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Applied Linguistics MA

London, Bloomsbury

This MA explores language from a wide range of perspectives. It is designed to develop understanding of key concepts and issues related to applied linguistics and engage students in the theoretical and empirical investigation of real-world situations, contexts and issues in which language plays a crucial role, while also exploring language education globally.

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2026/27)
£16,800
£8,400
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)
£35,400
£17,700
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Duration
1 calendar year
2 calendar years
5 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2026
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 27 Mar 2026

Applications closed

Applicants who do not require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 28 Aug 2026
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

Normally a minimum of a second-class UK Bachelor's degree in a relevant subject (e.g. English, languages, linguistics, communication), or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard is required.

The English language level for this course 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 course is suitable for international students on a Student visa – study must be full-time, face-to-face, starting September.

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

This course will provide students with insights into applied linguistics and language education from socio-cultural, discourse, bilingual, cognitive, and global perspectives. It will also develop students' capacity to analyse, evaluate and synthesise linguistic data, primary and secondary sources, as well as helping them to design research.

Who this course is for

This course is suitable for anyone with a keen interest in applied linguistics or language education globally, such as people in language-focused professions (e.g., journalism, copywriting and editing, communications and PR), language teachers (including EFL, ESL, ESOL), students of English language, applied linguistics, languages or communication, and those who share an interest in the relations between language, cognition, culture and society.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

UCL Institute of Education (IOE) is one of the world's leading centres for education and related areas of social science. For the twelfth year in succession IOE has been ranked as the world's leading university for Education (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025).

The Department of Culture, Communication and Media (CCM) at IOE is committed to excellence in teaching, research and consultancy across a range of areas including applied linguistics.

One of the key aims of IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society’s Centre for Applied Linguistics is to seek external funding for high-quality research and consultancy in the broad field of applied linguistics, including discourse analysis, bilingualism and multilingualism, second language acquisition, health communication, intercultural communication, linguistic ethnography, semiotics, and language-in-education policy and practice, and undertake such research.

It also aims to provide research input into teaching courses and doctoral supervision in areas of applied linguistics and global language education.

The skills gained on this degree course are designed to enhance the careers of experienced language teachers and language-related professionals including those involved in curriculum development, translation and interpreting, and forensic and clinical work involving language by deepening their theoretical knowledge and skills in applied language research.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Graduates of this course include university and college lecturers, researchers, managers, consultants, school teachers, authors, writers, translators and journalists. Whilst many of our graduates work in teaching and education, others go on to work in research, publishing, policy and government, IT, technology and telecommunications amongst many other industries the world over. (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2017-22)

The best thing about my programme was that I got the chance to develop my research skills and to improve my critical thinking. Conducting a piece of research with the help of a supervisor was a rewarding experience.

Jiawei Ding, Applied Linguistics MA student

Jiawei Ding

Applied Linguistics MA

Q&A with Jiawei Ding

Employability

This course not only provides an outstanding foundation for those hoping to undertake PhD research and pursue an academic career, but is also popular with students wishing to develop their career internationally or go into education. Group discussions and debates on the course help students to acquire strong presentation and negotiation skills. Likewise, the analytical and research skills gained by students are highly valued by employers from a range of sectors. There are many additional activities available, both within the department and the wider UCL community, to help students focus on employability skills, for example departmental talks and other networking opportunities.

Networking

Students will have many opportunities to engage in networking activities with scholars, researchers and students in the field of TESOL and related areas. The Centre hosts regular talks which allow students not only to broaden their understanding of issues in the field, but also to be part of a collegial community of scholars and educators. Students can join the British Association for Applied Linguistics, or participate in several activities conducted by the UCL Applied Linguistics Society.

Teaching and learning

Students will be exposed to a wide variety of teaching and learning methods/strategies, on the assumption that delivery of content is both an art and science. Faculty are also sensitive to culturally appropriate learning practices which students from diverse backgrounds bring along with them in the classroom.

This course is delivered through a combination of lectures, workshops, projects, supervisory tutorials, student presentations, and student-led discussions. Within tutor-led sessions, students often engage in individual, pair and group tasks which are then fed back to the plenary. Students are assessed through written coursework, oral presentation, and the dissertation. Alternative modes of assessment may be a feature of some modules.

