Phonetics and Phonology Integrated PhD

Newcastle University

United Kingdom, Newcastle upon Tyne

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129

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Newcastle University

United Kingdom , Newcastle upon Tyne

Key Facts

Program Level

PhD (Philosophy Doctorate)

Study Type

Full Time

Delivery

On Campus

Campuses

Main Site

Program Language

English

Start & Deadlines

Next Intake DeadlinesSeptember-2026

Apply to this program

Go to the official application for the university

Duration 4 year(s)

Tuition Fee

GBP 25,600 / year(s)

Next Intake September-2026

Phonetics and Phonology Integrated PhD

About

Overview

The focus of this iPhD is the application of phonetics and phonology in:

first and second language acquisition
sociolinguistics
speech science
language patterning

The Phonetics and Phonology integrated PhD has a large taught and assessed component as well as a supervised research element. The foundation is a common core of modules dealing with essential theoretical issues and research methods. You are also offered specialised modules which act as the basis for your thesis.

You'll have an individual course of study based on your needs and the sponsor's requirements.

One of the strengths of the course is that it brings together the teaching and research expertise of staff belonging to the Phonetics and Phonology Research Group. This group is composed of students and staff working in phonetics and phonology across three of our academic schools:

This widens the pool of modules that are available. It enables you to interact with staff and students from a wide variety of backgrounds and expertise. Our particular areas of strength are in:

phonetics and phonology in first/second language acquisition and bilingualism
sociophonetic perspectives on speech perception and production
role of voice quality in speech processing
laboratory phonology and links between phonetics and phonology
phonetic and phonological characteristics of languages and language description in segmental and suprasegmental aspects
prosody and timing in the world's languages
neurocognition of speech and language processing with focus on phonetics, phonology, and prosody

The cross-cutting theme within these areas that we are all interested in is the link between:

perception
production
learning

Our perception research looks at the role of speakers and listeners in shaping linguistic systems and sound change.

Work on production and learning covers our interest in investigating meaningful sound patterning. This includes:

how it's acquired
stored
produced within a social context

Our work also investigates categorical and graded aspects of speech and the role of language-specific factors in shaping these categories.

Requirements

Entry Requirements

Typically we recognise the following in a Bachelors degree:

3.5/4.0 or 4.25/5.0 (85%) as comparable to a 1st Class
Minimum GPA of 3.75/5.0 (75%) as comparable to a 2.1
3.5/5.0 or 2.8/4.0 (70%) as comparable to a 2.2

Admissions criteria may vary depending on the course you are applying for, please check course specific entry requirements.

English Program Requirements

IELTS:

Applicants whose first language is not English require a minimum score of IELTS 6.0 or equivalent including 5.5 in each of the four elements of the test.

TOEFL:

79 overall (with a minimum of 17 in listening, 18 in reading, 20 in speaking, and 17 in writing)

Pearson:

Pearsons 65 overall (with a minimum of 59 in all sub-skills).

Duolingo:

115 overall with no subskill below 100

Career

Your future

Graduate destinations

Recent graduates of phonetics and phonology at Newcastle University have worked on a variety of languages and dialects, including:

Arabic (a range of dialects)
Chinese
English
German
Japanese
Malaysian
Malayalam
Polish
Serbian
Thai

Our graduates go on to work in:

academic institutions across the world
public and private institutions specialising in health sciences, media and communication, speech technology and forensic science