Program Overview
Skip to content Accessibility statement Home Study at York Postgraduate taught Courses 2026/27 Psycholinguistics (MSc) MSc Psycholinguistics Investigate the cognitive science of language. Year of entry: 2026 (September) Overview Course content Fees and funding Teaching and assessment Careers Entry requirements Start date September 2026 View semester dates Length 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time School/department Department of Language and Linguistic Science Apply for this course Sign up for event invites Sign up for our postgraduate emails to get event invites straight to your inbox. Find out more Psycholinguistics explores the mechanisms that allow people to acquire, produce and comprehend language. This course explores a diverse set of topics. As a psycholinguistics student, you'll ask questions about areas ranging from language acquisition to language processing.
Key Program Features
- Immersive On-Campus Experience: In-person seminars, laboratory sessions, and professional networking at University of York.
- Expert Faculty: Taught by research-active academics and practitioners with deep expertise in Humanities & Arts.
- Diverse International Cohort: Study alongside students from around the world, broadening your global professional network.
- Research-Informed Curriculum: Content grounded in the latest academic research and real-world industry practice.
- Dissertation / Capstone Project: Culminating independent project applying your expertise to an original research question or industry challenge.
- Dedicated Career Support: Access to career coaching, employer networking events, and job placement assistance.
- 12 months Duration: Part-time and accelerated options may be available — enquire with the admissions office.
Career Opportunities
Careers and skills
On successful completion of the MSc in Psycholinguistics programme you will have gained a solid and detailed grounding in psycholinguistics, along with the practical and technical skills to carry out original research in this field, guided by some of the world’s foremost experts. You will develop your confidence, critical skills, problem-solving abilities, and other transferable skills including time-management and communication, equipping you to exercise independent learning in your future career. Our MSc provides excellent training for doctoral research. Graduates are also well-equipped to undertake careers in a range of sectors including marketing, publishing, education, government administration, and journalism.
Career opportunities
- researcher in learning difficulties
- clinical and forensic linguist
- teacher of English
- translator
- marketing executive
- content developer
Transferable skills
- The capacity to analyse data and evaluate competing interpretations of evidence
- Development of a hypothesis from the predictions of a theory or model
- The ability to design a research project and present data
- Reflective independent learning and time management
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Problem solving
- Intercultural awareness
Program Curriculum
Course content
The structure of the programme is very flexible to adapt to your prior background, offering both introductory modules (for conversion students) and specialist advanced modules if you have a background in linguistics and/or psychology.
You'll progress to specialist modules in the second semester. Through this, you'll deepen your subject knowledge while also developing your abilities in dealing with controversial proposals, weighing up the evidence, evaluating the quality of the arguments, and articulating your own conclusions.
In addition, you'll undertake practical training in experimental methods and quantitative methods in psycholinguistics. Finally, in collaboration with our staff, you will design and conduct your own psycholinguistic research for your dissertation, which closes the programme and allows you to apply the concepts and skills acquired during the MSc (including experimental design and statistical analysis).
Modules Dissertation Modules Semester 1 Conversion route Option modules You'll choose from 3 modules in consultation with the programme leader. Syntax Phonetics and Phonology Psycholinguistics: Language Processing Psycholinguistics: First and Second Language Acquisition Prior experience route Option modules You'll choose from 3 modules in consultation with the programme leader. Some option module combinations may not be possible. The options available to you will be confirmed after you begin your course. Semester 2 Quantitative Methods Two option modules The options available to you will be confirmed after you begin your course. For further information, please get in touch . Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff, and in line with Department/School academic planning. Dissertation Dissertation in Experimental Linguistic You'll prepare and write a research dissertation over Semester 2 and the vacation supervised by a member of staff. You'll submit your dissertation in September. Topics have ranged from: Non-word processing in dyslexia: the impact of phonological deficits in language processing Towards an accessible and operational measure of oral fluency within the context of second language learning & instruction Lexical access in the mental lexicon of third language learners Plural inflection processing by L1-Chinese speakers of English More MA dissertation topics
Admission Requirements
Entry requirements
| Qualification | Typical offer |
| Undergraduate degree | 2:2 or equivalent |
| Other international qualifications | Equivalent qualifications from your country |
English language
If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:
| Qualification | Minimum requirement |
| IELTS (Academic and Indicator) | 6.5, minimum 6.0 in each component |
| Cambridge CEFR | B2 First: 176, with 169 in each component |
| Oxford ELLT | 7, minimum of 6 in each component |
| Oxford Test of English Advanced | 136, minimum 126 in each component |
| Duolingo | 120, minimum 105 in all other components |
| LanguageCert SELT | B2 with 33/50 in each component |
| LanguageCert Academic | 70 with a minimum of 65 in each component |
| Kaplan Test of English Language | 478-509, with 444-477 in all other components |
| Skills for English | B2: Merit overall, with Pass with Merit in each component |
| PTE Academic | 61, minimum 55 in each component |
| TOEFL | 87, minimum of 21 in each component |
| Trinity ISE III | Merit in all requirements |
For more information see our postgraduate English language requirements .
If you haven't met our English language requirements You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses . These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer. The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements. After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York .
Tuition & Financial Information
Tuition Fee
GBP 15,680/year (international)
Fees and funding
Annual tuition fees for 2026/27
| Study mode | UK (home) | International and EU |
| Full-time (1 year) | £12,500 | £27,250 |
| Part-time (2 years) This is the year 1 fee. Fees for future years are subject to confirmation. | £6,250 | £13,625 |
Students on a Student Visa are not currently permitted to study part-time at York.
For courses which are longer than one year , the tuition fees quoted are for the first year of study. UK (home) fees may increase in subsequent years (up to a maximum of 2%). International fees may increase in subsequent years in line with the prevailing Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate (up to a maximum of 10%).
Fees information
UK (home) or international fees? The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status .
Find out more information about tuition fees and how to pay them.
- Postgraduate taught fees and expenses
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Fees and funding
Annual tuition fees for 2026/27
| Study mode | UK (home) | International and EU |
| Full-time (1 year) | £12,500 | £27,250 |
| Part-time (2 years) This is the year 1 fee. Fees for future years are subject to confirmation. | £6,250 | £13,625 |
Students on a Student Visa are not currently permitted to study part-time at York.
For courses which are longer than one year , the tuition fees quoted are for the first year of study. UK (home) fees may increase in subsequent years (up to a maximum of 2%). International fees may increase in subsequent years in line with the prevailing Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate (up to a maximum of 10%).
Fees information
UK (home) or international fees? The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status .
Find out more information about tuition fees and how to pay them.
- Postgraduate taught fees and expenses
About University of York
University of York
Heslington, United Kingdom
University of York is a distinguished institution of higher education committed to academic excellence, innovative research, and preparing students for leadership in their chosen fields. The...
University Profile- Language English
- Duration 12 months
- Credits 60 ECTS / 180 credits (1-year programme)
