Master of Arts (Linguistics)

Entry Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree with a CGPA of not lower than 3.0 or equivalent in the field of English language or linguistics studies, or
• A bachelor’s degree with a CGPA of not lower than 3.0 or equivalent in a non-language related field; and a minimum of one year’s work experience in a field related to studies in English language use or linguistics, or
• A bachelor’s degree with a CGPA lower than 3.0 or equivalent; and a minimum of two years’ work experience in a field related to studies in English language use or linguistics, or
• Other qualifications approved by the Senate from time to time

Language Requirements

A non-Malaysian applicant whose degree is from a university or institution of higher learning where the medium of instruction for that degree is not the English Language and where the applicant wishes to follow a programme and/or write his dissertation in the English language must possess a minimum English Language score stated below:

(a) To obtain a band of 6.0 for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS); or

(b)To obtain a score of 60 for an internet-based total for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or a score of 8.5 for Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Essential (Online); or

(c) To obtain a score of 169 for Cambridge English Qualification & Test as follows:

•        B1 Preliminary, B2 First, C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency; or
•        B2 BUSINESS VANTAGE, C1 BUSINESS HIGHER; or
•        Linguaskill Online; or

(d) To obtain a score of 250 for Cambridge English Qualification & Test (OCCUPATIONAL ENGLISH TEST (OET) (Conventional / online)); or

(e) To obtain a minimum score of 59 for Pearson Test of Academic English (PTE)

For dissertation written in Malay or Arabic, before the conferment of the degree, candidates must have obtained a minimum score of:

(a) To obtain a score of 400 for a paper-based total for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL); or

(b) To obtain a band of 4 for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

Graduates from this programme can work, for example,

• in the media, advertising and publishing industry (e.g. script-writers, journalists, writers, editors, copywriters, proof-readers);
• in corporate communication;
• in the education industry (e.g. corporate trainers, language teachers, teacher educators, programme/curriculum developers, education managers/administrators at government and private schools and institutions, researchers and lecturers in higher education);
• as translators and interpreters;
• as language or linguistic consultants (e.g. linguistic and language-related fieldwork, researchers, analysing linguistic aspects of spoken and written texts).

Full Time

Minimum          : 3 semesters
Maximum         : 8 Semesters

Programme Structure (50 CREDITS)

• Core Courses (46 credits)
  • Research Methodology
  • Fundamentals of Linguistics
  • Language and Society
  • Dissertation

• Faculty Elective Courses (6 credits)
  • Approaches to Discourse Analysis
  • Multilingualism
  • Phonetics and Phonology
  • Translation Studies
  • Pragmatics
  • Issues in Applied Arabic Linguistics
  • Language for Specific Purposes
  • Multimodal Studies
  • Critical Discourse Studies