Testimonials
Do you want to know how our current and former students experience the programme? Then check out the interviews and videos with Daan, Myrthe, Daan, and Chenyi.
Daan Konink (he/him) is a student
"I have always been interested in the languages surrounding me. You hear all kinds of people talk. Yet, how precisely do we use these sounds to communicate with one another? I was also very interested in historical linguistics, so like etymology and the origins of words. How has language evolved throughout time?"
Myrthe (she/her) is a student
"During my first Bachelor's degree in French Language and Culture, I discovered that I was not just interested in linguistics, but also how this interest involved more languages than solely French."
"When I spent my entire reflection week studying syntax trees, I decided to pursue a second Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics. Here, I learned more about how languages function, how people learn different languages, and learn to switch between languages."
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Work pressure
"My study time has shown me how important it is not to overwork yourself. In addition to the two bachelor programmes in which I was enrolled, I also worked two days a week and I did a board year at study association Babel. Fortunately, you can always talk to the study advisor to optimally schedule your programme with a second bachelor degree, an exchange or electives while making sure that it is doable for you. After talking to the study advisors, I decided to visit Serbia to perform research on the Serbian language for my bachelor’s thesis."
Job Perspectives
"Pursuing a degree in Linguistics introduces you to possible job perspectives of which you might not hear of often, such as speech therapy or forensic linguist. When I started the program, I wanted to become a researcher, so I felt focused on working toward a PhD project and publish research. After helping my classmates with learning Dutch, I realized I prefer doing hands-on work. Nowadays, I plan to become a teacher in Dutch for forcibly displaced people."
Daan van der Heijden (he/him) is a PhD student
"Studying languages in high school wasn’t my favorite thing to do. My first choice was thus not a language-focused Bachelor’s, but a Bachelor’s in Artificial Intelligence (AI). After ultimately dropping out of this programme, the next programme I applied to, I chose based on my favorite course from AI: Introduction Linguistics for AI!"
"When studying Linguistics, you don’t spend time learning vocabulary, like in high school, but you study the systems that ground language and communication. Eventually, I chose to start again with a Bachelor’s in AI while studying Linguistics."
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Activities
"The workload of Linguistics was quite nice, I would say. As a motivated student, I didn’t mind investing the time that the programme asked me to. Additionally, I also had a lot of other activities going on, both within and outside of the UU. For instance, I was part of a committee and later joined the board at study association Babel. I liked being able to contribute to the university so much that I took place in the Humanities faculteitsraad for two years. Outside of the UU, I have always had different jobs. With so many activities, busy moments in which everything converges are inevitable, but I definitely found it doable."
Love for research
"During my studies in Linguistics, I realized how much I loved conducting research. I enjoy reading papers, thinking with existing theories, and contributing to the university system, so I wanted to continue doing research. I pursued and finished a Master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence and specialized in computational linguistics, which fit perfectly with my Bachelor's degrees in Linguistics and AI. Having just started a PhD in computational linguistics at the University of Zürich in Switzerland, I make money while doing what I like: research!"
Chenyi Lin (she/her) is a Master's student
"Before starting my Bachelor in Linguistics, I taught Mandarin to foreigners. While teaching, I felt myself longing to know more about the theory behind language and language acquisition, so that I would become a better teacher."
"Since I had traveled to the Netherlands before and really liked the country, I wanted to come study here. I applied to the Bachelor programme in Linguistics at Utrecht University in particular because of the UU Institute for Language Sciences’ excellent reputation."
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Study-life balance
"Studying Linguistics is not easy but definitely manageable, I would say. During the weekdays, I spent much time preparing for the courses. However, I always found time to exercise, dance, or go on small trips on weekends. One highlight of the programme was the opportunity to go on an exchange. I studied linguistics at the University of Edinbrough for one semester and truly loved every moment of it. Not only did my studies there focus a bit more on the computational side of linguistics, but I also had time to bond with fellow exchange students!"
New interest
"Whereas I came to Utrecht to improve my knowledge of language acquisition, I now have found a new passion in speech technology and computational linguistics. My Bachelor’s thus radically reinformed what I knew about myself and my future. I am now pursuing a Master’s in Voice Technology to learn more about speech recognition and voice synthesis. After graduating, I would love to work in the speech and tech field here in the Netherlands."