Program Overview

Overview of the Applied Linguistics Program

The Applied Linguistics program at Trinity College Dublin is a postgraduate course that investigates a range of issues surrounding language in contemporary society. The program focuses on second and foreign language education, drawing on linguistics, educational psychology, educational philosophy, social psychology, and cognitive psychology.

Course Details

• Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
• NFQ Level: 9
• Awards: M.Phil. / P.Grad.Dip.
• Next Intake: September 2025
• Course Coordinator: Dr. Elaine Uí Dhonnchadha
• Closing Date: 30th June 2025

Admission Requirements

• Degree: Good honours degree (at least an upper second or equivalent; GPA of at least 3.2)
• Previous Knowledge: No previous knowledge of applied linguistics is required
• Language Teaching Experience: Normally, only graduates with language teaching experience are admitted to the course
• Personal Statement: Applicants must provide a personal statement explaining their motivation for applying
• English Language Requirements: Band C (Higher Entry) English language requirements

Course Structure

• Full-time: 2 core modules and 1 elective per term, for a total of 4 core modules and 2 electives across the year
• Part-time: 1 core module per term in the first year, and the remaining 2 core modules in the second year, with 1 elective per year

Course Content

• Core Modules:
  • Describing Grammar
  • Language Acquisition
  • Second Language Curriculum Planning and Implementation
  • Language Testing
• Elective Modules:
  • Corpus Linguistics
  • Computer Assisted Language Learning
  • Linguistic Pragmatics
  • Multilingualism
  • Psychology of Language Learning and Teaching
  • Speech and Language Technology in Education
  • Technology, Language, and Communication
• Dissertation: 15,000-word dissertation in the final phase of the course

Career Opportunities

Graduates from this program have followed various career paths in language education and other language professions, including linguistics researcher, interpreter, business consultant, and language program manager. Many have opted to pursue research at a higher level through the Ph.D.

Course Fees

For a full list of postgraduate fees, please refer to the relevant webpage.

Related Courses

• Chinese Studies (M.Phil. / P.Grad.Dip.)
• Clinical Speech and Language Studies (M.Sc.)
• Clinical Speech and Language Studies (Dysphagia) (P.Grad.Dip.)
• English Language Teaching (M.Phil. / P.Grad.Dip.)
• Linguistics (M.Phil. / P.Grad.Dip.)
• Speech and Language Processing (M.Phil. / P.Grad.Dip.)