Universities In Australia 
Universities In Canada 
Universities In Germany 
Universities In Ireland 
Universities In Jordan 
Universities In New Zealand 
Universities In Saudi Arabia 
Universities In United Kingdom 
Universities In United States Of America 
Course overview
On this four-year course, you will develop your knowledge and expertise in linguistics theory. It is essentially the same curriculum as our three-year Linguistics BA course but you will complement your studies at UCL with a year spent abroad studying at one of our partner institutions (currently in Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, the Netherlands, and the USA). Please note that year abroad options are subject to change without notice.
The course shares many core elements with the Experimental Linguistics BSc programme.
Throughout your studies, you will develop your understanding of the core areas of grammatical description:
- Phonetics and phonology (how sounds are produced and perceived)
- Morphology and syntax (how words are formed and combined into sentences)
- Semantics and pragmatics (what sentences mean and how they are used)
In your first year, all your modules are compulsory, so you will develop a thorough understanding of the linguistics theories that will inform your education in Year Two and Year Three.
From Year Two, you will be able to tailor the course to pursue your personal interests in linguistics, language and beyond. Optional modules allow you to explore core areas in more depth, or to branch out into other areas of linguistic inquiry, such as sociolinguistics, multilingualism, and language evolution. Elective modules allow you to explore linguistic issues from the perspective of different disciplines or to develop independent interests. Students can also take elective modules from outside of the department, with many students choosing to study philosophy, psychology, language sciences, or a foreign language.
The third year is the year abroad. You will gain further linguistic knowledge with exposure to research and education from another leading linguistics department. Places at individual partner institutions are subject to availability and competitive. In order to qualify for the study year abroad, you must maintain an average mark of 60% during your first two years.
Your undergraduate dissertation is the main focus of your final year. It is the culmination of your studies where you will work with an academic supervisor to develop an original piece of research on a topic of your choice. Additionally, you will take three advanced modules from the core areas of linguistics, one intermediate or advanced module offered in an area of linguistics, and two further elective modules. Your elective modules can be studied within linguistics, but you may also choose modules from outside the department (students studying a foreign language in Year Two, often continue this later in their studies).
What this course will give you
The UCL Linguistics department is known worldwide for its teaching and research excellence and the work of our staff appears in internationally acclaimed journals and books. You will have access to extensive computer facilities and to a specialist on-site linguistics and language sciences library in addition to UCL's main library.
Your home department is based at Chandler House, a dedicated building for linguistics and language sciences. There are social and study spaces for students with events and talks happening throughout the academic year.
You will acquire a broad foundation in linguistic analysis and theory, while being able to pursue chosen areas in greater depth, and study language and linguistics in a broader context.
You will develop a wide range of transferable skills: a broad understanding of language and languages; data collection and analysis; hypothesis testing; critical reading and argumentation. Through elective modules, you can also gain experience with experimental design, statistical analysis, and computational methods. The skills and knowledge that you gain from studying linguistics at university level are valued in a wide variety of future career destinations, including marketing, advertising, PR and communications, business and management, teaching and speech and language therapy.
In your third year, you will study abroad at one of our partner institutions. They are internationally recognised for their excellence in linguistics with locations including Canada, China, Italy, the Netherlands and the USA. The year abroad allows you to deepen and broaden your understanding of linguistics, to experience a new culture, and potentially to improve your knowledge of a foreign language.
Our focus on small-group teaching helps create a friendly and supportive atmosphere. The department runs a mentoring scheme whereby second-year or final-year students support new students.
Additionally:
- We are the top ranked university for Linguistics in London (The Guardian University Guide 2023).
- UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2024).
- UCL is 2nd in the world for Social Sciences (General) in the National Taiwan University Rankings for scientific papers (2023).