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Key Information
Programme starts
September 2025
Location: London, Bloomsbury
APPLICATION DEADLINES
Applicants who require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 04 Apr 2025
Applicants who don't require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 29 Aug 2025
Applications close at 5pm UK time
Modes and duration
The programme runs over the course of 12 months (full-time) or 24 months (part-time).
Tuition Fees (2025/26)
UK: £39,800 (FT) £19,900 (PT)
Overseas: £16,000 (FT) £8,000 (PT)
Note on fees: The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. See the UCL Current Students website for more information.
Entry requirements
Normally a minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelor's degree or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard in a language-related area such as linguistics, speech sciences, English language, psychology, cognitive science, or a cognate discipline.
Country-specific information, including details of international equivalence and when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.
English Language Requirements
If your education has not been conducted in the English language, you will be expected to demonstrate evidence of an adequate level of English proficiency.
The English language level for this programme is: Level 4
Further details of UCL's English Language requirements can be found on the UCL English Language requirement page.
The Programme
MSc Language Sciences provides an opportunity for in-depth study in one or more areas of the language sciences. It is an umbrella degree with four separate specialised routes. Each route follows a common structure, enabling students to tailor the degree to their own interests.
All students take a core set of modules, forming a basis from which to study and undertake research in diverse areas of language science. You will then tailor the degree to your own interests through choosing specialised modules, developing and building upon your existing research interests.
As a student on the MSc Language Sciences you’ll join a group of talented individuals from around the world, and a department and Division which is virtually unmatched in the world in terms of its breadth of expertise in teaching and research across the language sciences. You’ll also benefit from access to state-of-the-art research facilities and an active research culture; students are very much encouraged to attend research seminars and reading groups as part of their studies.
In 2024/25 MSc Language Sciences will be offered with five routes:
- Staff
Programme Director: Dr Chris Carignan
The programme director has overall responsibility for the programme, it's students and teaching.
The flexibility of the programme means that modules are taught by academic staff drawn from across the Division of Psychology & Language Sciences.
In addition, we can call on the support of visiting lecturers, Teaching Fellows and Postgraduate Teaching Assistants.
Teaching Administrator: Rebecca Holmes- Careers
The majority of students who graduate from MSc Language Sciences programmes go on to further study or research. Recent graduates have gone on to PhD study in UCL, other UK institutions and prestigious overseas universities. Other students have gone on to diverse roles related to Language Sciences such as audiology, education and speech and hearing technology.
Many students, especially studying Neuroscience of Language and Speech will already be working as Speech and Language Therapists and see MSc Language Sciences as an opportunity to deepen their knowledge in a specific area and gain research skills.
We also have a number of students who see the value of having a postgraduate degree when looking for employment and want to study something they find interesting, while not necessarily related to their field of work.
UCL provides advice, guidance and workshops on Careers and Employability through its Careers service.
- Funding
Postgraduate loan for master's degrees (UK/EU students)
Eligible Students starting a postgraduate degree can apply for a postgraduate loan of up to £11,570 to help with programme fees and living costs.
You can find more information on the UK Government website:
https://www.gov.uk/studentfinancestepsUCL Scholarships
For information on general scholarship opportunities, please select the link below:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/scholarships/graduate
Application
You are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.
Who can apply?
This programme is designed for students with a background in a related discipline who wish to deepen their knowledge of language sciences. The degree is ideal preparation for those interested in applying for a research degree in language development/speech sciences/neuroscience (delete as applicable), linguistics or a related discipline and will also appeal to individuals currently working in areas such as education, speech and language therapy, audiology and speech technology.
Successful applicants will normally hold, or be progressing towards, a minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard in a language-related area such as Linguistics, Speech Sciences, English Language, Psychology or Cognitive Science. We also warmly welcome applications from those with degrees in a cognate discipline such as Computational Science.
Your application will be evaluated on the basis of the quality of your degree and degree institution; the quality of your references; your relevant skills and experience; the quality of your personal statement and the suitability of your career plans.
What to include in your personal statement:
Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.
When we assess your personal statement, we would like to learn:
• why you want to study Language Sciences at graduate level,
• why you want to study Language Sciences at UCL,
• why you have applied to your chosen route (Technology of Language and Speech, Principles of Language and Speech, Development of Language and Speech, Neuroscience of Language and Speech
or Sign Language & Deaf Studies),
• which module(s) on the route interest you most and why,
• if there is a particular research area, research question, or research project you would like to work on; if there is a specific staff member you would like to work with, we encourage you to include this,
• how your academic and professional background have prepared you for the programme,
• how studying for the MSc will enable you to meet your short- and long-term career goals.
Virtual Q&A Event - Thursday 14th March 2024
Please join us for our next virtual Q&A event via Zoom. Please register your interest here: MSc Language Sciences Q&A Event and enter a question for the programme team if you wish.
This event is a fantastic opportunity to ask the programme team any questions you have about about the Language Sciences MSc programme or life at UCL.
This event will be delivered via Zoom.
Application deadlines
The deadline for all applications (Overseas and Home status) is April 5th 2024.
For more information see our Applications page.