How is language stored in the brain? How do we acquire a foreign language? How can we explain patterns of language use in terms of underlying structures, and also the role of language in society?
The Language and Cognition programme offers training in linguistics which reflects the areas of expertise among linguists at the University of Groningen. In addition to required courses, which cover core areas of the discipline, students may choose from courses in neuro- and psycholinguistics, theoretical linguistics, developmental linguistics, computational linguistics, discourse analysis, sociolinguistics and communication studies. These are the focus areas of excellent, multidisciplinary research carried out in the Centre for Language and Cognition Groningen (CLCG) and the Groningen Research School for Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience (BCN).
The programme is meant for talented students from all over the world who aspire to do research in the field of Linguistics. After finishing the degree, you will have acquired essential research skills and fundamental knowledge of linguistic analysis, language development, and language processing. This programme is a selective admission two-year Research Master's programme that prepares you for entry into a related PhD program, or other research positions.
Are you curious if you are eligible for the Research Master's programme? Check the entry requirements. While admission for the second semester is possible, we advise most students to begin in the fall so that they can follow the course sequence with their cohort.
Semesters | ||||
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CoursesCourse Catalog > | 1a | 1b | 2a | 2b |
Basic Statistics (5 EC) | ||||
Electives: Courses from other MA programmes; Research Training (10 EC) | ||||
Linguistic Analysis (10 EC) | ||||
Seminar/Summerschool/Winterschool 1 (5 EC) | ||||
Corpus Linguistics (5 EC) | ||||
Designing your Research Project (5 EC) | ||||
Electives: Courses from other MA programmes; Research Training (15 EC) |
Semesters | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
CoursesCourse Catalog > | 1a | 1b | 2a | 2b |
Advanced Research Training (25 EC) | ||||
Seminar/Summerschool/Winterschool 2 (5 EC) | ||||
ReMa Thesis (30 EC) |
Please note that individual courses may possibly still change in the event of a programme change.
Students have the opportunity to choose an internship location abroad or at the University of Groningen. Students have followed their internship/courses at the following locations:
Boston Children's Hospital, USA: Data collection with MRI for research on language disorders
TEXTGAIN BV: working on the EU Project PANORAMA Developing hate speech monitoring technology for Greek and Albanian
Bilingualism and Aging Lab at the University of Groningen. The Netherlands: research on language learning in the third age, working with behavioral and neuroimaging data
Reading's Institute of Education, UK: collecting, processing and analyzing eye-tracking data
Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Austria: Dynamic Analysis of Language Learning in the Third Age project
University of Leeds, Leeds Child Development Center: children's online adjective processing, processing in referential communication
University of Stellenbosch, Taalsentrum, South Africa: readability measurement of texts written in Afrikaans and IsiXhosa
University of Stockholm, Linguistics Department, Sweden: typology, evolution, and extended uses of temperature in language, data collection and analysis of Germanic languages
University of Bristol, UK, OPEN project: conversation analytic research on out-of-hours primary medical care
Study programme | Organization | Transition |
---|---|---|
European Languages and Cultures | University of Groningen |
Additional requirements More information:This programme has a selection procedure |
English Language and Culture | University of Groningen |
Additional requirements More information:This programme has a selection procedure |
Communication and Information Studies | University of Groningen |
Additional requirements More information:This programme has a selection procedure |
Information Science | University of Groningen |
Additional requirements More information:This programme has a selection procedure |
Linguistics | University of Groningen |
Additional requirements More information:This programme has a selection procedure |
Minorities & Multilingualism | University of Groningen |
Additional requirements More information:This programme has a selection procedure. |
Study programme | Organization | Transition |
---|---|---|
Linguistics | All Research universities |
Additional requirements More information:This programme has a selection procedure |
Information Science | All Research universities |
Additional requirements More information:This programme has a selection procedure |
Communication and Information Studies | All Research universities |
Additional requirements More information:This programme has a selection procedure |
English Language and Culture | All Research universities |
Additional requirements More information:This programme has a selection procedure |
European Languages and Cultures | All Research universities |
Additional requirements More information:This programme has a selection procedure |
Minorities & Multilingualism | All Research universities |
Additional requirements More information:This programme has a selection procedure. |
Specific requirements | More information |
---|---|
previous education |
Prospective students with a Bachelor's degree in Linguistics or another Bachelor's degree with a substantial linguistics component are eligible for admission to this Master's track. Examples of these types of Bachelor's programmes are:
|
grade list |
Excellent results on relevant course work and a 8,0 or higher on the BA thesis (or equivalent in the grading system of a foreign university). An overview of the results achieved so far within the Bachelor's degree programme and/or other university degree programmes is required. |
Curriculum Vitae (CV) |
A Curriculum Vitae (CV) |
language test |
Additional English language requirement: A VWO diploma or a subject certificate for VWO English (mark 6 or higher), minimum requirement of TOEFL iBT 100 (with a minimum score for speaking and writing of 25 (each)), or an IELTS score of 7 (with a minimum of 6.5 on all items). |
reference letter |
Two personal letters of recommendation from staff members who can comment on the students' affinity with and capacities for research. |
(motivation-) letter |
A letter outlining the prospective student's motivation for selecting the programme and Research Master's track, including their expectations and interests. |
other admission requirements |
The selection procedure is also based on an evaluation of degree certificates, student motivation, the thesis or other writing sample, and fit for the UG programme. Students who have not yet completed their Bachelor can be given provisional admission. To assess whether your educational/academic background meets the specific programme requirements, we will consider the level and curriculum of your previous studies, and the grades that you have obtained. This evaluation is carried out by our Admissions Office and the Admissions Board. |
