General and Applied Linguistics

Do you have a passion for languages? Our program focuses on the nature, use and structure of language, as well as how to apply this knowledge in contexts ranging from second language learning and education, social interaction, communication across cultures, intercultural communication to language policy and language politics. This program is for you if you are interested in human linguistic capabilities in general, as well as the description and explanation of particular languages. You can undertake a specialisation in one of 19 languages. 

The program is designed for people who already have prior knowledge of linguistics or applied linguistics, and also for people coming from cognate areas such as speech pathology, audiology, interpreting or translation studies, language teaching, and editing.

This degree provides you with the opportunity to draw on over thirty linguistics experts as well as expert teachers of many languages.

Career Options

Employment Opportunities

The Master of General and Applied Linguistics will advance your career in education, translation and interpreting, language teaching, speech pathology, audiology, editing, language policy, cross-cultural communication, language documentation and other positions in government and private business. It is also a pathway to further studies.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the skills and knowledge to:

1. apply established theoretical frameworks critically and creatively at an advanced level to the description, analysis and explanation of linguistic data, including data concerning the use of language in its social setting;
2. evaluate a range of theories and recent developments in our understanding of the nature and use of language and the practical application of those theories to specific areas of interest to the student;
3. identify sources, including more obscure sources, of linguistic data, both concerning language in general and specific languages, and evaluate the reliability of those sources and their relevance to theoretical issues;
4. research complex language phenomena using sources from a variety of media and advanced research techniques of the discipline, and communicate this research to both  specialist and non-specialist audiences; and
5. apply a sophisticated understanding of language and its use to real-world language contexts.

The Master of General and Applied Linguistics requires completion of 96 units, which must consist of:

A minimum of 18 units from completion of courses from the following list:

LING6001 Introduction to the Study of Language

LING6002 Language and Society

LING6020 The Structure of English

LING6311 Language and Social Interaction

LING6509 Research Design in (Applied) Linguistics

LING6525 Special Topics in Linguistics

LING8001 Graduate Reading Course (Linguistics)

LING8003 Readings in Applied Linguistics

LING8009 Topics in Applied Linguistics A: Language Learning and Education

LING8010 Topics in Language, Text and Discourse

LING8011 Applied Linguistics Research and Writing A

LING8012 Applied Linguistics Research and Writing B

LING8026 Understanding Qualitative Research & Writing in Language Studies

HUMN8024 Digital Humanities: Theories and Projects

A minimum of 24 units from completion of courses from the following list:

ASIA6001 Language in Asia

ASIA6101 Language in Asia (L)

LANG6103 Acquiring Pragmatics of a Second Language

LANG8001 Translation in Asia: theories, practices, histories

LING6003 Introduction to Syntax

LING6005 Language Change and Linguistic Reconstruction

LING6007 Morphology

LING6008 Semantics

LING6009 Field Methods

LING6010 Phonetics: Sounds of the World's Languages

LING6013 Teaching Languages

LING6015 Language, Culture and Translation

LING6016 Language in Indigenous Australian Society

LING6017 Chinese Linguistics

LING6018 Languages in Contact

LING6019 Phonological Analysis

LING6021 Cross Cultural Communication

LING6022 Language Policy and Language Politics

LING6023 Dictionaries and Dictionary-Making

LING6026 Syntactic Theory

LING6101 Second Language Acquisition

LING6103 Language Power and Identity

LING6105 Language and the law: introduction to forensic linguistics

LING6505 Acoustics of Voice

LING6508 Study of a Language Family

LING6521 Child Language Acquisition

LING6522 Seminar on Semantics

LING6529 The History of the English Language

LING8025 Tools and Resources for Language Analysis

PASI6010 Talking the Pacific: Melanesian pidgins and creoles in social context

PASI6020 An introduction to Languages of the Pacific

A maximum of 30 units from completion of courses from any of the following specialisations:

Ancient Greek Language and Culture

Arabic Language and Culture

Australian Indigenous Languages

Chinese Language and Culture

English Language

French Language and Culture

German Language and Culture

Hindi Language and Culture

Indonesian Language and Culture

Italian Language and Culture

Japanese Language and Culture

Korean Language and Culture

Latin Language and Culture

Persian Language and Culture

Portuguese Language and Culture

Russian Language and Culture

Sanskrit Language and Culture

Spanish Language and Culture

Thai Language and Culture

Turkish Language and Culture

Vietnamese Language and Culture

24 units from completion of elective courses offered by ANU

Specialisations

• Ancient Greek Language and Culture
• Arabic Language and Culture
• Australian Indigenous Languages and Society
• Chinese Language and Culture
• English Language
• French Language and Culture
• German Language and Culture

• Hindi Language and Culture
• Indonesian Language and Culture
• Italian Language and Culture
• Japanese Language and Culture
• Korean Language and Culture
• Latin Language and Culture
• Persian Language and Culture

• Portuguese Language and Culture
• Russian Language and Culture
• Sanskrit Language and Culture
• Spanish Language and Culture
• Thai Language and Culture
• Turkish Language and Culture
• Vietnamese Language and Culture

A Bachelor degree or international equivalent with an average mark of at least 65%.

All applicants must meet the University's English Language Admission Requirements for Students

Applicants with a Bachelor Degree or Graduate Certificate in a cognate discipline may be eligible for 24 units (one semester) of credit.

Applicants with a Graduate Diploma or Honours in a cognate discipline may be eligible for 48 units (one year) of credit.

Cognate disciplines

Applied Linguistics, Languages, Linguistics, Speech Pathology, Audiology, Translating/Interpreting, Language Teaching, Lexicography, TESOL from an Australian tertiary institution or its international equivalent.

Want to improve your English level for admission?

Prepare for the program requirements with English Online by the British Council.

• ✔️ Flexible study schedule
• ✔️ Experienced teachers
• ✔️ Certificate upon completion

📘 Recommended for students with an IELTS level of 6.0 or below.

Enroll in the course

ANU offers a wide range of scholarships to students to assist with the cost of their studies.

Eligibility to apply for ANU scholarships varies depending on the specifics of the scholarship and can be categorised by the type of student you are.  Specific scholarship application process information is included in the relevant scholarship listing.