Linguistics and Philosophy

Linguistics and philosophy is a pairing with deep natural connections. Both disciplines are concerned with language: philosophy asks what language is for, how words and sentences relate to meaning and the world, and what the implications of language are for knowledge, truth, and the mind. Linguistics asks how languages are structured, how they are acquired and used, how they vary and change, and what this tells us about human cognition and social life.

Studied together, they illuminate questions about meaning, communication, and thought that neither discipline can fully address alone.

At Nottingham Trent University, this three-year, full-time programme includes a sandwich year and a work placement, giving you the opportunity to apply your developing analytical and communication skills in a professional setting before your final year. The combination is intellectually stretching in the best sense: you will develop formal analytical skills in both linguistics and philosophy, learning to work with grammatical structure, argument forms, and logical notation as well as to engage in wide-ranging philosophical reading and discussion. Linguistics content covers phonetics and phonology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics, psycholinguistics, and the social dimensions of language use.

Philosophy engages you with logic, epistemology, ethics, philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. A typical entry tariff of 104 UCAS points reflects the programme's accessibility at NTU.

The joint degree develops exceptional analytical precision alongside strong written and verbal communication skills. You will graduate with the ability to think carefully about complex problems and to express your reasoning with clarity.

Graduates pursue careers in education, journalism, law, speech and language therapy, translation, the civil service, publishing, and research. The combination of formal linguistic analysis and philosophical reasoning is particularly valued in roles that require careful thinking about language, communication, and meaning. Many graduates also proceed to postgraduate study in linguistics, philosophy, or speech and language sciences.