition fees for 2026 entry (per year)

Qualification: PGDip Full time
Home students Full time: 9 months	Tuition fees (per year) £7,600
International students Full time: 9 months	Tuition fees (per year) £17,250

Qualification: PGDip Part time
Home students Part time: 18 months	Tuition fees (per year) £3,800

Qualification: MA Full time
Home students Full time: 12 months	Tuition fees (per year) £11,400
International students Full time: 12 months	Tuition fees (per year) £25,900

Qualification: MA Part time
Home students Part time: 24 months	Tuition fees (per year) £5,700

Tuition fee increases

As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, subject to government regulations on fee increases and in line with inflation.

EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals - tuition fee status

Depending on your residency history, if you’re a student from the EU, other EEA or a Swiss national, with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you’ll normally pay the ‘Home’ tuition fee rate and may be eligible for Student Finance England support.

EU students without settled or pre-settled status will normally be charged fees at the ‘International’ rate and will not be eligible for Student Finance England support. You may be eligible for a scholarship worth 25% off the international fee. Search our funding database.

If you are unsure of your fee status, check out the latest guidance here.

Scholarships

We support our EU and international students by providing a generous range of Vice-Chancellor's automatic and merit-based scholarships. See our searchable postgraduate funding page for more information.

What you're paying for

Tuition fees include the costs of:

matriculation
registration
tuition (or supervision)
library access
examination
re-examination
graduation

Find out more about:

Deposit

If you are an international student or a student from the EU, EEA or Switzerland and you need a visa to study in the UK, you may have to pay a deposit.

You can check this in the How to apply section.

Funding deadlines

If you're applying for funding, always check the funding application deadline. This deadline may be earlier than the application deadline for your course.

For some funding schemes, you need to have received an offer of a place on a course before you can apply for the funding.

Search for funding and scholarships

Find funding available for your course

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Entry requirements

The entrance requirements below apply to 2026 entry.

Academic entry requirements

A 2:2 honours degree, or international equivalent, in:

Linguistics

A language (with or without another subject, eg English and French)

A discipline primarily involving the scientific study of human cognition or behaviour (eg cognitive science, psychology, anthropology, sociology)

Qualifications from outside the UK

Select your country AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBritish Virgin IslandsBruneiBulgariaBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCaribbeanCayman IslandsChileChinaColombiaCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGreeceGrenadaGuatemalaGuyanaHaitiHondurasHong KongHungaryIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIsraelItalyIvory CoastJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKosovoKuwaitLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLithuaniaLuxembourgMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaltaMauritiusMexicoMongoliaMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew ZealandNicaraguaNigeriaNorth MacedoniaNorwayOmanPakistanPalestinePanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalQatarRepublic of IrelandRomaniaRussiaRwandaSaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailandTogoTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUruguayUSAUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuelaVietnamZambiaZimbabwe

English Language requirements

Select your qualification IELTSPearsonsDuolingo English TestTOEFLOtherPre-Sessional Entry - 6 weeksPre-Sessional Entry - 10 weeks

Admissions policy

This policy applies to all undergraduate and postgraduate admissions at Newcastle University. It is intended to provide information about our admissions policies and procedures to applicants and potential applicants, to their advisors and family members, and to staff of the University.

University Admissions Policy and related policies and procedures

Credit transfer and Recognition of Prior Learning

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) can allow you to convert existing relevant university-level knowledge, skills and experience into credits towards a qualification. Find out more about the RPL policy which may apply to this course

How to apply

Before you start

Specialised application information

This course is only available to ESRC applicantsapplying for a 4.5 (Master's plus PhD) funded route.

We are unable to accept applications from independent candidates.

Programme codes

Qualification: PGDip Full time
Full time: 9 months	Programme Code: 3439F

Qualification: PGDip Part time
Part time: 18 months	Programme Code: 3439P

Qualification: MA Full time
Full time: 12 months	Programme Code: 4117F

Qualification: MA Part time
Part time: 24 months	Programme Code: 4117P

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Overseas events

We regularly travel overseas to meet with students interested in studying at Newcastle University.

Visit our events calendar for the latest events

Get in touch

Questions about this course?

If you have specific questions about this course you can contact:

Scott Burdon\ Learning and Teaching Assistant\ [School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics](https://www.ncl.ac.uk/elll/)Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 3177\ Email: pg.english@ncl.ac.uk

General enquiries

For more general enquiries, you could also complete our online enquiry form.

Fill in our enquiry form

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