This programme offers a linguistic perspective on real-world problems of language in use, with a strong emphasis on developing skills and knowledge that can be applied in a wide range of professional settings.
These entry requirements are for the 2026-27 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2027-28 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2026.
A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in linguistics. We may also consider students without a linguistics degree if you if you have substantial practical experience as a language professional.
Entry to this programme is extremely competitive.
International qualifications
To find international equivalent qualifications, select where you studied from the country or region list.
Please see our website
See our website for destinations
Compulsory courses provide a solid foundation in the fundamentals of applied linguistics. These are:
Issues in Applied Linguistics
Sociolinguistics
Introduction to Phonology and Phonetics
Option courses
The option courses offer you the opportunity to explore areas of your interest. Examples of option courses are:
Pragmatics
Cognitive Linguistics
Introduction to Phonology and Phonetics
Introduction to Syntax
Introduction to Multimodality
Guided Research in Linguistics and English Language
Online experiments for language scientists
Sociolinguistic research design
You may also take any other course available to MSc students, subject to approval from the Programme Director.
Edinburgh. Extraordinary futures await. The University of Edinburgh is one of the world’s top universities, consistently ranked in the worl...