Linguistics is the academic study of language. It focuses on how and why language varies in use and meaning between different groups and social settings. Linguistic students analyze the rules, structure, and context of language, as well as looking at how it has changed over time. They study how people learn to use language, develop accents, and the connection between sound and meaning.

Studying linguistics abroad is one of the best ways to understand how people use language to communicate in different countries and cultures.Students will be able to spot differences and similarities between language use in your home and host country, giving you a more in-depth understanding of the field.

It is possible to study linguistics as a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree. Students will learn about the core areas of the field by studying a BA over three or four years. An MA and PhD will require narrow focus and concentrate on a specific branch of linguistics. These postgraduate qualifications take roughly one year and five years respectively to complete.

Education takes place mainly through a mixture of lectures, seminars, and tutorials. Assessment will usually take the form of essays, reports, exams, presentations, and group projects. 

Here it is possible to find some core areas of study that will appear in most courses, such as:

Phonetics and phonology;

Syntax;

Semantics;

Sociolinguistics - gender, ethnicity, class;

Language variation and change;

Cognitive linguistics;

Linguistic theory.

There are many factors when choosing a university, however, the ranking of the best universities can help in making a decision.The ranking includes higher education institutions that are chosen by students from all over the world to study theoretical and applied linguistics, literature and language theory. Their main advantages: interesting curricula, internships and career prospects. The world's top universities are also highly praised for their research papers and language labs, some offering interdisciplinary programs combining linguistics and computer science.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2. University of Massachusetts Amherst

3. University of Edinburgh

4. Cambridge University

5. Harvard University

6. University of Oxford

7. Berkeley University of California

8. Stanford University

9. University of Maryland, College Park

10. University of California Los Angeles

11. City University of Hong Kong

12. Lancaster University

13. University of Toronto

14. University College London

15. Australian National University

16. Peking University

17. University of Amsterdam

18. University of Pennsylvania

19. McGill University

20. University of British Columbia

Being proficient at a single foreign language does not necessarily mean someone will perform well in linguistics. However, students who have always had an interest in language, be it their own or others, and of how sentences are constructed and how ideas are communicated may find linguistics well suited to their interests and abilities.

Since many careers involve the use of language or communication in some way, there are many options open to those with linguistics degrees. These include careers as translators, speech therapists, foreign language teachers and English as a second language teachers. Linguistics experts may also find themselves working with artificial intelligence technology or even with the government as code breakers or intelligence analysts.