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Linguistics MPhil

London, Bloomsbury

This is the programme information for 2025 entry

If you require details of the previous year's programme, Linguistics MPhil (2024), click here

UK students International students

Study mode

Full-time

UK tuition fees (2025/26)

£6,215

Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)

£27,500

Duration

2 calendar years

Programme starts

September 2025

Applications accepted

All applicants: 14 Oct 2024 – 04 Apr 2025

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

Normally a first-class UK Bachelor's degree, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard, in a relevant subject.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

This programme is suitable for international students on a Student visa – study must be full-time, face-to-face.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

The UCL Linguistics research department is known internationally for its outstanding work in all areas of theoretical linguistics and for its growing strength in experimental work.

Our staff carry out research aimed at discovering the nature and origin of the principles and representations that characterise human language, its acquisition by children, its neural basis in the brain, and its use in communication.

We encourage and facilitate cross-disciplinary interaction with psychologists, cognitive scientists and philosophers working on language and communication both at UCL and elsewhere. Undertaking a research degree in this department means you will be supervised by scholars who are leaders in their field with the expert up-to-date knowledge needed to guide you in shaping your own original research contribution.

Who this course is for

The Linguistics MPhil is ideal for those who want to conduct research beyond their undergraduate or Master's degree in one of our core areas of theoretical linguistics research: syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and phonology. Completing the MPhil programme ensures that our graduates who may enter doctoral work do so with a deep general understanding of the discipline. The MPhil will give you excellent credentials for entry into competitive PhD degree programmes in linguistics.

Read about what it takes to become a UCL graduate research student

What this course will give you

The Department of Linguistics boasts world-leading researchers in all of the main sub-areas of Theoretical Linguistics, as well as a large number of PhD students, with whom MPhil students are expected to interact closely. UCL Linguistics also has a close connection with colleagues in other universities in the London area (e.g. QMUL and SOAS), Oxford and Cambridge.

Furthermore, as it is located within the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, cross-disciplinary training and joint supervision is possible (with scholars in psychology, neuroscience, speech science, etc.). Additional graduate-level training, Advanced Core Training in Linguistic (ACTL), taught by eminent scholars from the UK and elsewhere is also available.

UCL Linguistics is proud of the range and breadth of modules offered on this MPhil Linguistics programme. It ensures that our students who enter doctoral work do so with a deep general understanding of the discipline. UCL Linguistics also has one of the largest groupings of experimental linguists in the UK and provides laboratory skills training. Together with generic training opportunities available within the division for statistics and other research methods, we offer extensive and comprehensive training in the field. You will also receive training in transferable presentational skills, interview practice and teaching methods.

Find out how your research could have an impact

The foundation of your career

The MPhil programme started in 2021 and our first graduates were awarded their degrees in 2023. A number of students have gone onto PhD programmes in both the UK and USA.

Employability

The Linguistics MPhil is ideal for those who want to do linguistic research beyond their undergraduate or Master's degree.

Completing it will enhance your chances of being successful in applying for PhD positions. Furthermore, this MPhil degree can satisfy the requirements of the MPhil phase of the PhD programme in Linguistics at UCL, allowing one to obtain a PhD in two years (minimum).

As for careers outside of academia, the combination of analytical and quantitative methods skills possessed by Linguistics research graduates provide the basis to progress to high-level positions including management consultancy, IT and government.

Networking

The opportunities for networking are vast. Academic staff are members of the Linguistics Association of Great Britain, and some have been involved in running it.

The department regularly hosts academic conferences, and is part of the Advanced Core Training in Linguistic (ACTL) consortium, which offers additional training in theoretical linguistics. It also offers seminars by eminent international linguists. Completion of a research degree with us will give you excellent credentials for entry into competitive PhD degree programmes in linguistics.

Teaching and learning

Students will typically audit relevant taught modules and attend the departments Linguistics Research Seminars depending on their training needs.

At the end of their MPhil, each student has to submit a written thesis of not more than 30,000 words, followed by a viva voce examination with two examiners, one who is internal to UCL and another who is external.

A typical full-time MPhil student will spend approximately 36.5 hours per week working on their MPhil. The rest of students' time is spent in self-directed study.

The contact time that a student spends with their supervisory team, thesis committee members and on training courses varies from student to student depending on need throughout their MPhil.

Research areas and structure

The MPhil programme is based around specialist Research Seminars in the core areas of theoretical linguistics research: syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and phonology.

Phonology: relation between phonological representations and the speech signal; syllable typology; phonological variation and change;
Semantics: formal semantics and pragmatics; foundations of communication;
Pragmatics: philosophy of language; the semantics/pragmatics interface; Relevance Theory; figurative language; foundations of communication
Syntax: ellipsis, word order typology, syntax of phi-features, syntax-semantics interface, syntax-morphology interface; syntactic and morphological deficits in aphasia and other syndromes; (research is carried out in a broadly Chomskyan framework).

Research environment

Linguistics is based in Chandler House, 5-10 minute walk from Russell Square or 10-15 minute walk from Kings Cross Station. Here there are facilities for psychology and language science research including, but not limited to, eye-tracking, electroencephalography (EEG/ERP), functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), ultrasound, and transcranial electrical stimulation (TES), as well as several sound treated booths for behavioural studies and audiovisual recordings. There is a dedicated Experimental Officer to support research.

The two-year MPhil comprises graduate-level modules, including research seminars in syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and phonology, and a 30,000-word thesis.

Students complete the majority of the coursework in year one, and focus on research in year two. The programme aims at breadth and depth of study, and the opportunity to develop independent ideas in a sustained piece of research. Students are assigned to a supervisory team in their first year. Projects begin only in the second year of the programme and decisions about the direction and content of projects will be made in consultation with supervisors going into the final year.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time
Tuition fees (2025/26)	£6,215
Tuition fees (2025/26)	£27,500

Additional costs

This programme has no additional costs.

UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £114.50. This price was published by TfL in 2024. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Next steps

Deadlines and start dates are usually dictated by funding arrangements so check with the department as early as possible to see if you need to consider these in your application preparation.

All applicants must submit a sample of their work with their application and a short statement outlining their area of research interest.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

This programme requires two references. Further information regarding references can be found on this Selecting your references page.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.