MA Applied Linguistics & Intercultural Studies

at Maynooth University

The MA in Applied Linguistics and Intercultural Studies is a one-year full time (or two-year part time) taught programme and is offered on a full-time basis using a combination of faculty-student contact hours and self-directed learning and research. It aims to provide students who already have a background in a foreign language and linguistics at undergraduate level with an opportunity to specialise at a postgraduate level in the areas of sociolinguistics, second language acquisition, corpus linguistics, bi- and multilingualism, second language pedagogy and the role of English in a globalised world. What makes this programme unique in Ireland is two-fold: the inclusion of Intercultural Studies, allowing students to expand their linguistic specialization to cognate (inter)cultural contexts such as intercultural competence and the interplay of language and culture; and the genuinely multilingual orientation of the programme focusing not only on English, but also other international languages like French, German and Spanish. The programme introduces students to academic research, new ideas and approaches. It aims to equip students with academic, analytical, creative and reflective skills in order to foster interest and involvement in research in the fields of applied linguistics and intercultural studies.

The programme is structured into core (compulsory) and elective (optional) modules in order to ensure concomitantly a solid foundation in the core themes of Applied Linguistics and Intercultural Studies, and to provide students with the flexibility to pursue their chosen areas of interest and passion.

It is possible to study modules of particular interest without completing a Masters degree, or to exit with a Postgraduate Diploma (Level 9) in Applied Linguistics and Intercultural Studies after completing 60 credits of taught modules.