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Overview

Ãå±±½ûµØ is one of the largest centres for linguistic research in Europe. This gives you the unique opportunity to learn a wide range of methodologies as part of our Linguistics or Applied Linguistics course. You will be exposed to diverse theoretical perspectives, which will enrich your own research.

Linguistics and Applied Linguistics are split across three Schools:

• School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences
• School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics
• School of Modern Languages

Our supervisors' current research interests, projects and publications are available from our staff profiles in each of these Schools.

Research centres and institutes

Our links with research centres and institutes provide opportunities for collaboration and cross-disciplinary seminars and interest groups. Our most important connections are with:

• Centre for Research in Learning and Teaching
• Centre for Behaviour and Evolution

Quality and ranking

All professional accreditations are reviewed regularly by their professional body

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 . This official resource explains whether your profession is regulated in another country, what steps you need to take, and which organisation you should contact. 

What you'll learn

We offer supervision in the following areas.

Linguistic theory:

• phonetics and phonology
• (morpho)syntax
• pragmatics
• the lexicon
• cross-linguistic variation
• the architecture of the language faculty
• language's place in human cognition
• the philosophy of linguistics

Language variation and change:

• dialectology
• (variationist) sociolinguistics
• the sociology of language
• English historical linguistics
• corpus creation (e.g. )

Language evolution, acquisition, and development:

 

• typical and atypical child (L1) and adult (L2) language acquisition
• cognitive science
• information theory
• psycholinguistics

How you'll learn

Delivery and teaching methods

Your attendance at Ãå±±½ûµØ is flexible, depending on your fieldwork or if you are away collecting data. You'll have regular meetings with your supervisory team, supported by email and Teams.

You'll have opportunities to take part in seminars across the disciplines of:

• linguistics
• applied linguistics
• speech and language sciences
• education

This allows you to engage with staff and fellow students. Many of our students already have well-developed professional careers and are inspired to explore research questions arising from their experience.

You'll work with supervisors who are responsible for guidance and advice. They will be your first point of contact if you have any academic issues. If you are based in the UK and wish to maintain your professional employment, part-time study is a flexible option.

You can choose to enter the annual competition for ESRC-funded studentships through the . You should contact us well in advance of the February deadline if you are planning to apply.

Assessment methods

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

• Thesis
• Viva

Additional assessment information

The Linguistics or Applied Linguistics MPhil involves research leading to the completion of a 50,000-word thesis. This is ideal if you do not need formal training (eg established scholars). You could also use the MPhil as the first stage of registering on the PhD.

The PhD is an independent, supervised research project. This leads to the production of a 100,000-word thesis. You'll develop your own ideas and explore the field of knowledge to which your thesis topic relates. This involves:

• critical engagement with relevant literature
• selection and/or collection of data
• analysis and interpretation of the data within a specific theoretical framework
• further development of that framework

Postgraduate research student support

Our mission is to help you:

• stay healthy, positive and feeling well
• overcome any challenges you may face during your degree – academic or personal
• get the most out of your postgraduate research experience
• carry out admin and activities essential to progressing through your degree
• understand postgraduate research processes, standards and rules

We can offer you tailored wellbeing support, courses and activities.

You can also access a broad range of workshops covering:

• research and professional skills
• careers support
• wellbeing
• health and safety
• public engagement
• academic development

Find out more about our postgraduate research student support

Your development

Research groups

Our research 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:

• Language & Cognition Research Group
• Sociolinguistics Discussion Group
• Romance Linguistics Circle
• North East Syntax Seminar
• Phonetics and Phonology Research Group

In addition to these formal groups, there are a number of informal research clubs that meet on an ad hoc basis.

Ãå±±½ûµØ seminar series in linguistics

Throughout each semester we host a regular seminar series where internationally renowned linguistic researchers give presentations on their recent research.

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) researcher development programme 

Each faculty offers a researcher development programme for its postgraduate research students. We have designed your programme to help you:

• perform better as a researcher
• boost your career prospects
• broaden your impact

Through workshops and activities, it will build your transferable skills and increase your confidence.

You’ll cover:

• techniques for effective research
• methods for better collaborative working
• essential professional standards and requirements

Your researcher development programme is flexible. You can adapt it to meet your changing needs as you progress through your doctorate.

Find out more about the Researcher Education and Development programme

Doctoral training and partnerships

There are opportunities to undertake your PhD at Ãå±±½ûµØ within a:

• Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT)
• Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP)

Being part of a CDT or DTP has many benefits:

• they combine research expertise and training of a number of leading universities, academic schools and academics.
• you’ll study alongside a cohort of other PhD students
• they’re often interdisciplinary
• your PhD may be funded

If there are currently opportunities available in your subject area you’ll find them when you search for funding in the fees and funding section on this course.

Your future

Career development

You'll develop your career within a research-led community and benefit from funding opportunities. Our recent MPhil and PhD graduates have gone into a variety of careers, including: 

• academia
• education
• publishing
• university administration

Additionally, you can involve yourself in a range of activities and events. As a PhD student, you can gain experience in conference organisation.  You'll have the opportunity to get involved in the organising team of the annual Ãå±±½ûµØ and Northumbria Postgraduate Conference in Linguistics (Toon Taaks). 

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

Facilities

The 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 . 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:

• Tavistock North East Aphasia Centre

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)

PGR Home fee note

Home fees for research degree students

For 2025-26 entry, we've aligned our standard Home research fees with those set by .  For 2026-27 entry, we will again be aligning our standard Home research fees with UKRI. They will announce their fees in Spring 2026.

 

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 .

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. 

Search for funding and scholarships

Find funding available for your course

Select your country

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:

• living costs
• tuition fees

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.

How to apply

Open days and events

Find out about how you can visit Ãå±±½ûµØ in person and virtually

Overseas events

We regularly travel overseas to meet with students interested in studying at Ãå±±½ûµØ.

Visit our events calendar for the latest events