Program Overview
The Linguistics at Utrecht University is a MA programme in Humanities over 24 months, delivered On-campus. This programme equips graduates with advanced knowledge and practical skills for professional and academic careers in the field.
Students gain a rigorous grounding in both the theoretical foundations and applied dimensions of humanities. The programme combines coursework, research components, and practical projects that develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and specialist expertise relevant to industry and research needs.
Graduates of the Linguistics programme are well-prepared for careers in academia, industry, government, and the private sector across Netherlands and internationally. The programme provides an internationally recognised qualification within the Bologna higher education framework.
Key Program Features
- Duration: 24 months
- Language of instruction: English
- Study mode: On-campus
- English requirement: IELTS 6.5
- Tuition: EUR 15,167 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; EUR 2,006 (Tuition (Year)) — EU/EEA students
- Location: Utrecht, Netherlands
Career Opportunities
Graduates of the Linguistics programme are prepared for diverse careers in humanities:
- Researcher / Academic
- Cultural Programme Manager
- Editor / Writer
- Translator / Interpreter
- Museum Curator
- Communications Specialist
Program Curriculum
Course Structure
- Digital methods in linguistics (compulsory)
- Foundations of sound patterns (compulsory)
- Foundations of syntactic structure (compulsory)
- Foundations of acquisition & lot winterschool (compulsory)
- Foundations of language, brain & cognition (compulsory)
- Foundations of meaning: introduction to semantics and pragmatics (compulsory)
- Research seminar & lot school I (compulsory)
- Internship (compulsory)
- Thesis (compulsory)
- Speech production & perception
- Discourse, cognition and communication
- Experimental design & data analysis
- Micro- and macro-variation in syntax
- Principles of language change
- Empirical approaches to formal semantics
- Interfaces: structure and meaning
- Language, communication and emotion
- Phonology: typology and acquisition
Admission Requirements
Academic Requirements
You have a Bachelors degree (equivalent to a Dutch Bachelors Degree) in: Linguistics; Modern Languages and Culture (major in Linguistics); Cognitive Science; Liberal Arts (major in Linguistics).
You can demonstrate the following knowledge, insight, and skills:
- Minimally 45 EC of linguistics courses and/or coursework supportive of linguistics research (such as in statistics, programming, psychology, neuroscience, logic, philosophy of language, etc.), of which 22.5 EC should be at an advanced level.
- Good insight into the theoretical foundations of linguistics, as can be acquired in courses on phonology, morphology, lexicology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, historical linguistics, language acquisition, psycholinguistics, and computational linguistics.
- Basic knowledge of methods in quantitative research that can be acquired by an introduction to statistics (or similar) of 7.5 EC at the Bachelors level.
English Proficiency: IELTS 6.5 or equivalent.
Tuition & Financial Information
Tuition Fee
EUR 15,167 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; EUR 2,006 (Tuition (Year)) — EU/EEA students
Tuition fees: EUR 15,167 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; EUR 2,006 (Tuition (Year)) — EU/EEA students
IELTS requirement: 6.5
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Contact Utrecht University directly for scholarship, grant, and financial aid information for this programme. Many European universities offer merit-based and need-based funding for international and domestic students.
About Utrecht University
Utrecht University
Utrecht, Netherlands
Visit the university profile page to learn more about this institution.
University Profile- Application Deadline Apr, 2027
- Start Date Sep, 2026
- Language English
- Duration 24 months
