MA in Multilingualism
University of Groningen
Key Information
Campus location
Leeuwarden, Netherlands
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
1 Year
Pace
Full time
Tuition fees
EUR 2,314 / per year *
Application deadline
01 May 2024
Earliest start date
Sep 2024
* EU/EEA students: €2,314 | non-EU/EEA students: €16,000
Introduction
We live in a world where multilingualism is the norm and monolingualism the exception. How do we deal with the challenges that this brings with it for the individual, for society, and for institutions?
There's no doubt that multilingualism has important implications for communication, identity, social and cultural integration, development, and education. With its world-leading expertise in the fields of cognition, society, and language the University of Groningen now offers a one-year Master's track in Multilingualism in co-operation with NHL University of Applied Sciences. The Multilingualism Master's track is situated Leeuwarden, at Campus Fryslân.
The Multilingualism Master's track is unique in combining the teaching of many societal, individual, educational, cultural, and historical aspects of multilingualism with a practical, research-driven approach. Students learn to deal with day-to-day issues such as helping companies overcome communication problems, design language policies, or give schools advice on how best to teach children with foreign-language backgrounds. They receive a MA degree in Linguistics.
The challenging Master's track in Multilingualism is situated in the picturesque town of Leeuwarden, capital of the officially multilingual province Fryslân in the Netherlands. Frisian is the second official language of the country. This setting allows students immediate access to a multilingual laboratory.
Why study this program in Groningen?
- The program is taught in the wonderful student city of Leeuwarden (European Cultural Capital 2018)
- Easy access to multilingual communities for research
- Excellent combination of knowledge of multilingualism and practical research skills
- Many opportunities for challenging internships in the region, throughout the Netherlands but also abroad;
- Truly international environment; our staff members come from seven different countries/regions, speaking together around 15 different languages.
The Multilingualism Laboratory
The northern provinces carry a long tradition of research into multilingualism and especially the province of Fryslân does so. These regions have been a multilingual area for centuries, in which closely related endogenous languages and language varieties co-exist with exogenous varieties like English and German. Since the 1960s many immigrant languages, mainly belonging to different language families, were added to this repertoire. The standardization and official recognition of Frisian as a national language has resulted in a rather extensive infrastructure of linguistic research, for instance in the fields of education and language policy. Thus, Fryslân and the other northern provinces of the Netherlands offer an excellent natural setting for conducting ground-breaking multidisciplinary research on multilingualism.
We believe that a multidisciplinary approach is the only answer to the many questions multilingualism confronts us with. That is why our research groups are encouraged to closely collaborate and inspire each other, fueling innovative solutions, recommendations, and policy advice. By combining approaches from different backgrounds, (fundamental) research on multilingualism becomes truly innovative, able to combine societal needs with scientific questions.
Curriculum
Courses
- Essential Statistics (5 EC)
- The Multilingual Community (5 EC)
- Language Planning and Policy (5 EC)
- Minority Languages: The Case of Frisian (5 EC)
- The Multilingual Mind (5 EC)
- The Multilingual School (5 EC)
- Internship (10 EC, optional)
- Language, Narrative, and Values (10 EC, optional)
- Ma Thesis Multilingualism (20 EC)
Program options
- Master's Honours Programme (honors program)
- Master's placement (specialization)
Study abroad
Study abroad is optional
Admissions
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Job prospects
With your MA degree, you could become a policy consultant, or an advisor to national and international governmental organizations and NGOs. You could also become an expert on how to deal with multilingualism in education and companies, or on how to approach language planning for governments. You may also choose to pursue a career as a lecturer or researcher at tertiary education.
Upon graduation, students hold a (60 ECTS) MA degree in Linguistics with a track in Multilingualism from the University
Job examples
- Lecturer at a University (of Applied Sciences)
- Policymaker/advisor
- Diversity manager
- Project manager
- Consultant
- Teaching specialist
- Researcher
- Civil servant
- Communication specialist
- Publisher
- Technical Writing expert
- Copywriter
- Translation expert