Linguistics
A comprehensive guide to studying Linguistics at university.
- "The biggest pro for me is that one can combine linguistics with their other interests - in my case cognitive neuro-science and computer engineering." - BA Linguistics student, UCL
- "The biggest downside is employability. If you study medicine, you become a doctor, if you study law, you became a lawyer (not necessary, but you have a very obvious path and many follow it). With linguistics, since it's so peculiar, you basically have to "invent" your future job." - BA Linguistics student, UCL
Studying Linguistics at a UK university involves exploring the scientific study of language, its structure, and its social aspects. You'll delve into phonetics, syntax, semantics, and sociolinguistics, gaining insights into how languages are constructed and used.
The coursework typically includes a mix of theoretical and practical modules, with opportunities for fieldwork and research projects. You’ll learn to analyze language data, understand language acquisition, and explore the role of language in society. Many programs offer options to study specific languages or linguistic phenomena, and some include opportunities for studying abroad.
The degree develops critical thinking, analytical skills, and a deep understanding of communication, preparing you for careers in academia, language teaching, translation, publishing, and more. Interaction with diverse student cohorts and leading researchers in the field enhances the learning experience, making it a rich and intellectually stimulating journey.
The main thing to keep in mind about a linguistics degree is that it does not create a clear career path.
Fortunately, what this means is that the linguistics graduate can choose their own direction. And the way most courses are set up, you get to create your own path during your degree to prepare you for professional life.
The skills you will gain during a linguistics degree depend a lot on the modules and direction you choose to pursue but there are a few central skills you will develop regardless of how your degree is put together. As a linguistics graduate, you will develop strong analytical skills, which can be applied to almost any issue of communication.
You will learn the difference between what people say and what they mean, and to understand and reduce that discrepancy. This can be applied to situations in the work place or your personal life.
Because the degree is often very reading-heavy (depending on your choice of modules), you will not only improve your reading and understanding of difficult academic literature, you will also learn how to apply this knowledge to real-world scenarios such as political speeches, satirical cartoons or even comedy routines.
Many linguistics degree also offer rigorous training in statistics which is a highly prized skill amongst many employers.
Also, due to the typical breadth of topics, you will acquire a basic understanding of a wealth of topics, which is very valuable in professional life, because it allows you to understand the ins and outs of many different topics that might be dealt with at the ground level (including psychology, computer science, literature, political and medical science - again depending on your module choices) and "translate" that information to your superiors.
Career choices vary as much as the directions you can take during your degree. You can enter fields all the way from journalism and political science to language technology and computer science to speech therapy and cognitive science. There's even investigative work in law-enforcement available, if you choose to study forensic linguistics.
You can also often combine your linguistics degree with English Language or TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language), which will open doors for you if you like to travel and want to teach English to students in other countries.
There are also many corporate careers available to linguistics graduates such as marketing, management consulting and corporate communication.