Masters Degrees (Psycholinguistic)

The MA in Psycholinguistics will provide you with a general background in psycholinguistics while giving you a practical training in the techniques and methodologies associated with the field of study. You will have the opportunity to develop your interest in areas such as bilingualism, syntactic processing in special populations and early phonetic and phonological development.

Overview

The MA in Psycholinguistics will:
-Impart a general foundation and background in psycholinguistics
-Give you a practical training in techniques used in psycholinguistics, including statistical methods
-Enable you to apply your skills and knowledge to linguistic data
-Introduce you to research questions and methodologies in psycholinguistics
-Enable you to perform original research in psycholinguistics

Course structure

Autumn Term
There are two different routes in the Autumn Term, depending on your prior background. Students with no prior background in Linguistics or Psycholinguistics take the modules in Route A, below. Students who already have some background in these subjects take Route B. We will help you to determine which route you should take, when you apply.

Route A
-Quantitative methods (10 credits)
-Language acquisition (10 credits)
-Psycholinguistics (10 credits)
-Syntax (10 credits) OR Phonetics and phonology (10 credits)

Route B
-Quantitative methods (10 credits)
AND 30 further credits from among the modules below and the modules in Route A:
-Advanced comparative syntactic or semantic typology (20 credits)
-Advanced phonology (10 credits)
-Advanced phonetics (10 credits)
-Emergence of structure from use (10 credits)
-Phonological development (20 credits)
-Directed readings in phonological development (10 credits)

Spring Term
In the Spring Term you will take two 20-credit modules from a range of options. Options may include:
-Topics in phonological development (20 credits)
-Bilingualism (20 credits)
-Learning mechanisms (20 credits)
-Second language phonology (20 credits)
-Second language syntax (20 credits)
-Psycholinguistic approaches to second language acquisition (20 credits)

Note that module offerings may vary from year to year. Not every module is offered every year.

Spring and Summer Terms
-Key ideas in linguistics (20 credits)

Summer Term and Summer vacation
-Dissertation (60 credits)

All terms
-Research training seminar (20 credits)

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The MPhil is offered by the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics (DTAL) within the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages as a full-time period of research and introduces students to research skills and specialist knowledge.

The course aims:

(a) to provide students with necessary background in linguistic theory and related topics at intermediate and advanced level using a range of approaches and methodologies;

(b) to give students the opportunity to acquire expertise in their specific research interests in part by offering the opportunity of specialisation through pathways in the linguistics of particular languages (e.g. English, Romance, Celtic etc.);

(c) to provide foundations for continuation to PhD research;

(d) to offer the opportunity to participate in research culture within and beyond the Faculty, by attending and contributing to graduate seminars and reading groups;

(e) to develop the research skills required to conduct independent study such as
- formulating a realistic research proposal, with suitably delineated aims, objectives, methods, scope and expected outcome;
- preparing written work based on the proposal;
- selecting and mastering suitable research methods;
- collecting relevant bibliography;
- using computer databases and corpora;
- using relevant software, including statistical packages where appropriate;
- presenting well-argued academic material to the wider research community.

See the website http://www.graduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/mmalmptal

Learning Outcomes

Students completing the MPhil in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics:
(a) will be aware of the nature of linguistic theories, and how theories relate to models, description, analysis, and explanation

(b) will have gained, in at least four areas of linguistics, a solid foundation, including:
- familiarity with one or more models in each area
- an appreciation of the fact that there can be alternative analyses of given data, and of how to evaluate the alternatives
- where relevant, an awareness of the relation between linguistic models and the mind
- where relevant, an understanding of the relation between linguistic models and their application

(c) will have become familiar with a variety of research skills relevant to research in linguistics

(d) will have developed the strategies needed to present linguistic data, arguments, interpretations, and conclusions both in writing and in oral presentation

(e) will have built up in-depth knowledge of at least one area of linguistics to the point where original research questions can be defined and pursued independently

(f) will have had experience in research sufficient to facilitate the transition to doctoral research

(g) will have acquired both the breadth and the depth of knowledge in linguistics that will prepare them for jobs in linguistics in the future.

Format

The MPhil programme is structured progressively to form a bridge between undergraduate study and possible further research. Its balance changes through the year so that in the first two months (Michaelmas Term - October to December) there is instruction through lectures, whilst by the last three months students are carrying out independent research full-time.

