MA Applied Linguistics

Course prospectus hero image

Key information

Degree

MA Applied Linguistics

Types of study

Full time

Duration

12 months full-time

Start date

September 2025

Faculty

Education and English / Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Entry requirements

Course Requirements: Open to graduates of any subjects. This master programme requires students to have a bachelor‘s degree (or international equivalent) from a recognised institution at the same standard as a UK university's 2:1 (upper second class honours degree or international equivalent). 

English Language Requirements: Applicants whose first language is not English, and who do not have a degree from a UK institution, are required to have the following English language qualifications before they can register on an academic programme:

  • IELTS: 6.5 (with no less than 6.0 in each element) or
  • PTE Academic: 71 (minimum 65) or
  • TOEFL (IBT): 90 (minimum 19 in Writing and Listening, 20 in Reading and 22 in Speaking)

Interview Arrangements: All applicants must also complete an interview with the course admissions tutor. To qualify for an interview, students must ordinarily fully meet the IELTS entry requirement at their point of application. However, potential students applying to the MA AL may be considered for an interview, if their total IELTS score is no less than 0.5 band below the stipulated entry level and have achieved IELTS 6.0 in writing. In these cases, depending on their interview outcome, such students may be offered a conditional offer based on their successful completion of an English Language pre-sessional programme.

Please check interview rubric before you attend interview. 

Further Requirements: The applicant's CV and *an academic writing sample should be provided.

*Writing sample could be a section from the dissertation/essay or a translated section from the dissertation or a translated essay (word length: around 1,000).

Course overview

Applied linguistics identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems, such as improving how languages are taught or how multicultural workplaces can improve communication between staff.

This one-year full-time course has a particular focus on research methodology, exploring how language shapes human interaction.

Special features

By studying this course you will:

  • understand how to employ a range of research approaches to language, from discourse analysis to corpus linguistics
  • have the opportunity to investigate language and communication from an interdisciplinary angle
  • develop a thorough grounding in language research and its practical applications
  • use your knowledge of how languages are formed to solve real-life problems.

The course is excellent preparation for students who wish to continue their studies at PhD level.

Course structure

Year 1 modules

+

ACADEMIC YEAR 2025-2026

Compulsory

Students must take all modules in this group.

Code Title Credits Taught
EDEN4019 Analysing Language in Workplace, Media and Society 20 Autumn
EDEN4023 Research Methods 20 Autumn
EDEN4025 Topics in Applied Linguistics 20 Autumn
EDEN4018 Dissertation (MA AL) 60 Summer

Restricted

  • Group 1

Students must take minimum 40 credits maximum 60 credits from this group.

Code Title Credits Taught
EDEN4024 Language and Intercultural Communication 20 Spring
EDEN4022 Corpus Linguistics (MA) 20 Spring
EDEN4038 Second Language Acquisition  20 Spring
EDEN4037 Language in a Globalized Society 20 Spring
  • Group 2

Students can take minimum 0 credit maximum 20 credits from this group.

Code Title Credits Taught
EDEN4003 English for Academic & Specific Purposes 20 Spring
EDEN4034 Language Testing and Assessment 20 Spring
EDEN4035 Teaching English to Young Learners 20 Spring

Please note that the structure of this degree and its modules may be subject to change.

Careers and further study

By studying applied linguistics you will develop skills that are highly valued by employers, such as critical thinking, research, analysis, oral/written communication, presentation and problem-solving skills. The types of careers you might expect to pursue include:

  • Advertising and marketing
  • Business analyst
  • Communications
  • Language teaching
  • Project management
  • Publishing
  • Research and academia
  • Writing

Fees

Chinese Mainland students

120,000 RMB / year

China's Hong Kong, Macao & Taiwan students

120,000 RMB / year

International students

130,000 RMB / year

Scholarships, sponsorships and bursaries

To encourage academic excellence, we offer a comprehensive and expanding range of full and partial scholarships. 

Please click here and find more information about scholarships.

More information

Contact us

Student Recruitment and Admission Office

University of Nottingham Ningbo China
199 Taikang East Road, Ningbo, 315100, China

E. admissions@nottingham.edu.cn
T. +86 (0574) 8818 0182
W.


Faculty Office of Humanities and Social Sciences

Room 306, Innovation and Enterprise Building (IEB)
University of Nottingham Ningbo China
199 Taikang East Road, Ningbo, 315100, China

E. FHSS@nottingham.edu.cn
W.


Ready to apply? Browse our how to apply page to find our more on how to prepare and submit your application.