* deposit
IELTS with an overall score of 7.0 with at least 6.5 in all other subskills.
This programme develops a theoretical and practical understanding of communication in legal settings, including methods of data collection and analysis and training in the examination of Forensic Linguistic evidence.
The MA in Forensic Linguistics is an innovative programme which provides you with theory and techniques to critically analyse the use of language in a variety of legal contexts, to critically evaluate expert testimony on forensic matters and to consider the role of expertise in legal systems more generally.
You will receive a grounding in research methods and issues and debates in forensic linguistics. You will acquire tools for evaluating and examining a range of legal language in relation to issues such as power and comprehensibility.
You will develop skills in research and writing at higher degree level and learn to engage with the legal system as a site of social life where important decisions are made through language.
On successful completion of the MA programme you will have achieved the following outcomes:
the application of descriptive data analysis skills in a wide range of spoken and written discourse contexts within the legal process, including emergency calls, police interviews, courtroom interaction, judicial judgments;
a critical understanding of investigative data analysis skills in both spoken and written discourse contexts, including such areas as disputed authorship and plagiarism detection;
a critical understanding of the work of linguists as advisers and activists on legal systems and settings.
This degree programme has two main aims:
1. To introduce you to linguistic aspects of the criminal justice system including those which centre on policing and the courtroom whilst also looking to the surrounding legal system. The programme examines issues of justice, fairness and equality in law as they relate to language and communication.
2. To explore the role of the linguist when interacting with legal and legislative systems by examining the actual or potential impact of linguistics (broadly defined) on criminal investigations and on legal activities and procedures. Here, we examine the work of expert witnesses and linguistic consultants on language and law and consider the opportunities and challenges inherent in research for each purpose.
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Core modules
Forensic Linguistics I
Forensic Linguistics 2
Research Foundations in Language and Communication
Research Experience in Forensic Linguistics
Dissertation
Optional modules
Discourse and Social Interaction
Current Issues in Sociolinguistics
Qualitative Research Methods
Quantitative Research Methods
Phonetics and Phonology
Language Learning: Theory and Practice
Critical Approaches to Discourse
Systemic Functional Grammar
Public and Professional Discourse
Corpus Linguistics
Graduates have gone on to further study (e.g. a PhD or law degree) or have pursued careers in a number of relevant areas such as policing, the courts and Government as well as careers in areas without a forensic connection.
Employers for graduates from this programme include: local government departments, police forces, secondary schools, language schools, universities, banks, solicitors and utility companies.
Career destinations include: crime intelligence analyst, crime analyst, specialist police interviewer, emergency call handler, lawyer, lecturer, teacher, programme administrator, research assistant, PR executive, marketing executive and writer.
Graduates from this programme also move on to non-legal careers and find that the legal and linguistic focus of their studies provides their employers with something a little unusual. Graduates in the job market have also benefited from the training in processing and using information thoughtfully, writing effectively and speaking convincingly which is essential to good postgraduate study.
Insurance – Single: 300 GBP per year
