The European Master's in Clinical Linguistics (EMCL) is an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree (EMJMD) that has been running for over 20 years. The newest edition is offered by the universities of Ghent (Belgium), Groningen (The Netherlands) and Eastern Finland (Finland). We also collaborate with 26 excellent associated partners.

At the University of Groningen the emphasis is on crosslinguistic studies of language-impaired children and adults, language testing in neurosurgical settings, and the usage of neurotechnology and IT for the diagnosis and treatment of language impairments. At Ghent University students are familiarized with advanced topics in statistics and psycholinguistics, including bilingualism, dyslexia, and eye tracking. Finally, at the University of Eastern Finland, the main focus is on speech technology and programming with Python, including both fundamental theory and methods, as well as their application to the assessment of, and adaptive solutions for, speech impairments.

In addition, we have the support of 26 associated partners, of which 12 are in the academic sector, 5 in R&D/neurotechnology, and 9 in the clinical sector - for further details, see this overview.

In every cohort, we welcome about twenty students from all over the world. Over two years, our students receive training at each of the academic partners, do a compulsory internship at one of the associated partners, and write an original master’s thesis. Thereafter, 70% of our students continue to do research in PhD programmes. Furthermore, since 2017, we are seeing an increase in alumni who pursue R&D and clinical work, making our programme competitive in the international market.

The programme is divided into 8 modules, most of which are covered in multiple semesters. These are (Dutch and Finnish) Language and Culture, Methods, Clinical Linguistics and Neurolinguistics, Neurotechnology and IT for clinical linguistics. There is also an Internship and Master’s thesis. Finally, there are start-up-classes before the beginning of Semester 1 (e.g., to refresh knowledge of linguistics or statistics) and research extras throughout the programme (research colloquia, a conference).

The programme strongly emphasizes student mobility. Students start the first semester at the University of Groningen, where the focus is on language impairment, language testing, and neurotechnology. The second semester takes place at Ghent University, with an emphasis on psycholinguistics and research methods. The third semester takes place at the University of Eastern Finland, with a focus on speech technology and IT. They will also do their internship during this semester at one of our 26 associated partners. In their last semester, students will write a master’s thesis at one of the three partners.

The programme is strongly geared towards scientific research. Indeed, a majority (70%) of our students continue to do research in PhD programmes. Furthermore, since 2017, we are seeing an increase in alumni who pursue R&D and clinical work, making our programme competitive in the international market. An interesting element in the programme is the Job Fair in Semester 2, where students can meet potential future employers.