All languages
The five different language themes and their available theme courses are
1. Chinese
Theme courses: Comparative Asian Linguistics, Sinographics: Chinese writing and writing Chinese
2. English
Theme courses: English Word Formation, English Historical Linguistics, Themes in Sociolinguistics: Speakers' choices across the globes
3. French
Theme courses: Variation linguistique et modélisation, Les parlers jeunes dans l’espace francophone
4. German
Theme courses: Pragmatik des Deutschen: Interaktion und Gesellschaft, Universalien und Rarissima: Deutsch in der Sprachtypologie
5. Italian
Theme courses: Sociolinguistics of Italian, Italiano L2 e metodi per l’apprendimento dell’italiano L2
Electives: Four approved elective packages
On the individual tabs of the language specialisations you can find what elective packages are incorporated in your track and find more detailed information.
1. Language Learning: Second Language Acquisition, Qualitative Methods in Linguistics, Statistics: Fundamentals of Linear Models
2. Language & Literature: Courses on Chinese from the MA Asian Studies (for Chinese Linguistics) or on the language of your specialisation from the MA Literary Studies (for English Linguistics, French Linguistics, German Linguistics and Italian Linguistics).
3a. Language & Linguistics: Courses from the MA Linguistics: Linguistics specialisation and linguistic courses from the Masterlanguage programme.
3b. Language & Linguistics with a special emphasis on Asian linguistics: Experimental Phonetics and Linguistics courses of the MA Asian studies (to be approved by the Board of Examinors).
4. Two Language Specialisation: Two courses from one of the other language specialisations (when French linguistics is your main specialisation, you may, for example, choose two Italian linguistics courses or vice versa).
Career Preparation
Labour market preparation in MA Linguistics (all specializations)
In addition to offering you a solid university education, Leiden University aims to prepare you for today’s labour market. Your studies will contribute to the development of your employability. After finishing the programme, it will become easier for you to make the transition to the labour market, to remain employable in a dynamic labour market in a (career) job that suits your own personal values, preferences and development.
'Employability' consists of the following aspects that you will develop within your study programme, among others:
1. Discipline-specific knowledge and skills
Knowledge and skills specific to your study programme.
2. Transferable skills
These are skills that are relevant to every student and that you can use in all kinds of jobs irrespective of your study programme, for example: research, conducting analyses, project-based working, generating solutions, acquiring and developing digital skills, collaborating, oral communication, written communication, presenting, raising societal awareness, independent learning, and resilience.
3. Self-reflection
This concerns self-reflection in the context of your (study) career, including reflecting on the choices you make as a student during your studies, esp. with respect to what you can do with your knowledge and skills on the labour market.
In addition, reflecting on your own profile and your personal and professional development. Who are you, what can you do well, what do you find interesting, what suits you, what do you find important, what do you want to do?
4. Practical experience
Gaining practical experience through internships, work placements, projects, practical (social) assignments, which are integrated into an elective, minor or graduation assignment.
5. Labour market orientation
Gaining insight into the labour market, fields of work, jobs and career paths through, for example, guest speakers and alumni experiences from the work field, career events within the study programme, the use of the alumni mentor network, interviewing people from the work field, and shadowing/visiting companies in the context of a particular subject.
