English Language and Linguistics

Language is the medium through which human thought and social life are organised, transmitted, and contested. English language and linguistics is the systematic study of how language works, including its sounds, structures, meanings, and uses in real communicative contexts. It is a discipline that operates at the intersection of science and the humanities, drawing on cognitive science, anthropology, philosophy, and social theory to ask why language is the way it is, how it varies across communities, and what it means for individuals and societies.

It gives you a set of analytical tools that can be applied to virtually any human activity in which communication plays a role.

At the University of Sussex, this three-year, full-time degree develops your ability to investigate language from many angles, including how children acquire it, how it shapes social identity, how it functions in forensic and legal contexts, and how it evolves over time and across cultures. The programme includes a foundation year for students who benefit from a preparatory stage, as well as a sandwich year and work placement opportunities, enabling you to develop professional experience alongside your academic study. A year abroad is also included, giving you the opportunity to encounter different linguistic environments and deepen your comparative understanding of how language functions differently across communities and cultures.

A typical entry tariff of 136 points reflects the programme's accessibility alongside its intellectual ambition.

The analytical and communicative skills developed in this degree are highly transferable. Graduates work in areas including speech and language therapy, teaching, publishing, journalism, communications, public relations, marketing, policy research, and the technology industries, where natural language processing and content roles increasingly draw on linguistic expertise. Postgraduate study in linguistics, applied linguistics, speech and language therapy, or a related field is a well-established next step for those wishing to specialise.