For full-time students, typical contact hours are around 6 - 8 hours per week in terms 1 and 2. Teaching is a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, feedback, and the use of a Virtual Learning Environment. In addition to this, full-time students typically study a minimum 7 hours per week, per module, in self-directed study, plus, students would be required to commit additional time to preparing and completing coursework assignments.

In term 3 students will be completing their drafts and then the final assignments for both of their term 2 modules, and continuing their dissertation research, keeping regular contact with their dissertation supervisors into mid-July (draft submission) and then completing the research, analysis and final writing up of their dissertation during August.

Please note that contact hours may vary depending on the modules you choose.

Modules

The course consists of one core module (30 credits), one compulsory research dissertation (60 credits), and three optional modules (90 credits). Full-time students will complete the course within one year.

Autumn term

  • Core Module (Discourse, Society and Culture)
  • Optional module 1
  • Dissertation module

Spring term

  • Dissertation module/supervision
  • Optional module 2
  • Optional module 3

Summer term

Dissertation supervision

The course consists of one core module (30 credits), one compulsory research dissertation (60 credits), and three optional modules (90 credits). Part-time students will complete the course over two years.

Autumn term year 1

  • Core Module

Spring term year 1

  • Optional module 1

Summer term year 1

  • Optional module 2

Autumn term year 2

  • Optional module 3
  • Dissertation module

Spring term year 2

  • Dissertation module/supervision

Summer term year 2

  • Dissertation supervision

The course consists of one core module (30 credits), one compulsory research dissertation (60 credits), and three optional modules (90 credits).  

You will have up to 5 years to complete your Master’s course. The first module you take on this course should be your core module Discourse, Society and Culture (CCME0044). You will then need to enrol on 3 optional modules before taking your dissertation in the final year of your studies.

Compulsory modules




Optional modules













Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MA in Applied Linguistics.

Accessibility

The department will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergence, learning differences and mental health conditions. This list is not exhaustive. If you're unsure of your eligibility for reasonable adjustments at UCL, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

Reasonable adjustments are implemented on a case-by-case basis. With the student's consent, reasonable adjustments are considered by UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services, and where required, in collaboration with the respective department.

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information about support available can be obtained from UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

For more information about the department and accessibility arrangements for your course, please contact the department.

Where you'll study

Department of Culture, Communication and Media

The Department of Culture, Communication and Media is committed to excellence in research and teaching in the areas of Art, Design and Museology, Academic writing, English education, Applied Linguistics, Music Education, Learning with Digital Technologies and teacher professional development.

Find out more about the department

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2026/27) £16,800 £8,400
Tuition fees (2026/27) £35,400 £17,700

Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.

Postgraduate Taught students benefit from a cohort guarantee, meaning that their tuition fees will not increase during the course of the programme, but UCL reserves the right to increase tuition fees to reflect any sums (including levies, taxes, or similar financial charges) that UCL is required to pay any governmental authority in connection with tuition fees.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Where the course is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of UK, a fee deposit will be charged at 2.5% of the first year fee.

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of Overseas, a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

For modular/flexible offer holders with a fee status classification of UK, a £350 deposit will be charged.

For modular/flexible offer holders with a fee status classification of Overseas, a £500 deposit will be charged.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

Students are responsible for covering any travel, accommodation, and other expenses involved in conducting research for their dissertation, and should account for these costs when planning their finances.

For in-person teaching, 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 £119.90. This price was published by TfL in 2025. 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

Students are advised that we will prioritise applications that provide all the required documentation at the point of application.

There is an application processing fee for this course of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • why you want to study Applied Linguistics at graduate level
  • why you want to study Applied Linguistics at UCL
  • what particularly attracts you to the chosen course
  • how your academic and/or professional background meets the demands of this challenging course
  • where you would like to go professionally with your degree

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this course match what the course will deliver.

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

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2026-2027

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

Culture, Communication and Media
Culture, Communication and Media

ioe.alt@ucl.ac.uk

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