UCL DIVISION OF PSYCHOLOGY AND LANGUAGE SCIENCES

Degree Benefits

• Gain a broadly-based training in linguistics and phonetics together with the opportunity to explore other themes, such as language acquisition and language processing.
• UCL is known worldwide for its teaching and research in linguistics; the work of our staff appears in internationally acclaimed journals and books.
• Our focus on small-group teaching helps develop a friendly and supportive atmosphere. LingSoc, the linguistics student society, runs a mentoring scheme whereby second-year or final-year students support new students.
• You will have access to extensive computer facilities and to a specialised on-site library in addition to UCL's main library.

In the first year your courses are all compulsory, providing a foundation in linguistics and helping you assess where your own interests and strengths lie. In your second and third years you choose from a range of intermediate and advanced courses within a requirement to complete courses in the three core areas of: Meaning (Semantics and Pragmatics); Pronunciation (Phonetics and Phonology); and Sentence Structure (Syntax). You can also choose courses in psycholinguistics, including language acquisition. In your final year, you will undertake a research project, involving a deep and sustained study of a subject in which you are especially interested.

In the second and final year, you can also take options offered outside Linguistics; for example, many students choose to take a language course taught by the UCL Language Centre.

Your Learning

Teaching is mainly delivered through lectures and small-group teaching (tutorials in which you meet with a group of between five and 12 students and a staff member to discuss topics covered in the lecture) as well as a virtual learning environment. Some courses also involve workshops.

Assessment

Each course is assessed and examined separately, often by a combination of essays, exercises and examinations. Your performance in a course is always assessed in the same academic year in which you take it.

Advanced linguistics

You might like to have a look at the recording of the talk given by Professor Noam Chomsky when he visited us in October 2011 at http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/events/2011/10/17/noam-chomsky-on-the-poverty-of-the-stimulus/.

Teaching is delivered through a combination of lectures, small-group teaching (tutorials or backup classes) and material and a virtual learning environment. Some courses also involve workshops or practical classes. Typically, each course involves a weekly lecture of one or two hours, a one hour backup class in which you meet with a group of between five and 12 students and a staff member to discuss topics covered in the lecture, and a virtual learning environment where you can access course material, a course discussion forum and other activities.
In the first year your courses are all compulsory, providing a foundation in linguistics and helping you assess where your own interests and strengths lie. In your second and third years you choose from a range of intermediate and advanced courses within a requirement to complete courses in the three core areas of: Meaning (Semantics and Pragmatics); Pronunciation (Phonetics and Phonology); and Sentence Structure (Syntax). Additionally, in your third year, you will undertake a research project, involving a deep and sustained study of a subject in which you are especially interested.

In the second and in the final year, you can also take options offered outside Linguistics, and there is a huge choice of courses including language courses taught by the UCL Language Centre.

Structure of the BA Linguistics (International Programme)

Time table
See www.ucl.ac.uk/timetable or click on the above module details for a link to the module timetable.

We have a range of partner institutions, all 'elite' departments in universities with excellent academic reputations in Linguistics, where all or a substantial amount of teaching is carried out in English. Our partner institutions are: 

• University of Arizona, USA
• Chinese University of Hong Kong
• University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA    
• McGill University, Montreal, Canada    
• University of Tübingen, Germany 
• University of Utrecht, The Netherlands       
• University of Venice, Italy    

UCL also has additional exchange agreements with overseas institutions that cover all departments.

Please note that places at some of these institutions are limited, please contact us if you are interested in a particular institution.

Important:

• Non-EU students can only take part in Socrates (i.e. European) links if they have permanent residence status in an EU country. Going somewhere outside the EU is fine, but obviously you will need to obtain the relevant student visa (as would an EU student).
• Normally students must have achieved marks of a 2.1 average over the first two years of their degree to go on an exchange. A student on the BA Linguistics International programme who fails to do achieve these results will be able to transfer to the three-year BA Linguistics programme.

