Course Overview

Linguistics, the scientific study of language, lies at the nexus of the natural and physical sciences, humanities, social sciences, maths, and computer science. Linguists seek to understand the structure, behaviour, and evolution of human language and animal communication in all of their forms: spoken, signed, gestured, written, even whistled and drummed. Any language is fair game for linguistic study, from English to Euskara (Basque), Spanish to Sanskrit, Norwegian to Ntlaka’pamux.

Find out more about the course here.

The Benefits of Linguistics at Fitzwilliam College

The small number of Linguistics students at Fitzwilliam allows for close working between the students and their academics. However, they are not limited socially by their number: not only is there a tight relationship between students across the year groups, but linguists are also well-integrated into broader groups such as the Hilltops Linguist Society, which organises social events for Modern Language and Linguistics students across the Hill Colleges.

Facts and Figures

Average intake each year: 2-3

Typical A Level offer: A*AA

Typical IB offer: 41 – 42 points with 776 at Higher Level

We may modify offers to take account of individual circumstances.

Essential subjects: None.

Application Process

Applicants invited to interview will be required to sit the Linguistics written assessment. Candidates can normally expect two interviews of no longer than 30 minutes.

Director of Studies

Professor Ianthi Tsimpli

Find Out More

Every year, the College runs an Arts and Humanities Taster Day for Year 12 (England and Wales), S5 (Scotland), Year 13 (Northern Ireland) or equivalent students. More information will be available in the autumn.

If you want to find out about our open days or visiting the College, see here.