Employability in MA Linguistics (all specializations)
You will also find these employability elements in your study programme. Examples of subjects that pay attention to this are:
Discipline-specific knowledge and skills
A theoretical research seminar on Language Variation and Language Change in Latin America
Advanced Morphology
Advanced Phonology
Advanced Syntax 1
Advanced Syntax 2
Advanced topics in Deep Learning for Natural Language Processing
Advanced Topics in Indo-European Phonology
Advanced topics in Indo-European Morphology: Verb
Advanced Translation
Advanced Typology
Ancient Greek for Indo-Europeanists
Anatolian Linguistics
Argumentation and Persuasion
Cognitive Neuroscience of Language
Comparative Asian Linguistics
Comparative Syntax
Computational Corpus Analysis
Computational Models and Semantics
Cross-linguistic Variation in Semantics
Diversity Linguistics: Africa, Asia and the Americas
De sturende kracht van taal
English Historical Linguistics
English Word Formation
Evolutionary Algorithms
Experimental Phonetics
Forensic Speech Science
Historische sociolinguïstiek: taal in de stad
Homeric Greek and Mycenaean
Indo-European Linguistics I
Indo-European Linguistics II
Issues in Language Endangerment and Revitalization
Italiano L2 e metodi per l’apprendimento dell’italiano L2
Language Contact
Language, Culture and Cognition: Linguistics
Language, Literature and Communication in Africa
Legal Translation I
Legal Translation II
Les parlers jeunes dans l’espace francophone
Machine learning for NLP
Methodology of Comparative Indo-European Linguistics
Multimodal Translation
Old High German for Indo-Europeanists
Pragmatik des Deutschen: Interaktion und Gesellschaft
Second Language Acquisition
Sinographics: Chinese writing and writing Chinese
Sociolinguistics of Italian: Language, Identity, and Social Change
Stilistiek: formuleringskeuzes en overtuigingskracht
Subtitling in Theory and Practice
Themes in Sociolinguistics: Speakers' choices across the globe
Translation Studies
Universalien und Rarissima: Deutsch in der Sprachtypologie
Variation linguistique et modélisation
Vedic Sanskrit for Indo-Europeanists
Transferable skills
Advanced topics in Deep Learning for Natural Language Processing
Computational Corpus Analysis
Corpus Lexicography
Evolutionary Algorithms
Forensic Speech Science
Italiano L2 e metodi per l’apprendimento dell’italiano L2
Machine learning for NLP
Methods in Experimental Linguistics
Methods in Speech Processing
Qualitative Methods in Linguistics
Social Network Analysis for Computer Scientists
Statistics: Advanced Linear Models
Statistics: Fundamentals of Linear Models
Text Mining
The Translator’s Tools
Practical experience
Advanced topics in Deep Learning for Natural Language Processing
Computational Corpus Analysis
Corpus Lexicography
Didactiek van het Nederlands als tweede taal
Experimental Phonetics
Field Methods
Fieldwork (Internship/Practicum)
Forensic Speech Science
Individual Project
Internship Linguistics
Issues in Language Endangerment and Revitalization
Italiano L2 e metodi per l’apprendimento dell’italiano L2
Language Documentation
Machine learning for NLP
Methods in Experimental Linguistics
Methods in Speech Processing
Multimodal Translation
Qualitative Methods in Linguistics
Social Network Analysis for Computer Scientists
Statistics: Advanced Linear Models
Statistics: Fundamentals of Linear Models
Stilistiek: formuleringskeuzes en overtuigingskracht
Subtitling in Theory and Practice
Text Mining
The Translator’s Tools
Workplacement Translation
Labour market orientation
Activities to prepare for the labour market alongside / outside the curriculum
Every year, various activities take place, within, alongside and outside of your study programme, which contribute to your preparation for the labour market, especially where it concerns orientation towards the work field/the labour market, (career) skills and self-reflection. These activities could be hosted by your study program to discuss the key decision stages within your program. Furthermore, you may want to attend career workshops and events organised by the Humanities Career service or your study association.
For example:
Humanities Career Service, LU Career Zone and Career Workshops Calendar
Humanities Career Service
The Humanities Career Service offers information and advice on internships, study (re)orientation and master's choice, orientation on the labour market and careers.
Leiden University Career Zone
The Leiden University Career Zone is the website for students and alumni of Leiden University to support their (study) career. You can find advice, information, (career) tests and tools in the area of (study) career planning, career possibilities with your study, job market orientation, job applications, the Alumni Mentor network, job portal, workshops and events and career services.
Workshops and events
On the Workshops calendar you will find an overview of career and application workshops, organised by the Humanities Career Service.