Type of student | Deadline | Start course |
---|---|---|
Dutch students | 01 May 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
15 October 2025 | 01 February 2026 | |
EU/EEA students | 01 May 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
15 October 2025 | 01 February 2026 | |
non-EU/EEA students | 01 May 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
15 October 2025 | 01 February 2026 |
Specific requirements | More information |
---|---|
previous education |
Prospective students with a Bachelor's degree in Linguistics or another Bachelor's degree with a substantial linguistics component are eligible for admission to this Master's track. Examples of these types of Bachelor's programmes are:
|
grade list |
Excellent results on relevant course work and a 8,0 or higher on the BA thesis (or equivalent in the grading system of a foreign university). An overview of the results achieved so far within the Bachelor's degree programme and/or other university degree programmes is required. |
Curriculum Vitae (CV) |
A Curriculum Vitae (CV) |
language test |
Additional English language requirement: A VWO diploma or a subject certificate for VWO English (mark 6 or higher), minimum requirement of TOEFL iBT 100 (with a minimum score for speaking and writing of 25 (each)), or an IELTS score of 7 (with a minimum of 6.5 on all items). |
reference letter |
Two personal letters of recommendation from staff members who can comment on the students' affinity with and capacities for research. |
(motivation-) letter |
A letter outlining the prospective student's motivation for selecting the programme and Research Master's track, including their expectations and interests. |
other admission requirements |
The selection procedure is also based on an evaluation of degree certificates, student motivation, the thesis or other writing sample, and fit for the UG programme. Students who have not yet completed their Bachelor can be given provisional admission. To assess whether your educational/academic background meets the specific programme requirements, we will consider the level and curriculum of your previous studies, and the grades that you have obtained. This evaluation is carried out by our Admissions Office and the Admissions Board. |
Type of student | Deadline | Start course |
---|---|---|
Dutch students | 01 May 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
15 October 2025 | 01 February 2026 | |
EU/EEA students | 01 May 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
15 October 2025 | 01 February 2026 | |
non-EU/EEA students | 01 May 2025 | 01 September 2025 |
15 October 2025 | 01 February 2026 |
Nationality | Year | Fee | Programme form |
---|---|---|---|
EU/EEA | 2024-2025 | € 2530 | full-time |
non-EU/EEA | 2024-2025 | € 18700 | full-time |
Practical information for:
After graduation, you are well prepared for a career in research. In fact, this track is an ideal stepping stone to a PhD position at a university. You can conduct research in many sub-fields of Linguistics, such as Neuro- or Clinical Linguistics, Language Development, Sociolinguistics or Theoretical Linguistics. Other options are Speech Technology, Discourse and Communication and Computer Linguistics.
During the Research Master's programme in Linguistics you will acquire a wide-ranging set of skills useful in a wide range of domains.
Analytical skills involve the ability to recognize patterns and link these to theoretical explanations.
Communication skills, such as writing and giving oral presentations, are part of all coursework and you receive experience and feedback to hone your abilities in these areas.
Students in our programme further gain experience in working as a team, through course projects but also the required internship.
A final focus is on methodological skills; through required coursework in statistics and corpus analysis students learn how to analyze corpora of texts to make generalizations based on quantitative findings. Elective modules are also available which train students to design experiments and carry out research in laboratory environments.
The programme in Language and Cognition is tied to the Groningen Research Institute in Linguistics (CLCG) and is also affiliated with the Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics (LOT) and Research School of Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences (BCN).
The Center for Language and Cognition Groningen (CLCG) is a research institute within the Faculty of Arts of the University of Groningen. It is the institutional home for all the linguistic research carried out within the faculty, and students have the opportunity to work with members of this center who specialize in their area of interest. Please see https://www.rug.nl/research/clcg/ to view the profiles of individual researchers. Within the CLCG there are four different research groups:
Computational Linguistics
Discourse and Communication
Neurolinguistics and Language Development
Theoretical and Empirical Linguistics
Students are encouraged to present their work at conferences and submit it for publication, often co-authoring with instructors who guide them through the process of research, compiling and reporting results, and academic writing. Having published during your studies is a big plus when applying for a PhD position. Every year at least four students of the Research Master publish their work somewhere.
LOT is an acronym of Landelijke Onderzoekschool Taalwetenschap (National Graduate School of Linguistics). The research by the LOT institutes covers all major areas of linguistics as well as a wide range of methodological tools and theoretical frameworks. LOT organises the national graduate courses and offers a Winter School in January and a Summer School in June/July on various locations throughout the Netherlands and Belgium. As a Language and Cognition student you will attend at least two Summer or Winter schools (the cost of which is paid for by the university) and complete assignments about the courses in order to obtain 10 ECTS.
For students interested in language acquisition, it is possible to get LOT credits for attending the EMLAR (Experimental Methods in Language Acquisition Research) conference.
Language and Cognition students are encouraged to attend national and international conferences. The TABU DAG is an international linguistics conference organized at the University of Groningen and provides one opportunity for students to hear presentations or give their own!
Student/research-assistent
The university offers student assistant positions to a limited number of students. This paid position can have a duration up to a whole year and is usually for one day per week. The activities can be very diverse: teaching and educational support or assisting in a study or other projects. A researcher will usually ask you for these positions.
Visit our staff page and meet our teachers.
The Faculty of Arts also offers a one year master’s degree programme in Linguistics.
If you have any questions or doubts about your studies, you can always contact the study advisor. He or she knows all the ins and outs of the program and personal planning. Study advisors are impartial and everything that is discussed is treated confidentially. They can also help you find the right institutions and student desks for your problems.