Please note: This page is aimed at prospective students. Are you already a student at Radboud University? You can find your current study programme in the Course catalogue.
Study programme Language Variation and Multilingualism
The programme of Language Variation and Multilingualism consists of 60 EC. You’ll follow three compulsory courses and will be able to choose elective courses of 15 EC. Throughout the year you’ll do an internship (10 EC) and will complete your Master’s programme with a Master’s Thesis (20 EC). Here you can find an overview of the courses of the Master's programme Language Variation and Multilingualism.
Provisional overview for prospective students
This overview provides an indication of the study programme of the academic year 2026-2027 and is aimed at prospective students. It is subject to change and no rights may be derived from it. Already a student at Radboud University? View your current study programme in the Course catalogue.
- P1
- P1
- P2
- P1
- P2
We require of students that they have some background in statistics. If that is not the case, this course is an obligatory part of your programme. If you can show that you have successfully completed an introduction to statistics in your previous education, you will be exempted from this course.
- P1
- P2
- P3
- P4
- P2
- P3
- P4
Elective courses
We offer the following linguistic courses from which you can pick any that meet your interests. Please note that these are advanced and not introductory courses:
- Taaltoetsing/Language testing
- Languages and society: variation and diversity
- Linguistic universals and diversity
- Language in interaction: Global perspectives
- Intercultural pragmatics
- Topics in second language acquisition
- Multimodal communication and persuasion
- Child bilingualism (6 EC)
Additional Options
In addition to the courses listed above, you can complete your programme in one of the following ways.
Courses in Dutch
We offer three courses in Dutch that you can sign up for if your proficiency in Dutch is minimally at the C1 level:
- NT2-onderwijs en Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
- De Taalexpert tussen Wetenschap en Praktijk
- Ontwikkelingen in de taal- en communicatietechnologie
Courses from other research programmes
You can ask permission for access to the following courses that are part of the Research Master's Cognitive Neuroscience or Language and Communication sciences. Permission will be granted based on your background knowledge:
- Using and Acquiring Multiple Languages
- Non-nativeness in Communication
Courses from Masterlanguage
The national Masterlanguage programme offers courses on linguistics that might be relevant for your particular profile.
(International) internship (10 EC)
So as to ensure that you get some hands-on experience working in a linguistics job, the internship is an integral part of your programme. Although internships are usually carried out in the second semester of the programme, we do not have a rule about it. If you are able to obtain an internship in the first semester, that is perfectly fine. The initiative for finding an internship is yours, but we offer advice and a profound network to help you secure a position.
These are examples of possible internships:
- Research internship at the Centre for Language Studies at Radboud University or other university, or at related institutes such as the Baby Research Center, Max Planck Institute, the Centre for Language and Speech Technology, Donders Institute, or Radboud in'to Languages.
- Education internship
- Communication and journalism internship
- Translation internship
An internship can be a great way to start research on the topic of your Master's thesis, which is compulsory for all students of Linguistics. It can also help you orient yourself about future career prospects.
Master’s thesis (20 EC)
Your Master's thesis consists of an individual research project, which allows you to investigate a topic of your choice within the field of Linguistics under the close supervision of a member of the Centre for Language Studies.