The first year of the programme will introduce students to the foundations of the English Language and of linguistic analysis. This will be achieved through modules devoted to the linguistic structure of English (sounds, words, grammar, meaning, discourse, style), its social diversity in the UK and around the world, and how the language is learned by children. Students will also hone their practical skills in transcribing English using the International Phonetic Alphabet and analysing its structure and variations in form, alongside more general training in academic writing and critical thinking. The second year of the programme leads students through more advanced research skills and content. Core training will include the History of English, English Around the World, Interaction and Discourse, and Data and Methods in Linguistics. The last of these covers highly transferable skills such as research ethics, hands-on data collection, data processing, and qualitative and quantitative data analysis to prepare students for dissertations in their third year. Students can choose further options in areas such as sociolinguistics, how second language learners use English, the grammar semantics, and sound patterns of English, the psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics of language use, experimental linguistics, and the sociopolitics of language use in the media. The final year allows students to take a wide range of options at a more advanced level, e.g. dealing with use of English in health communication, language and gender, digital communication, narrative and storytelling, communication disorders, and the philosophy of language. Students can opt for more technical, Linguistics options as well. Students will conduct a dissertation, involving original data analysis under supervision, building on the research methods learned in the second year. Students will have the opportunity to engage with the local community, as part of the QM model, or to volunteer to participate in staff-led research projects in the department, e.g. associated with the two laboratories or with funded grant projects, to gain real research experience.