Master of Arts in Linguistics and Literature (English)
The programme in Language and Literature has been adapted to meet the demands and societal needs of our time. Language proficiency is one of the cornerstones of our information society. Due to increased mobility and the expansion of international contacts, possessing highly developed language skills is becoming ever more important.
What
The programme in Language and Literature has been adapted to meet the demands and societal needs of our time. Language proficiency is one of the cornerstones of our information society. Due to increased mobility and the expansion of international contacts, possessing highly developed language skills is becoming ever more important. However, effective communication is not merely a matter of linguistic competence. It equally relies on a broad, open-minded perspective on the societal context in which language use and communication occur, a sound knowledge of cultural and especially literary heritage, and a thorough understanding of linguistic structures.
The master's programme offers specialised courses in linguistics or literary studies. These courses address topics from a specific theoretical or societal angle. Teaching takes the form of seminars, with active student participation through discussions, presentations, and papers. In this way, we aim to stimulate and challenge your academic creativity.
For whom
The admission requirements may vary. Depending on your prior education, you can either enrol directly or there may be additional requirements.
Structure
The programme consists of:
- 30 credits of English Linguistics and Literature courses;
- 15 credits of elective courses, allowing students to tailor their studies to their interests;
- 15 credits for the master’s dissertation, for which students are free to choose their own research topic in linguistics.
Labour Market
Your in-depth academic training, strong language skills, refined linguistic sensitivity, and solid understanding of both literary and non-literary texts—combined with general competencies such as creativity, problem-solving ability, and a lifelong learning mindset—will equip you for a wide range of sectors.
- Language education is a well-known career path. There is a growing demand for young language teachers in secondary education. Higher education, adult education, and language training within large companies also offer many opportunities.
- A second major sector is professional communication, where your language skills are used for internal and external communication within private companies or public institutions. Roles include editor (of reports, brochures, press releases, etc.), proofreader, spokesperson, language coordinator, or translator.
- A third sector is the broad field of culture, ranging from museums and libraries to cultural centres, events, publishing houses, and literary organisations. Closely related is the media sector, including traditional print and audiovisual media as well as media focused on professional sectors or leisure.
- Many Language and Literature alumni find themselves in coordinating roles within public services. Their communication skills, sense of nuance, and problem-solving abilities are highly valued in such positions.
- Graduates with a particular interest in the theoretical study of language or literature may pursue academic research, which offers attractive prospects.
Quality Assurance
At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.
More information:
Unique Selling Points
1. Multiperspectivism: we offer a broad study programme, combining and elaborating on various perspectives. The thorough study of two languages builds on a broad introduction to the Humanities as well as an in-depth analysis of two complementary academic disciplines, i.e. linguistics and literature.
2. Language proficiency: our study programme invests strongly in the students’ oral and written language proficiency.
3. Research-oriented: the purpose of the study programme is to develop an independent, critical and research-driven mindset. In combination with the language proficiency (cf. above), this mindset ensures a broad employability and fosters an attitude of lifelong learning.
4. Electives and talent development: students have ample opportunity to nurture their interests and develop their talents: (1) the programme offers a choice of nine languages, of which our students choose two, (2) in the senior years, students can opt for a more linguistics-oriented or a more literature-oriented focus, (3) the third-year (Bachelor’s) curriculum and Master’s curriculum offer elective modules with a professional focus (e.g. a work placement or a research project), (4) students can either focus on older or more recent areas of linguistics and literature, (5) students are free in their choice of topic for the Bachelor’s and Master’s dissertation.
5. Internationalisation: due to our (1) study topic (foreign languages), (2) an international team of lecturers, combined with guest lectures by international speakers, and (3) well-organised international exchange opportunities in the Bachelor’s and Master’s curriculum the focus on internationalisation is strong. We guarantees that all the students who wish to study abroad, can do so.
Strengths
1. Our study programme offers a wide variety of teaching and assessment methods, tailored to the acquisition of (academic) linguistic proficiency, academic knowledge and theory, research competencies and critical thought.
2. Our students appreciate the good rapport they have with our motivated lecturers, both in the traditional lectures (in large groups) and in the tutorials (in smaller groups).
3. We have a close collaboration with a large and motivated group of student representatives.
4. Our study programme feedback reveals that student appreciation of the general quality of our programme, the learning effect in the individual course units, the fostering of critical thought and a research attitude, independence and internationalisation is high. This is corroborated by our experiences with (incoming and outgoing) exchange students. The most recent survey results (study programme feedback, Master’s dissertation survey) confirm that student appreciation is still high.
5. As a study programme, we take into account the students’ appeal to be well-prepared for their professional future. Since the 2018-2019 academic year, the curriculum contains an elective component to suit that purpose. Since the 2022-2023 academic year, every student can take on a work placement. In addition, we organise sessions on career coaching, job interviewing and professional orientation.
Challenges
1. Our consistent approach and communication across the different languages and disciplines merits further consolidation. Although there are intrinsic differences between the languages and the disciplines we offer, we should monitor that learning contents, study load and work load are aligned throughout.
2. We want to strengthen our focus on diversity and inclusion, a well-considered use of blended learning and generative AI, and a better monitoring of study efficiency in the light of the so-called “hard cut” between the Bachelor’s and the Master’s programme.
3. Overall, we should inform our students better in terms of our study programme vision, our learning outcomes, our social importance and our match with the labour market. Although we are convinced that our education focuses on socially relevant topics and issues, it is still a challenge to make this tangible for our students.
Accreditation
This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review (peer-learning visit) in 2016. Please find the quality assurance resolution here.
This information was last updated on. 29/02/2024.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.