Linguistics: the Study of the Language Faculty

The Master's programme in Linguistics, which is taught in English, is intended for students from all over the world who combine a talent for research with curiosity about language and are interested in pursuing research into language and the way it is embedded in human cognition. The programme is guided by the following main questions: Which cognitive faculties underlie human language, and how do they interact?

This programme offers courses in the following fields: computational linguistics and logic, experimental psycholinguistics, language acquisition, phonetics, phonology/morphology, semantics/pragmatics, syntax (and its interfaces with other systems), and text linguistics. Students select one of these fields as their major and complement it with a minor to suit their individual interests.

A significant part of the training is devoted to integrating insights from the various fields in linguistics. Students will be trained in systematically collecting data, planning and conducting experiments, and evaluating theoretical proposals. Part of the curriculum consists of an internship in a research project within the Utrecht institute of Linguistics (OTS) or another research institute in the Netherlands or abroad. Students complete their studies by writing a Master's thesis based on their research.

Graduates of this programme will be aware of the limitations and possibilities of current linguistics research and will be able to combine different approaches, formulate research questions and outline solutions. They will be highly eligible for a PhD position at an institute of academic research or for a position with a public or private organisation.

'Linguistics students from around the world'

Xiaoli Dong, from China, now a PhD student, commenting on her experience in the Prestige Master’s programme in Linguistics

‘I came to Utrecht University because it’s a world-renowned institution with an outstanding research programme in linguistics. Plus, it was the perfect opportunity to study internationally.

My professors here are top researchers in their fields. Yet they’re also very attentive to their students, leading interactive courses with lots of lively discussion. Additionally, Utrecht University has a number of partnerships with other institutions in Holland, which is a definite advantage. For instance, I was granted credit for a Chinese syntax course I took at the University of Leiden. And I just attended a conference in Amsterdam on ‘Language and the Mind’, which was a great chance to talk to linguistics experts and students from around the world.’