Master of Linguistics

The Master of Linguistics from institutions like the University of Melbourne provide students with comprehensive knowledge of the science. They take two years of full time study to complete, or up to four years if undergone part time. Programs contain units in language curriculum design, transcultural communication, technology in linguistics and more.

Employment options

The employment options specified here are all good options for master level graduates. Working for a company like Capstone Editing doing copy editing, for instance, is a great use of linguistic ability, as it exercises deep syntactic and grammatical knowledge. Working in linguistic rehabilitation is another way of utilising this skill set by helping those who struggle with forming words or are learning to speak again after traumatic injury.

Scholarships and funding

There are a variety of great funding opportunities available to students of linguistics.

• The Research and Graduate Studies Scheme from the University of Melbourne is valued at $1,250 for master level students. It’s designed for research funding, conference presentations and associated travel expenses.
• Students of linguistics can earn up to $20,000 from the Humanities and Languages Equity Scholarship. They are need  based, so students must present evidence of socio-economic disadvantage to be successful.
• The JH Bishop Postgraduate Scholarship provides $5,000 pa to students who performed outstandingly in their first degree. It is given to enthusiasts for ancient history, which in the context of linguistics means an interest in ancient languages. Students willing to commit to a degree in which they explore the languages of antiquity are well advised to apply for this opportunity.

General opportunities available across faculties are also available, some of which offer significant funding. These tend to reopen annually.

• Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships from ANU offer $69,500 pa to students across disciplines. These are highly competitive, merit-based postgraduate programs, requiring a high GPA and thoughtful application to be successful.
• General Sir John Monash Scholarships offer $65,000 pa to students planning to commence postgraduate study overseas. Although it’s open to all disciplines, students must argue their case for why their chosen discipline is useful and why their chosen overseas institution is worthy of attention.
• The Westpac Future Leaders Scholarship provides a staggering $120,000 to students directing their studies toward one of three areas
  • Technology and innovation
  • Strengthening Australia-Asia ties
  • Enabling positive social change

There’s a case students of linguistics can make for all of these, but strengthening Australia-Asia ties through improved mutual understanding of languages seems a good choice.

Prerequisites and selection process

These programs are open to graduates across all disciplines. Although some might require a credit GPA to enter (65%), it’s possible to enter via completion of a graduate certificate or diploma. These can reduce master degree completion times by six months to a year respectively, as content is shared across these programs regardless.