Studienstart – Master Linguistics

Why study Linguistics at HHU?

Our study program is characterized by three features in particular. It is...

skill-oriented: The modules focus on the advanced application of key skills such as academic writing, linguistic data collection, statistical evaluation, qualitative analysis and theoretical reflection.

research-oriented: The teaching staff are very active in research and are constantly designing new courses to incorporate the latest findings and methods of linguistics into teaching.

multilingual: BA courses are taught in both English and German, the MA program is taught in English. Students and lecturers generally also speak other languages. Language courses and/or programming courses are also part of the degree program. Students thus learn to navigate confidently in multilingual contexts.

In the first and second semester, students identify the focus of their own interests by exploring the interface between linguistics and related disciplines such as philosophy, English and American studies, German studies, Romance studies or computer science. They also learn to critically evaluate empirical research, replicate published studies, and carry out their own case studies. The modules are designed specifically to train students in academic writing and presentation and to deepen their skills in empirical methods such as data collection, annotation, corpus work and statistical analysis. 

In the third semester, students pursue their own research questions and develop a first plan for their thesis while gaining their own research and teaching experience. The fourth and final semester focuses solely on the final thesis, by an accompanying colloquium and peer review, and prepares students for the time after graduation.

The program is a full-time course with a total of 120 ECTS, which corresponds to 30 ECTS of work per semester. For the course organization, students choose the courses that suit them each semester from our range of courses, allowing them to distribute the workload individually.

Every summer semester, we hold a Study Perspectives Week. During this week, some classes are canceled and the following events take place instead:

• An introduction to studying abroad with the Erasmus representatives and testimonials from former exchange students
• A job café where alumni/ae talk about their career paths and experiences in professional orientation

^{Study plan MA Linguistics (PO 2025)}