Course details

Summary

The Master of Arts (MA) degree normally requires at least one year of full-time, or its equivalent in part-time, study and entails completion of a thesis. The normal admission requirement is a Bachelor of Arts with Honours (BA(Hons)) degree in one of at least 24 subjects, but admission on the basis of alternative qualifications and experience is possible. Some degree candidates may be required to pass approved postgraduate papers before embarking on the thesis research, but will be advised of that before enrolment.

The thesis is a major piece of supervised research on a topic of current interest.

The primary aim of the programme is to develop in a candidate skills needed to identify a significant topic, design and implement an extended piece of research, and present the findings in a form acceptable to an expert readership. It prepares candidates for employment in education, regional and national government agencies, the private sector, and industry. The degree is also an entry qualification for the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

Language is central, and perhaps unique, to human experience. Interest in its study has existed throughout history. Consequently, questions about language, and particularly the nature of its structure, use and development, have engaged scholars from a wide range of disciplines. Linguistics is the discipline that addresses these and other related questions directly.

Linguistics comprises different areas of specialisation:

• phonetics (the study of speech sounds)
• phonology (the study of sound systems)
• morphology (the study of the internal structure of words)
• syntax (the study of how words are combined into sentences)
• semantics (the study of meaning)
• pragmatics (the study of meaning in relation to the way language is used)
• socio-linguistics (the study of language in its social context)
• historical linguistics (the study of language change)
• universal typology (the study of language universals and differences)
• acquisition (the study of how first and second languages are learned)
• applied linguistics (the application of linguistics to language teaching and other professional activities)

Structure of the Programme

The programme of study shall consist of the preparation and submission of a thesis embodying the results of supervised research. A candidate who has obtained a three-year bachelor’s degree will be required to take and pass the fourth-stage papers listed in the Honours requirements for the subject concerned, in addition to completing a thesis. A candidate whose qualification for entry to the programme is the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honours, or the Postgraduate Diploma in Arts Subjects in the subject of the degree, will be required to complete a thesis, although in some cases the candidate may also be required to take and pass approved papers, normally at 400-level, in addition to completing a thesis.

A candidate shall, before commencing the investigation to be described in the thesis, secure the approval of the Head of the Department concerned for the topic, the supervisor(s), and the proposed course of the investigation.

A candidate may not present a thesis which has previously been accepted for another degree.

For a thesis, the research should be of a kind that a diligent and competent student should complete within one year of full-time study.

Entry criteria

Admission to the programme shall be subject to the approval of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Humanities).

Every applicant must either: be a graduate, or have alternative qualifications or experience acceptable to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Humanities).

In considering an applicant's qualifications, regard will be had to the detail of the course of study followed to gain the qualification, as well as the applicant's performance in the programme. Applicants must normally have achieved an average grade of at least B+ in the papers at the highest level in the programme.

English Language Requirements

IELTS - Score of 6.5 in the academic module (with no individual band below 6.0); Internet-based TOEFL Score of 95 with a minimum writing score of 22.; Paper-based TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 587 (TWE 4.5); Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) – Overall score of 176 (with no individual band below 169); Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) – Overall score of 176 (with no individual band below 169); APIEL Advanced Placement International English Language Examination - Grade 4 or higher; Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic - Overall score of 64 with no communicative skills score below 57; University of Otago Foundation Studies Ltd: Completion of 'English for Postgraduate Academic Purposes' with a grade of C or higher.