Language is a central topic in cognitive science, computer science and the study of human behaviour. The research tracks of Linguistics study these fields in depth.
Language can be studied in many ways. You can, for example
analyse texts or computer corpora, listen to people speak, or
measure properties of sound waves in the lab. You can choose
from:
All research tracks are taught in English.
While I was in the third year of my Bachelor's degree programme in English Linguistics in Serbia, two of my classmates did a 1-year exchange at the University of Groningen. They were so enthusiastic about everything to do with Linguistics in Groningen: the programme, the lecturers, the new things they learned.
That’s why I chose the Research Master’s in
Linguistics at the University of Groningen following my
Bachelor’s programme. It sounded like a great opportunity to
get into the field of linguistic research. And I have never
regretted my decision.
In the two years of the programme I learned all the research skills
that I was going to need for my PhD, from critical thinking to
writing research papers. I conducted a number of small, practical
research projects, so the programme felt very interesting and
dynamic, and the lecturers were always incredibly enthusiastic and
ready to help. Not only was the programme itself good, I also very
much enjoyed living in Groningen, a small but beautiful and vibrant
student city.
I am currently studying for a PhD at the University of Amsterdam, conducting research on language learning in adults. My MA programme and the lecturers involved in it were ideal preparation for my PhD research; I rely on many research skills that I acquired in Groningen, such as critical thinking, designing experiments, analysing data from experiments and writing academic papers. I’m really grateful for all the programme taught me. Thanks to this solid foundation, a PhD doesn’t feel like a difficult undertaking. I would very much like to continue doing research in my future career, but I would also like to combine it with more applied work, such as developing new language teaching methods and materials.
My name is Isolde van Dorst (21) and I am currently studying the Erasmus Mundus Language and Communication Technologies. Before this, I studied the bachelor English Language and Culture here at the University of Groningen as well.
I chose this Master's track because I was interested in linguistics (through my bachelor), but I also wanted to expand into a different direction than I was able to during my bachelor. As I already went abroad during my bachelor, I knew I would enjoy that part of this programme very much as well. However, I did decide to still apply for a place at the University of Groningen, in my home country, because I really enjoy the enthusiasm and passion that the teachers have here. In addition, it is a high ranking university that would help me develop as a person as well as a student.
After finishing my Master's track I am hoping to either get a PhD position in computational linguistics or find a job that allows me to travel as well as inspires me to continue expanding my knowledge.
I decided to apply for EMCL because I aspired for a career in academia. I requested coming to UG for two semesters because I had a particular interest in aphasia, and therefore I wanted to work with Prof. Roelien Bastiaanse. That was a good decision! The city of Groningen is simply charming, and the University has impressive facilities.
As for the courses, I particularly enjoyed the research-oriented teaching methodology. By the end of the taught semesters, I did not feel stressed about coming up with my own ideas for a thesis. This also prepared me for writing an application for a PhD position.
I am currently a third-year PhD student in the International Doctorate in Experimental Approaches to Language and Brain (IDEALAB). I have travelled between IDEALAB partner universities in Italy, Australia and The Netherlands (Groningen), where I am supervised by internationally renowned researchers, and I have access to neuroimaging and neuromodulation techniques which I was able to use during my experiments. The fact that I had already learned about Event Related Potentials (ERPs) during EMCL, made it easier for me to address my PhD topic from different perspectives.
EMCL has strengthen my desire to pursuit an academic career. I am confident that the network that I have established and the skills that I have acquired in the past five years will be key to reach my goals.
In the final year of my bachelor studies in computer science, I decided that I wanted to do a master where I would be able to apply my knowledge about the field. When I heard about the Master's track in LCT, I applied immediately. I got in, which allowed me the possibility to stay for an other year in the city of Groningen.
What attracted me in studying at the UG, was that it is a transparant university. I could easily access course descriptions and materials. What I also liked, was that I had the possibility to take courses outside my faculty. For example in philosophy. Besides studying, I did a lot of sports like fencing, swimming and horse riding. The student life experience in Groningen was amazing for me.
During my study, I got an internship at Paylogic (a ticketing company based in Groningen). Later, I've joined Paylogic as a backend developer and I gained a PhD position at Queen Mary University of London. Here I work on Distributional Semantics, looking at the meaning of representations of words and phrases. Currently, I am in the final year of my PhD and I am looking for postdoc positions. Who knows, maybe there will be one in Groningen!
The Faculty of Arts also offers a one year master’s degree programme in Linguistics.
