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Universities United Kingdom Cardiff University Courses Forensic Linguistics (MA)

Forensic Linguistics (MA)
at Cardiff University

Cardiff, United Kingdom

Tuition Fee £ 19,700
Country Rank-
Duration12 Months
Score IELTS: 6.5

Program Overview

Train alongside international experts at the agenda-setting Centre for Language and Communication Research, home of the world’s first MA in Forensic Linguistics.

Agenda-setting

Train alongside international experts in the world's longest running forensic master's degree programme.

Collaborate on authentic projects

Work on real-world field projects and hone your research abilities and team working skills.

Justice, fairness and equality

Examine the linguist's role in the legal system and observe courtroom procedure.

Tailor-made for your career

Freedom to tailor the programme to meet your career and professional ambitions.

Our innovative MA Forensic Linguistics programme equips you with theory and techniques to analyse the use of language in legal contexts, evaluate expert testimony on forensic matters and consider the role of expertise in legal systems more generally.

Examining issues of justice, fairness and equality in law, this rewarding programme will introduce you to linguistic aspects of the criminal justice system, including policing and the courtroom.

You’ll scrutinise the work of expert witnesses and linguistic consultants on language and law. Exploring the role of the linguist in the legal system, you will examine the impact of linguistics on criminal investigations. Indeed, you’ll carry out ethnographic observation of courtroom proceedings at Cardiff Crown Court in your core module.

Set in our world-class research centre, the MA in Forensic Linguistics delivers both a solid grounding in the subject, and the freedom to tailor the programme around your career ambitions

Throughout your degree you’ll be supported by internationally recognised experts, whose passion for teaching and research fosters a vibrant and friendly academic environment.

Our experts are leading on innovative projects in many different fields, including language acquisition, sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, discourse analysis, professional communication, corpus linguistics, systemic functional linguistics and forensic linguistics, hosting a range of reading and research groups in these research fields.

Fostering an international academic arena for cutting-edge research, we host talks from visiting academics from around the world, as well as advanced research residencies and occasional summer schools. During your studies, you’ll benefit from this thriving research environment and the support of a wide range of professionals who will guide your personal and professional development.

English Language at Cardiff is ranked in the world top 100 (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2020) and top ten for research in the UK (Research Excellence Framework 2014).

Course Content
The MA in Forensic Linguistics is a modular programme with modules taught over two semesters (stage one) (followed by a supervised dissertation (stage two)) of between 15,000 and 20,000 words.

This full time programme lasts one calendar year.

Assessment of the taught component is by coursework only.
Entry Requirement
Academic requirements:

Typically, you will need to have either:
- a 2:1 honours degree in a relevant subject area such as linguistics, English language, English language & literature (combined), modern languages, law, forensic psychology, criminology, sociology with defined criminology pathway or an equivalent international degree
- a university-recognised equivalent academic qualification
No legal background will be assumed.

English Language requirements:

IELTS with an overall score of 7.0 with at least 6.5 in all other subskills.

Application deadline:

We allocate places on a first-come, first-served basis, so we recommend you apply as early as possible.

Selection process:

We will review your application and if you meet the entry requirements, we will invite you to an interview in person or online.
Fees & Scholarships
Fees for home status

Tution Fees - £8950
Deposit - £

Fees for overseas status

Tution Fees - £19,700
Deposit-£1,000
Career Prospect
Graduates from this programme pursue careers in areas including policing, the courts and government and relevant areas, with some choosing further study at PhD or law degree. A number use their linguistic and legal focus to follow non-legal careers where advanced linguistic skills are a real asset.

Across the School, our postgraduates use their newly acquired skills in a broad spectrum of professions, particularly in the media and creative economies, education and health sectors. From the public to the private sector, we enable careers in an impressively wide range of fields.

86% of postgraduates from the School of English, Communication and Philosophy were in employment or further studies within six months of graduation (DLHE 2016/17).

Placements

The Research Experience module offers the opportunity to work with a member of staff on an ongoing, authentic research task within part of a larger research study. This is a distinctive form of study and offers the opportunity to gain hands-on research experience and to reflect systematically on that experience. Findings from the Research Experience module will feed directly into ongoing work in the Centre for Language and Communication Research.

There are no formal study abroad opportunities associated with this programme.

Cost Of Studying At Cardiff University

Interest rates as low as 8.9% ^*

250K+

Students Assisted

800Cr+

Loan Amount Disbursed

5000+

Loans Sanctioned

Check Loan Eligibility

Forensic Linguistics (MA) at Cardiff University