Our research
For more information on recent and ongoing projects:
About the department
We are one of the leading centres in the UK for teaching and research in theoretical and empirical linguistics. We are one of the few departments in the country to combine the study of modern languages with linguistic study, allowing us to offer a variety of combinations of languages and linguistics in our BA degrees. Our degrees provide our students with a variety of practical and analytical skills which have significant value in the modern world. The University of York encourages research-led teaching, and we are able to offer a wide range of courses providing entry into linguistic research in our final year BA modules and our MA modules.
Our major research specialisations are in syntax and semantics, phonetics and phonology, child language development, language variation and change, psycholinguistics and forensic speech science. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, we ranked 2nd in the UK for research: two-thirds of our research output was judged to be world-leading or internationally excellent. We are committed to language and linguistics teaching of the highest quality. In the 2010 National Student Survey (NSS), 92% of our final-year undergraduate students expressed overall satisfaction with their course. We ranked 5th among UK Linguistics departments for overall student satisfaction. On a breakdown of student ratings for the key indicators of 'Teaching', 'Assessment and Feedback' and 'Academic Support', we are ranked 1st in the UK.
The department has approximately 500 undergraduate and postgraduate students on degree courses, and 22 full-time staff. We offer seven different BA programmes plus combined degree programmes with Education, History, Literature, Mathematics and Philosophy. We also have seven taught masters programmes, including an MSc in Forensic Speech Science.
The department is home to Languages For All, which provides courses in 14 languages for a variety of departments and programmes in the university, for the entire student body, and for all of the inhabitants of York and the surrounding area. Our Languages For All staff teach to over 2300 students each year.
Department improvement and expansion
Recent staff appointments, new postgraduate and undergraduate programmes, and new purpose-built workspaces and laboratories have kept our department at the forefront for study and research in language and linguistics. We are continuing to expand, through new areas of research and stronger connections with other departments in the university.