Language Variation and Multilingualism (specialisation)

Entry requirements

1. A completed Bachelor's degree in Linguistics or Languages
   In order to be admitted to this Master's you’ll need a completed Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics. Students with a Bachelor’s degree in a specific language such as German or Dutch, or with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Information Studies can also apply, provided they have taken at least 60 EC worth of courses in the field of linguistics.
2. Proficiency in English
   In order to take part in this programme, you need to have fluency in both written and spoken English.This requirement has been satisfied when the student meets the conditions, listed on our website.

Months of entry

February, September

Course content

The Master's in Language Variation and Multilingualism at Radboud University offers a wide range of advanced topics in fields as diverse as psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, second language learning, language description, language testing and linguistic diversity. All our courses offer a nice mix of theoretical and practical knowledge: courses situate insights from linguistic and language acquisition theory within the context of everyday communication and contemporary language use.

For those with sufficient language proficiency, we also offer language-specific linguistics courses in Dutch, German, French and Spanish. There is also a range of combined courses that allow students to learn about the very latest findings in interdisciplinary areas such as cognitive neuroscience.

What will you learn?

• Gain a mix of theoretical and practical understanding of linguistics and language acquisition theories
• Choose from a variety of courses in psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, (second) language learning, language description, language testing and language diversity
• Get an understanding of common research methods, and get experience designing, conducting and presenting your own research projects

Career prospects

This degree allows flexibility to design your own programme. Graduates could find work as work as an editor, communication consultant, educational developer, teacher, translator and researcher.

If you have any questions, email us here: study-information@ru.nl

Learn more via the Radboud University contact form.

Information for international students

Application deadlines

Non-EU/EEA students

• The deadline for non-EU/EEA students who wish to apply for a scholarship is 31 January prior to the September intake. For the requirements and selection procedure for scholarships, please check our scholarship overview.
• The deadline for those not applying for a scholarship is 1 April for non-EU/EEA nationals for the September 2026 intake. You can apply for the September 2026 intake from 1 October 2025.

EU/EEA students

• The application deadline for EU/EEA students with housing assistance for the September 2026 intake is 1 May, and the deadline without housing assistance is 1 July. You can apply from 1 October onward for the 2026/2027 academic year.

The application deadlines for Master’s starting in February are 1 November for non-EU/EEA citizens and 1 December for EU/EEA citizens.

Fees and funding

Radboud University offers 3 different scholarships that are open to prospective Master's students from non-EU/EEA countries and who want to follow an English-taught Master's programme.

Radboud Scholarship Programme

The Radboud Scholarship Programme offers talented, highly motivated, non-EU/EEA students with outstanding study results the opportunity to be awarded a partial scholarship for an English-taught Master’s programme.

NL Scholarship (for prospective students)

The NL Scholarship (formerly known as Holland Scholarship) is a partial scholarship for non-EU/EEA students who want to do their Master’s in the Netherlands.

Fulbright-Radboud Scholarships

The Fulbright Commission, sponsored by Radboud University, is offering scholarships for talented American students to study at Radboud University.