Students from a country where English is not the first language, must obtain a minimum English Language competency level.
IELTS: 6.0 (no band less than 5.5)
TOEFL iBT: 80 overall (min 19 in Writing)
PTE Academic: 50 Overall (min 42 in communicative skills)
Cambridge English: 170
Specialise in Linguistics for your Bachelor of Arts at Massey
Cultivate your personal and professional development
Linguistics is the study of language, including:
its structure and meaning
how it is learnt and used
what our language says about who we are and where we come from.
From interacting with friends to communicating with colleagues, language plays a fundamental role in both our public and private lives. This includes written and spoken communication, problem-solving, and social and cultural awareness. Our lecturers will encourage you to develop a deeper understanding of your own self-identity and social interactions.
A powerful communications tool
Language is the most powerful tool for connecting with and understanding our evolving diversity of people and cultures.
Massey’s BA (Linguistics) puts a strong focus on personal and applied language use, ethnographic analysis, and language forms and structure. This major will help you develop vital career skills.
Specialist language studies and options available
We have a variety of courses on offer. You could find out more about the role of language in:
forensic situations
digital communities
social media
mother-tongue maintenance
second-language learning.
Our courses are taught by lecturers who are actively researching.
More info: Click here
Planning information
If you study full time, in the first year you’ll take eight 15-credit courses, making a total of 120 credits.
If you wish to study over two semesters, you should aim for 60 credits per semester. You may be able to take some courses at summer school if you wish. Make sure you include courses that are prerequisites for the next level of courses you wish to study.
You need to pass five courses at 300-level for your BA. One of these (230310) is in the compulsory core and three are required for your major. If you are not taking a double major or a minor, you will need to take one 300-level elective course to meet this requirement.
About this major
A Linguistics major consists of 120 credits (eight courses).
You will start your studies with one or more of the 100-level linguistic courses which provide a general background to language study and a base for more advanced courses to build on. At the advanced level you study specific themes and concentrate on specialised areas of linguistics.
Some courses offered in alternate years
The following courses are offered every second year:
172232 Language and Society in New Zealand
172236 Forensic Linguistics
172237 Language Discourse and Power
172239 Language and Culture
172330 Sounds and Structure
172337 Historical and Comparative Linguistics
Language is vital to human communication. The study of linguistics helps you understand the development of language and can lead to an array of careers. We have graduates working in a range of diverse sectors in many varied roles including:
Education: ESOL teacher, language teacher, literacy advisor, university lecturer
Business, administration and law: communications advisor, interpreter/translator, forensic document analyst
Government departments: policy analyst, researcher, cultural adviser, immigrations officer
Publishing, journalism, media and advertising: writer/editor, advertising consultant
IT: computer analyst/programmer
Insurance/year: 810 NZD
