Intercultural communication is crucial to comprehending the world today and participating in the world of tomorrow. Globalisation has broken down barriers of time and space but it has not removed linguistic and cultural barriers. Expertise in intercultural communication is a key skill that is of critical value in a whole range of professions that operate on a global scale. This programme will open doors into multiple roles where expert intercultural communicators are needed in multinational and international private sector companies, as well as in a host of public sector professions. You will develop a broad-based approach to the study of language and intercultural communication, both as a cultural resource and a cultural practice, and an understanding of how new media and mobile technologies which characterize contemporary global networks are affecting communication. As a graduate of this MA programme you will bring added value to your chosen profession if you already have a study background in a vocational subject such as business, development studies, education, hospitality and tourism, law, management, marketing, psychology, or medicine, for example, or a less vocational degree background in English, history, geography, media, or politics. As a cultural resource the linguistic forms available within a language, and the patterns of linguistic use by its speakers give expression to that culture’s worldview, socio-cultural norms and values. As a cultural practice the very act of linguistic communication is used to both create and sustain our sense of personal, cultural and national identity. To further the study of these cultural patterns, the programme makes use of a variety of different analytic approaches ranging from discourse analysis and anthropological linguistics to semiotics and cross-cultural pragmatics.