Specialisations

Translation (MA)
Modern Languages (MA)
Linguistics (specialisation) (MA)

The one-year master’s in Linguistics is concerned with the knowledge, structure and use of language, studied from a wide range of perspectives. It trains students to systematically identify, describe and analyse language phenomena and to apply this knowledge to a specific area of interest.

Why study Linguistics at Leiden University?

Studying at Leiden University allows you to explore the field of linguistics through your own interests. This could be wanting to study a specific language, sheer analytical curiosity, theoretical interest or the ambition to become a translator. You can achieve your ambitions by following one of our specialisations, or you can create your own track according to your individual interests.

The Master's programme in Linguistics at Leiden University offers a wide range of perspectives on language. It enables you to learn how to identify, describe and analyse language phenomena systematically and to apply this knowledge to a specific area of interest, ranging from theoretical and experimental approaches to language learning and translation, and more.

Learn more about the study programme

What are your career prospects?

This Master's prepares you to be a language expert who is sought-after in various sectors of the job market. Our graduates work at different types of organisations, such as education, academia, research institutes, and communication and marketing. Jobs include translator, consultant, linguist and PhD candidate.

Find out more about your career prospects

Is Linguistics the programme for you?

Are you intrigued by the inner workings of language? Do you want to uncover these mechanisms through a wide range of linguistic perspectives and methods? Then Linguistics at Leiden University is the right Master's programme for you. Find out if you are eligible for this Master's programme by checking the admission requirements.

Check the admission requirements

From Azerbaijani to Swedish: ‘Multilingualism improves your understanding of others’

There are 24 official languages in Europe but some 200 languages in total are spoken on our continent. What good are all these different languages? And should we all learn Azerbaijani or Swedish? We asked Lisa Cheng, Professor of General Linguistics. Read more.

Information activities

Get to know us through our online and in-person events for prospective students!

Are you thinking about joining this Master's programme, and want to determine if it will be the right fit for you? Below, you can browse the events that we have coming up, and sign up to experience Leiden University and the programme for yourself. Alternatively, take a look at the Master Talks videos to find out more about the programme or check out our virtual campus tours!

Upcoming events

Master's Open Days

The next Master's Open Day will take place on 16 February 2024. You can also still watch the recordings of all the presentations from the last Online Open Days. The videos can be found on the Master Talks page.

Master Talks: Programme videos

On the Master Talks: programme videos platform you can find videos for each master’s programme. This includes a video which gives a short introduction to the programme. You can also find the recording of the Master's Online Open Days of 5-6 October and watch the programme presentation on the platform.

Get to know the campus

Check out our virtual campus tours, filmed in 360 degrees – by dragging the video, you can look around at the surroundings yourself. Below is the video recorded at the Humanities faculty, where most of your lectures will take place; you can also view other 360 campus tours of the various university faculties here.

360 Campus tour: the Humanities faculty

Due to the selected cookie settings, we cannot show this video here.

Watch the video on the original website or

Linguistics (MA)