Communications and Linguistics
Communications and linguistics is a combination that brings the study of how communication works in the real world together with the scientific investigation of language as a system. Communications, as a discipline, is concerned with the theory and practice of how information, ideas, and messages move between people, groups, organisations, and through media: it encompasses journalism, public relations, advertising, organisational communication, and the analysis of how audiences receive and interpret what they are given. Linguistics approaches language as a scientific object, examining its structure at every level from sound and grammar to meaning and use, and asking why languages work the way they do and how they vary across contexts and communities.
At Nottingham Trent University, this part-time programme includes a sandwich year and a work placement, giving you professional experience alongside your academic studies. The communications component covers media theory and practice, professional writing, digital communications, PR and marketing communications, and the ethics of communication practice. The linguistics strand introduces you to the key areas of the discipline, including phonetics and phonology, morphology and syntax, semantics, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, and discourse analysis.
Together, they develop a sophisticated understanding of how language operates in the contexts that communications professionals work within, and how linguistic analysis can illuminate questions about effectiveness, representation, and power in communication. The work placement gives you direct professional experience in a relevant communications environment.
Graduates from communications and linguistics programmes enter careers across the communications, media, and language sectors. Public relations, corporate communications, journalism, content strategy, and social media management are common destinations for those whose interests lean towards the communications dimension. Translation, editing, lexicography, speech and language therapy support, and roles in education draw on the linguistic expertise.
Language technology, natural language processing, and computational linguistics roles are growing areas that value graduates with a scientific understanding of language alongside practical communication skills. Postgraduate study in linguistics, communications, media, or a specialist applied linguistics area is available for those who want to develop their expertise further.