All students are required to follow a course in 'Research Methods' and a statistics course to acquire skills needed for research and 'transferable' skills. Beyond that, each student will follow his or her own 'Study Plan', which allows the individual interests, needs, and strengths of the student to be met. At the start of the course the student, with advice if needed from the Director of the MPhil and subject specialists, draws up a Study Plan for the Michaelmas and Lent Terms (October to March) which is approved by the Department. This will include the selection of a minimum of four introductory taught courses to be followed in Michaelmas, and participation in a minimum of two research seminars in Lent Term. Usually the Lent Term seminars chosen build on courses which have been followed in Michaelmas.

The course structure allows great flexibility in combining areas and approaches. It provides for tailored combinations of work in any of the areas of theoretical, applied, and descriptive linguistics, ranging for instance from formal semantics to experimental phonetics and phonology, from language acquisition to computational linguistics, and from Welsh syntax to the history of linguistics in France. A piece of work may have as its focus the development of an argument in linguistic theory, the description of some aspect of a language or its use, the psycholinguistic testing of alternative linguistic analyses, the application of linguistic theory to the history of a language or languages, the acoustic description of sound systems, and so on. The various pieces of work may relate to any language or combination of languages subject to adequate advice and facilities being available for the topic in question. Some students may wish to specialise and opt for a 'Pathway' relating to a particular language or language family.

The thesis demands independent study under the guidance of the supervisor and will involve a substantial piece of original research. A proposed title and summary for the 20,000 word thesis, formulated in discussion with the supervisor, must be submitted in mid-February, and this will be subject to approval by the Department of Linguistics, the supervisor, and the Faculty's Degree Committee. Because seminars finish at the end of Lent term, students can then devote themselves full time to research for the thesis during the Easter vacation and the Easter Term (April to June). The thesis is submitted on the seventh Friday of Easter Full Term, and about two to three weeks later there may be an oral examination on the thesis at the discretion of the examiners.

Continuing

For those applying to continue from the MPhil to PhD, the minimum academic standard is normally a distinction on the MPhil.

How to apply: http://www.graduate.study.cam.ac.uk/applying

Funding Opportunities

There are no specific funding opportunities advertised for this course. For information on more general funding opportunities, please follow the link below.

General Funding Opportunities http://www.graduate.study.cam.ac.uk/finance/funding

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Studying the acquisition, understanding and production of language.

A mature language user has a vocabulary of about thirty to forty thousand words. Speech is produced at a speed of three to five words per second. How is it possible that, in such an amazingly short period of time, you can select the correct words, put them in the correct order and grammatical form, and pronounce them intelligibly? The acquisition and comprehension of language are based on extremely complex cognitive processes which are not yet entirely understood. It’s these processes, and their biological underpinnings, that form psycholinguistics’ field of study and are the basis of this specialisation.

A large majority of our graduates gain a PhD position, while other graduates find jobs in the commercial sector or at research institutes. Graduates of this specialisation can find a position with one of the psycholinguistic research institutes, a government institution or for example, in the care sector (rehabilitation centres) or in education (language disorders).

Why study Language and Communication at Radboud University?

• Linguistics, cognitive psychology and neuroscience play a significant role in psycholinguistics. These sciences feature prominently in Nijmegen. Hundreds of scientists from various faculties and top institutes have joined forces on the Radboud University campus to unravel the workings of the human brain. They thereby work together very closely, exchange expertise and share state-of-the-art research equipment.
• This specialisation also works closely with Radboud University’s Centre for Language Studies(CLS) and the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics (MPI), also housed on the Radboud University campus.
• And the advantages of the Master’s programme in Cognitive Neuroscience in general.

Theoretical training

All specialisations in the Master’s programme have a common basis. In the first year you’ll become acquainted with the most important theories, models, techniques and analysis methods in Cognitive Neuroscience. Click here for an overview of the General programme outline.

As a student of the specialisation in Language and Communication you are obligated to take five of the following seven courses:

• Word Recognition and Production
• Sentence Production and Comprehension
• Multilingualism
• Language Acquisition
• Multimodal Language, Cognition, and the Brain
• Neurobiology and Evolution of Language
• Structural Aspects of Language

Practical training: research project

The second year of the Master’s programme is primarily spent in the laboratory so that you gain ample hands-on experience. You’ll execute practical training in one of the participating research groups under the supervision of a researcher. In this way you’ll acquaint yourself with the discipline in actual practice. You’ll:

• Develop a theoretical research question.
• Report on your research in a Master’s thesis. This thesis must be written in the form of a scientific article.

You can read more about the research in this specialisation on the website of the Donders Institute: Theme 1.

Read more about the courses, reading requirements and course schedule in the online prospectus.

Radboud University Master's Open Day 10 March 2018

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