Linguistics studies the way language works by looking at the different languages spoken by humankind. This is a rigorous discipline which is concerned with all aspects of language. The approach taken is a decidedly functionalist one. The principles and mechanisms of daily oral and written communication are studied.

Students will have acquired at the end of the course complementary skills in the main theoretical branches of linguistics (syntax, lexicology, semantics and pragmatics), the methodological tools to understand the complex nature of linguistics (linguistic statistics, qualitative and quantitative corpus analysis) and an opening towards related disciplines which allows the functioning of language to be put into context. Special attention is given to those subjects where UCL has a cutting edge in linguistics research : discourse analysis, corpus linguistics, sociolinguistics, prosody, contrastive linguistics, linguistic engineering.

The Masters in Linguistics provides many career opportunities. Research leading to a doctorate is an obvious one but the business world and public services also offer various career possibilities. Careers in communications, telecommunications, editing, dictionary compilation, information and communication technologies, where they would hold positions as language specialists. Masters in Linguistics may also teach at non-university third level institutions.

All students take advantage of a general training which combines theoretical and methodological courses which allows access to different specialities via the different focuses and options.

Three focuses are available:

- the "Research Focus" aims to give students an introduction to scientific research and build on the student's linguistic knowledge in at least one modern language as well as helping them develop specific knowledge of one or several fields of applied linguistics (learning foreign languages, psycholinguistics, computational linguistics, contrastive linguistics, etc.).Students will be given a substantial introduction to scientific communication (oral presentation techniques using powerpoint, posters, abstracts, writing scientific articles, etc.) and will discover how research is carried out by participating in conferences or spending time in a research centre (in Belgium or abroad). Such skills could also be used in a non-scientific context.

- the "Professional Focus in Natural Language Processing" aims to introduce students to the essential methods, technology and concepts related to natural language processing (processing intelligent texts, person-machine interfaces, automatic translation, documentary navigation, teaching materials, electronic dictionaries, etc.).
This is an interdisciplinary training which allows students to study indepth the principal difficulties in analyzing language while at the same time acquiring advanced skills in mastering computer tools and concepts. The objective is to train specialists (competent both in computers and linguistics) and to allow access to jobs in language industries or more generally in information and communication technologies (ICT). Regular seminars provide students with the opportunity to make contacts with the business world. A placement in a company or research centre forms part of the students' thesis providing them with the opportunity to develop some of their training in an industrial setting.

This progressive programme is accessible to students without prior computer knowledge (students who have already followed computer studies may follow a modified programme). This programme, unique in the French-speaking community in Belgium; is organized jointly with KULeuven, the Facultés polytechniques de Mons-Haineau (FPMS) and the Facultés universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix (Namur).

- the "Professional Focus in Applied Linguistics for Language Learning" aims to give students an introduction to the tools, methodology and concepts vital to language learning (linguistic policy, learning psychology, language-specific methodology). Based on the students' profile, they will study certain aspect specific to the learning of French, Dutch, German or English. UCL is the only university in the French-speaking.

All relevant information concerning studies and research in linguistics at UCL may be found on the following site:
https://www.uclouvain.be/ling