Programme Director: Prof John Harris

Teaching staff (NB: staff may occasionally be absent for a term or more on research or other leave)

• Dr Klaus Abels
• Dr Richard Breheny
• Prof Robyn Carston
• Dr Bronwen Evans
• Prof John Harris
• Dr Nathan Klinedinst
• Prof Ad Neeleman
• Dr Andrew Nevins
• Dr Nausicaa Pouscoulous
• Dr Kriszta Szendroi
• Dr Hans van de Koot
• Dr Yi Xu

In addition, we can call on the support of Teaching Fellows and Postgraduate Teaching Assistants.

Fees and Funding

Information about fees, funding arrangements and UCL scholarships can be found via the right hand side bar at at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/undergraduate-study/degrees/ugprogs/UBALINSING05

Application process

All applications must be made via UCAS, www.ucas.ac.uk.

Deadline for Applications

It is unlikely that we will be able to consider applications submitted after the UCAS deadline on 15 January.

Entry requirements

For entry requirements, please see http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/undergraduate-study/degrees/ugprogs/UBALINSINT05

In addition to subject-specific skills, you will also acquire the analytical, investigative and study skills. The Year Abroad increases your decision-making and problem-solving skills, and can also improve your language and communication skills. These skills are essential for most graduate careers, which could include law, computing, commerce and industry.

Linguistics connects with many other disciplines and many graduates go on to work in these areas, e.g. teaching languages, especially English as a first or foreign language, speech therapy, advertising or the media. A number of linguistics graduates from UCL carry on linguistics at graduate level often with a view to pursuing an academic career.

Information on careers for UCL Linguistics graduates is available at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/students/department/careers_with_a_linguistics_degree. For more general information on careers for Linguistics graduates, please click here.

Our 2011 graduates reported above average employment rates and starting salaries.

Destinations

First destinations of recent graduates of this programme include:

• Full-time student, MPhil Linguistics at Cambridge University
• Junior Project Manager, Pro-Active London
• Full-time student, MA in Modern Languages at the University of Oxford
• English Tutor, Self-employed

Here is some feedback from new students:

• "Since I have never studied Linguistics before, I didn't really know what to expect. I am positively astonished about the many different ways in which Language can be studied!"
• "It si better than I expected. There is plenty of time to complete assigments and there is a great support system (mentors and back up tutors) to ensure we understand the material."

And here is some feedback from students who graduated in June 2011:

• "Approachable and insightful lecturers - the bond you develop with them is clear and a great bonus to the program. UCL is renowned for its research and it does put you in a position where you feel you are at the cutting edge of the field. "
• "Knowledgeable staff, small class sized allowing for easier discussion and more intimate teaching, wide choice of module options. "
• "The breadth and depth of the material covered throughout the programme was probably the best aspect for me. "
• What I really liked about the degree programme was "the small-scale discussion groups in tutorials. Close interaction with lecturers."

We organise a number of Open Days for prospective students who have already applied via UCAS, and will contact applicants to make the necessary arrangements.

If you would like to visit before applying, please join us at our annual Chandler House Open Day, which takes place on the same day as the general UCL Open Day. Please note that if you would like to participate in the UCL Open Day as well, you will need to book a separate ticket via http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/outreach/openday/virtual-open-day/next.

You can view the programme of the Chandler House Open Day at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/psychlangsci/students/prospective/open-days/ch-open-day-2013, and register to attend below.

If you are considering applying for the BA Linguistics degree programme but are unable to visit us on the Chandler House Open Day, it may be possible to arrange a guided tour of our building at other dates between mid-November and mid-July. Please contact enquiries-linguistics@pals.ucl.ac.uk.

For further information about this programme, please contact: Ms Stefanie Anyadi

s.anyadi@ucl.ac.uk

020 7679 4224

Question
My A-levels do not include English Language or a science. Will you still consider an application from me? Answer

We have found that applicants who have taken English Language and/or at least one science subject at A-level do particularly well on the BA Linguistics but we will consider applications from applicants who have not studied these subject at A-level or AS-level.