English Language and Linguistics

BA Hons

  • UCAS code QQC3
  • Entry year 2026 or 2025
  • A level requirements AAB
  • Duration Full time 3 years

We welcome applications from the United States of America

We've put together information and resources to guide your application journey as a student from the United States of America.

Overview

Top reasons to study with us

  • 3

    3rd for Linguistics

    The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide (2025)

  • World top three for Linguistics QS World University Subject Rankings 2024

  • 4th for Graduate Prospects (Linguistics) Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025

Language is the universal door to the worlds we live in. It’s what we use to think, share, communicate emotion, create and wonder. What we do with language and how our societies, our texts and even our minds shape and are shaped by language use is the core of what this degree offers.

It blends our outstanding history of scholarship in the English language with the best of current research on multilingualism and provides insights into the workings of the world in ways that no other degree can. It puts the power, puzzles and incredible intricacy of language at the centre of your studies, providing insights that can inform and advance a wide choice of future careers.

Why Lancaster?

  • Study with the best. Linguistics at Lancaster University is ranked 3rd in the world by QS 2024
  • Spend your first year exploring everything from the structures and development of languages to the political questions explored by linguists
  • Explore an extensive range of linguistics and English language topics in subsequent years
  • Learn from leading scholars who combine passion for their research with a desire to share their knowledge and experiences with students
  • Benefit from world-leading facilities including our phonetics lab, eye-tracking lab, perception and learning lab, and EEG lab
  • Experience the world through volunteering opportunities or a work placement, offering you the chance to gain skills and experiences that will stay with you for life
  • Join one of the largest research communities for the study of English language and linguistics in the country

Explore language

The nature of language and its role in shaping our social and cultural identities, our institutions and our collective thinking begins with understanding its principles, including its properties, development, variation and use. These same principles underpin exploration of the science of language, those areas of study in which linguistics intersects with psychology, the information sciences, and forensics. When you study linguistics alongside English language, you examine how these issues relate specifically to English as well as language more generally as they – and you! - pursue the perfect mix of arts and science.

Why combine a specific focus on English with the study of linguistics more broadly? It is an opportunity to learn about the sounds and structures of English, whether you learned the language at home or as an additional language. The degree is an avenue for looking at the way language is learned and you’ll be able to explore the way English is used across a range of different contexts, including advertising, media, literature and the law as well as how technologies that produce or process language work.

Gain professional skills

English Language and Linguistics is not only a fascinating area of study, but one that provides a skill set that opens doors to a range of exciting and rewarding careers. Transferable skills include a capacity for critical thinking, an ability to gather, organise and analyse large quantities of data, and an aptitude for developing new and innovative ideas. Specialist skills in the lexical and grammatical analysis of English, computer programming for language technologies, and crafting language for creative industries are key in burgeoning industry sectors.

Each year, we invite current students to apply for a research internship. These are paid opportunities in which our students work closely with academic members of staff on active research projects. Students gain advanced research skills that are valuable in a variety of employment settings and highly attractive to employers.

Recently, our students have worked as interns on the following projects:

  • Discourses around vaccinations during the Covid-19 pandemic
  • Analysing AI-Generated Speech
  • Accent variation in historic north Lancashire

A supportive environment

Our friendly and experienced staff support you throughout your studies. You will be taught by a team of expert linguists and English language professionals who are world leaders in their respective fields. Bringing you the latest topics and developments in Linguistics and English Language research, our staff are famous for their work in corpus linguistics, cognitive linguistics, linguistic typology, forensic linguistics, speech science and the language of Shakespeare.

All students are assigned an academic adviser who provides personal guidance throughout your studies.

Careers

You cannot think without language and our degrees support you in developing the key skills that are attractive to employers preparing you for a wide range of careers both in current and future workforces. You will become proficient in data management and analysis, evaluation of evidence, persuasive and elegant writing, and the synthesis and presentation of results.

A degree in English Language and Linguistics gives you access to a range of exciting and rewarding career paths. To provide just some examples, our graduates have gone on to become:

  • Speech and language therapists for the NHS as well as private organisations
  • Marketing professionals in large corporations and small businesses
  • Teachers from primary level to university level
  • Journalists for national outlets as well as local newspapers

You may also explore the future workforce and be involved in innovations such as:

  • Developing chatbots
  • Improving the quality of AI-generated voices
  • Analysing online harms
  • Developing social media policy

Careers and employability support

Our degrees open up an extremely wide array of career pathways in businesses and organisations, large and small, in the UK and overseas.

We run a paid internship scheme specifically for our arts, humanities and social sciences students, supported by a specialist Employability Team. The team offer individual consultations and tailored application guidance, as well as careers events, development opportunities, and resources.

Whether you have a clear idea of your potential career path or need some help considering the options, our friendly team is on hand.

Lancaster is unique in that every student is eligible to participate in The Lancaster Award which recognises activities such as work experience, community engagement or volunteering and social development. A valuable addition to your CV!

Find out more about Lancaster’s careers events, extensive resources and personal support for Careers and Employability.

Entry requirements

These are the typical grades that you will need to study this course. You may need to have qualifications in relevant subjects. In some cases we may also ask you to attend an interview or submit a portfolio. You must also meet our English language requirements.

Find more about these qualifications and others not shown here

Learn about how we will assess your application

Qualifications and typical requirements accordion

Contact Admissions

If you are thinking of applying to Lancaster and you would like to ask us a question, please complete our enquiry form and one of our team will get back to you.

International foundation programmes

Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored foundation pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University degrees. Visit the INTO Lancaster University website for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.

Contextual admissions

Contextual admissions could help you gain a place at university if you have faced additional challenges during your education which might have impacted your results. Visit our contextual admissions page to find out about how this works and whether you could be eligible.

Course structure

Enhancing our curriculum

We continually review and enhance our curriculum to ensure we are delivering the best possible learning experience, and to make sure that the subject knowledge and transferable skills you develop will prepare you for your future.

We will publish more detailed information about the structure of this degree course for 2026-entry in June 2025, ahead of our summer undergraduate open days. This will include overviews of the core modules you will take and examples of optional modules which may be available to you.

Fees and funding

We set our fees on an annual basis and the 2026/27 entry fees have not yet been set.

As a guide, our fees in 2025/26 were:

Home International
£9,535 £24,700

Fees and funding information

Additional fees and funding information accordion

Scholarships and bursaries

Details of our scholarships and bursaries for students starting in 2026 are not yet available.

You can use our scholarships for 2025-entry applicants as guidance.

Important information

The information on this site relates primarily to 2026/2027 entry to the University and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.

The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.

More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.

Our Students’ Charter

We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. View our Charter and other policies.

Undergraduate open days 2025

Our summer and autumn open days will give you Lancaster University in a day. Visit campus and put yourself in the picture.

Undergraduate Open Days
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