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English Language and Linguistics at University of Portsmouth - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 2026
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There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

University of Portsmouth has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

Open days

7Dec
University of Portsmouth Open Day
Undergraduate

Course summary

This is a Connected Degree Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course. Overview Language shapes our experience of the world – from our social and emotional lives, to our experience of society, work, politics and culture. Immerse yourself in the nature of spoken and written language, and how it's used in everything from digital communication to forensic investigation. You'll study how language works, including the relationships between language, the mind, and society, and how language varies through time, place, culture and identity. You'll explore the different ways people use language and what they use it for. Discover methods for analysing spoken and written language, how we learn language and how we teach it. You'll develop sought-after skills including communication, creativity and critical thinking. You'll be taught by expert researchers and study alongside students within the School of Languages and Applied Linguistics – bringing opportunities to learn from the latest research and build intercultural relationships. Course highlights

  • Discover how the use of language affects perceptions of important contemporary issues, such as gender, sexuality, education and globalisation
  • Learn the linguistic skills to spot how language persuades and prejudices people – from what drives social movements on social media, to relationships in the workplace
  • Develop the skills employers want, including analysis, criticism, negotiation, argument and problem solving
  • Tailor your degree to suit your career ambitions, including options that equip you to work internationally, such as intercultural communication and teaching English as a second language
  • Learn from dedicated, expert researchers from the School of Languages and Applied Linguistics
  • Have the opportunity to build skills in ‘corpus linguistics’ analysis – essential skills in a world where working with 'big data' is the future
You can choose to customise your degree depending on your interests and ambitions, by specialising in English literature or teaching English as a foreign language. Careers and opportunities You’ll graduate with specialist expertise in language and linguistics, plus sought-after employability skills including:
  • analytical techniques and reasoning
  • communicating clearly to diverse audiences
  • data collection and interpretation
  • developing persuasive, evidence-based arguments
  • problem solving
If you decide to pursue a career that’s closely related to your studies, you could apply for jobs in writing, editing or publishing. Or employ your research and analysis skills to go on to postgraduate study, in areas such as speech therapy, communication studies, law and marketing. Further study in forensic linguistics could open up possible careers in law enforcement, criminal justice or legal firms. You could also develop your linguistic talents to work as a speech therapist or train actors to master different dialects. You could work in any of the following areas:
  • advertising
  • education
  • communication
  • media
  • marketing
  • publishing
  • technical writing
  • teaching English
Graduate destinations Previous graduates have gone onto further training and work in various fields, including:
  • accountancy
  • the armed forces and police
  • banking
  • research
  • journalism
  • law
  • local government
  • health services
  • public relations and marketing
  • publishing
  • speech and language therapy
  • teaching
After you leave the University, you can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years from our Careers and Employability service as you advance in your career.

Subject options

This course offers the following subject options:

  • English Language and Linguistics with Literature

Modules

Year 1 Core modules in this year include:

  • How Language Works (20 credits)
  • Investigating Language Practices (40 credits)
  • Language, Learning & Teaching (20 credits)
  • Language, Society and Mind: An Introduction to Linguistics (20 credits)
  • Working With Texts (20 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. Year 2 Core modules in this year include:
  • English Forms and Functions (20 credits)
  • Meaning in English (20 credits)
Optional modules in this year currently include:
  • Empire and Its Afterlives in Britain, Europe, and Africa (20 credits)
  • Engaged Citizenship in Humanities and Social Sciences (20 credits)
  • Forensic Linguistics: Language As Evidence (20 credits)
  • Global Security (20 credits)
  • Intercultural Perspectives On Communication (20 credits)
  • Language and Social Justice (20 credits)
  • Marketing & Communication (20 credits)
  • Modernity and Globalisation (20 credits)
  • Nationalism and Migration: Chaos, Crisis and the Everyday (L5) (20 credits)
  • News, Discourse, and Media (20 credits)
  • Principles of Economic Crime Investigation (20 credits)
  • Professional Experience L5 (20 credits)
  • Puritans to Postmodernists: American Literature (20 credits)
  • Second Language Acquisition (20 credits)
  • Tesol (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) (20 credits)
  • Transitional Justice & Human Rights (20 credits)
  • Trinity Certificate Teaching Practice (20 credits)
  • Wildlife Crime: Threats and Response (20 credits)
Placement Year (optional) Have the opportunity to do an additional work placement year after your second or third year on this Connected Degree - we're the only UK university to offer flexible sandwich placements for undergraduates. Year 3 Optional modules in this year currently include:
  • Corpus Linguistics and Lexicology (20 credits)
  • Creativity in the Language Classroom (20 credits)
  • Dissertation (40 credits)
  • English Through Time (20 credits)
  • Englishes in the World (20 credits)
  • Forensic Linguistics: Language and the Law (20 credits)
  • Gender, Language and Sexuality (20 credits)
  • Introduction to Teaching (20 credits)
  • Language and Social Media (20 credits)
  • Major Project (40 credits)
  • Professional Development: Recruiters and Candidates (20 credits)
  • Professional Development: Recruiters and Candidates (20 credits)
  • Professional Experience L6 (20 credits)
  • Research Project (20 credits)
  • Research Project (20 credits)
  • Sell Study Abroad (40) (40 credits)
  • Spoken Discourse in the Workplace (20 credits)
  • Writing for Different Audiences (20 credits)
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies. Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

Assessment method

You’ll be assessed through: examinations essays reports case studies book reviews written work projects You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark. You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future. The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows: Year 1 students: 15% by written exams, 8% by practical exams and 77% by coursework Year 2 students: 28% by written exams, 3% by practical exams and 69% by coursework Year 3 students: 10% by practical exams and 90% by coursework

How to apply

29Jan

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Please select a course option – you will then see the application code you need to use to apply for the course.

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

Entry requirements for advanced entry (i.e. into Year 2 and beyond)

We welcome applications for advanced entry. If you’d like to apply for advanced entry, you need to select the required year when you complete your UCAS application.

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)6English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.0 with no component score below 5.5.
Cambridge English AdvancedCambridge English: Advanced (CAE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
Cambridge English ProficiencyCambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
PTE Academic62An overall score of 62 with a minimum of 59 in each skill.
TOEFL (iBT)7979 with a minimum of 18 in Reading, 17 in Listening, 20 in Speaking and 17 in Writing.
Trinity ISEPassTrinity College Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Level III with a Pass in all 4 components.

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students

There is no data available for this course. For further information visit the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

EU £9535 Year 1
England £9535 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9535 Year 1
Scotland £9535 Year 1
Wales £9535 Year 1
Channel Islands £9535 Year 1
Republic of Ireland £9535 Year 1
International £17200 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Students who are resident in EU countries: please note that the net fee is inclusive of the Transition Scholarship Placement Year and Year abroad (at the time of publishing for 2024/25): UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £1,385 EU – £1,385 (including Transition Scholarship) International (Non-EU) – £2,875. Fees are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change at any time without notice. All fees are subject to annual increase. For more information about fees, go to port.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-fees-and-student-finance/tuition-fees-living-costs-and-other-study-costs
English Language and Linguistics at University of Portsmouth - UCAS