Master Linguistics

The Department of Comparative Language Science offers three different tracks within the single master program Linguistics (120 ECTS). General information on this Master's program can be found on the
homepage master program Linguistics.
 

Students are made familiar with methods of linguistic data acquisition (e.g. field research) and acquire knowledge in the automatic processing and statistical analysis of large corpora and databases. They learn basic programming skills with a focus on linguistic data processing.

Graduates of the MA program are familiar with language structures and patterns and their geographical and genealogical distribution, and are able to put new findings in typological perspective. They are able to deduct general patterns from language data and are well equipped to write descriptive accounts of languages and languages families or areas, based on their personal experience and published sources.

Graduates know how to structure, monitor, and document descriptive linguistic fieldwork, including data collection, data storage and metadata management. They are familiar with standard ethical issues and procedures.

Graduates are prepared to participate in research projects and are able to read and write research papers in linguistics. Degree holders are qualified to join a PhD program on university level.

Graduates are specialised in the focus area Indo-European Studies. They have a broad linguistic and philological knowledge of mostly ancient Indo-European languages. They have the skills to deal with questions related to the literary, historical, cultural, and social context of text production, transmission, reception, and language use. They are experts in historical linguistics, are familiar with the mechanisms of language evolution, and are able to apply up-to-date qualitative and quantitative methods for reconstructing ancestor states of a language family.

Graduates are also familiar with methods of linguistic data acquisition (e.g. written records, elicitation) and have acquired knowledge in the automatic processing and statistical analysis of large corpora and databases. They have obtained basic programming skills with a focus on linguistic data processing.

Graduates are prepared to participate in research projects and are able to read and evaluate research papers in linguistics. They are qualified to join a PhD program on university level.

The MA program Linguistics with a specialization in Psycholinguistics focuses on the psychological foundations of human language. The goal is to find answers to the following questions:

• What enables infants to learn any of the approximately 7000 human languages in their first years of life?
• How is language processed in the brain?
• What role do grammatical structures play in learning and processing?
• What is the role of linguistic and cultural diversity for learning and processing?

As a preparation for independent research, students will receive a solid introduction to psycholinguistic theories and methods. They will learn how to conduct research independently in close collaboration with their supervisors. The program offers the possibility for students to actively participate in ongoing research projects on first language development and language processing, both in at the University of Zurich and in various field locations around the globe.