Language Sciences (Placement Year)

Explore the uniquely human phenomenon of language from a scientific perspective. Examine how languages construct texts from sounds, how texts express thought, and how language sciences intersect with cognitive science, psychology, and computer science. This fast-moving and rapidly developing field will help you develop valuable skills in experimental methods, computing and quantitative data analysis whilst providing a gateway to careers in fields as diverse as computing, health, education and law enforcement.

Why Lancaster?

• Discover the fascinating science behind language – from how children acquire language skills to how machines comprehend and produce language

• Prepare yourself for a range of rewarding specialist careers – from forensic linguistics to speech and language therapy

• Study with the best. Linguistics at Lancaster University is ranked 3rd in the world by QS 2024

• Choose from topics that explore linguistics in the contexts of psychology, computing, the law and big data

• Use our labs to conduct your own research in eye-tracking or electrical activity in the brain

• Learn from leading scholars who combine passion for their research with a desire to share their knowledge and experiences with students

Discover new perspectives
Language is found in almost every aspect of human life, and in this course, we study it through the lens of science. You’ll be learning about how language is constructed and how it’s used for communication and expression. You'll also discover how studying language from a scientific perspective intersects with other scientific fields, such as cognitive science, psychology, computer science and forensic science.

Drawing on research conducted by our academics, you’ll explore topics such as:

• The structures and sounds of the world’s languages and what unites them

• The cognitive marvel of how children acquire their first language

• Computational linguistics and how machines comprehend and produce language

You may also choose to specialise in areas such as psycholinguistics (the study of how linguistic behaviour relates to psychological processes), forensic linguistics (the application of linguistic knowledge and methods to legal contexts) and corpus linguistics (the computer-based study of vast text databases).

Get a head start
Studying Language Sciences at Lancaster University will help you develop hands-on skills in experimental methods, computing and quantitative data analysis, as well as the ability to communicate complex ideas and findings. All these skills are highly attractive to potential employers.

This is a fast-moving and rapidly developing field, and you’ll hear first-hand from our experts about their latest research. You'll also be able to take advantage of our excellent research facilities - which include a phonetics lab, an eye-tracking lab and an EEG lab.

A new era of languages
Generative AI marks a new era of language exploration. For the first time, digital technologies work with language data in ways that allow computers to analyse, reproduce and extend interactions with humans in real time. Language and computers’ computational capacities to work with natural language are central to these changes.

Not only will you explore how languages are shaping the world today, but also how language sciences are playing a huge role in emerging technologies like speech recognition software, machine translation, and voice assistants. You will discover how these language-based technologies are not only influencing society today, but also how they are shaping the future of language.

Your Placement Year
Sometimes known as a year in industry, your placement year will take place between your second and final year of study and this will extend your degree to four years.

Important Information
For the most up-to-date course information and more details, we recommend that you revisit our website before submitting your application.