Study location	United Kingdom, Colchester Campus
Type	Master courses, full-time
Nominal duration	1 year
Study language	English
Awards	MA

Tuition fee	To be confirmed

Entry qualification	Undergraduate diploma (or higher) an overall grade of 2:2 and above The entry qualification documents are accepted in any language

Language requirements	English Accepted proof of proficiency: Cambridge English, IELTS, TOEFL or other equivalent IELTS: 6.5 overall (with a minimum component score of 5.5 except for 6.0 in writing) CAE: C

Other requirements	At least 1 reference(s) must be provided. Reference should be written on official letterhead, signed and dated. Please upload it in the Documents section. CV

More information	Expenses, accommodation, working etc. essex.ac.uk/..tercourse=PG00555&subgroup=1

Overview

Conduct an in-depth study of the grammar of English. Learn about dialectal and social variation, language change and the pragmatics of language use, and study varieties of English used around the world.

If you wish to focus specifically on the linguistics of the English language then our MA English Language and Linguistics should interest you. “Grammar” is the body of knowledge that enables a speaker to produce and understand the language(s) they speak. We study that knowledge, taking a practical approach to our research through analysis of English corpora, recordings and texts.

Our course allows you to cover a wide range of topics related to English, including:

- Dialectal and social variation
- Conversation analysis
- Language change
- Language rights
- Pragmatics

You also have the choice of optional topics including American languages, language and gender, multilingualism and language disorders.

We are one of the largest and most prestigious language and linguistics departments in the world, a place where talented students become part of an academic community in which the majority of research is rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, placing us firmly within the top 10 departments in the UK and among the top 150 departments on the planet (QS World University Rankings 2016).

If you want a global outlook, are interested in human communication, and want to study for a degree with real-world practical value in a world-class department, welcome to Essex.

Programme structure

Year 1

MA Dissertation
Advanced Phonology
English Syntax 1
Varieties of English
English Syntax 2
Variation in English II
First Language Acquisition (optional)
Phonological Development (optional)
Second Language Acquisition and Linguistics Theory (optional)
American Languages (optional)
Sentence Processing (optional)
Language Rights (optional)
Semantics (optional)
Language Learning (optional)
Individual Differences in L2 Learning (optional)
Syntactic Theory I (optional)
Variationist Sociolinguistic Theory (optional)
Experimental Design and Analysis (optional)
Sociolinguistic Methods 1: Data Collection (optional)
Research Methods I (optional)
Syntactic Theory II (optional)
Sociocultural Linguistics (optional)
The Role of Age in Bilingual Development (optional)
Sociolinguistic Methods: Data Coding and Analysis (optional)
Research Methods II (optional)
Graduate Research Assignment (optional)
Language Attrition (optional)
Language in Context: From Pragmatics to Conversation Analysis (optional)
Intercultural Communication: communicating across languages and cultures (optional)

Career opportunities

Our course can lead to careers in areas such as academic research, publishing, journalism, administration, public service and teaching. You develop key employability skills including research design, data analysis, thinking analytically, report writing and public speaking.