Communications and Linguistics

Communications and linguistics is a combination that examines both how language works as a system and how it functions in the real-world contexts of human communication. Linguistics brings the rigour of systematic analysis to questions about sound, grammar, meaning, and language in society. Communications studies asks how messages are constructed, transmitted, and received across different media, genres, and social contexts, and it engages with the theories and practices of persuasion, representation, and public discourse.

Together the two disciplines give you a remarkably wide analytical range, from the phonetics of a speech sound to the rhetoric of a political speech or a social media campaign.

At Nottingham Trent University, this three-year, full-time programme develops your competence in both fields, building a foundation in linguistic theory alongside the study of communication in professional, media, and cultural contexts. You will learn to analyse language at multiple levels, from the phonological and grammatical to the pragmatic and sociolinguistic, and to apply that analytical toolkit to texts and interactions drawn from journalism, advertising, digital media, public relations, and everyday conversation. The programme also develops your practical communication skills, your ability to write analytically and persuasively, and your capacity to research and evaluate evidence from both disciplines.

The programme includes a sandwich placement year and work placement, giving you the opportunity to apply your learning in a professional communications, media, or research setting before you complete your degree. This practical experience is particularly valuable in a field where employers value demonstrated competence alongside academic knowledge.

Graduates work in journalism, media, public relations, marketing and communications, content creation, research, publishing, and education. The analytical skills the linguistics strand develops are also valued in more technical roles, including natural language processing, speech technology, and data analytics. Postgraduate study in linguistics, applied linguistics, or communications is an option for those who wish to specialise further.