Psycholinguistics

Entry requirements

A 2:2 degree in the following disciplines: Applied Linguistics Education (English language teaching) English Language and Literature, Speech and Language Therapy, English language, Linguistics or Psychology.

We will accept applicants with a degree in an unrelated area but which contains a substantial element of education, Linguistics Language Studies and Teaching.

Months of entry

October

Course content

Discover how insights from linguistics help to explain how humans learn, understand and use languages. Our MA Psycholinguistics provides you with a thorough grounding in research from the perspective of linguistics on human language processing, the representation of language in the brain, and first and second language acquisition.

You cover the processing and acquisition of sounds, words and sentences, look at different kinds of language disorders, and investigate the relevance of data from human language processing to our understanding of the nature of language. You also learn how to design and conduct experiments, and analyse the results from them.

Our researchers are using experimental techniques to understand how children learn language, how adults process language, and what happens when language ability is impaired by brain disorders. We combine a wide range of methodologies: corpora, infant behavioural studies at the babylab, response time and eye movement measures for adults

You can choose areas of special study including:

• How words are represented and accessed in the mind
• How speakers understand sentences in real time
• Music, language and the brain
• Children’s English

We are one of the largest and most prestigious language and linguistics departments in the world, a place where talented students become part of an academic community in which the majority of research is rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. We are also ranked 13th in the UK for Linguistics in the QS World Rankings by Subject (2020).

If you want a global outlook, are interested in human communication, and want to study for a degree with real-world practical value in a world-class department, welcome to Essex.