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Entry requirements
A first-class or upper second-class UK Honours degree, or overseas equivalent.
The Applied Linguistics programme is intended for students from a linguistics background or those who have an interest in communication disorders but who have not completed a qualifying degree in speech and language therapy (SLT). If you have an SLT qualification you can register for the Speech and Language Therapy pathway if this is preferable.
Prospective Applied Linguistics students should develop proposals to match areas of research expertise held by members of staff* and are encouraged to contact potential supervisors in advance of their application.
Before you apply
If you're interested in studying for a PhD in Applied Linguistics, the first thing you need to do is to find out if there’s a supervisor available to oversee your studies.
Next, you'll need your research proposal. Read our guidelines on writing your PhD proposal.
The application
During the application, you'll be asked for the following:
- your full contact details
- transcripts and certificates of all degrees
- proof of English language proficiency if English isn't your first language. For postgraduate studies, we require a minimum overall IELTS score of 6.5 or equivalent (no individual test score below 5.5, the test must be taken within two years of the programme start date)
- two references, one of which must be academic
- funding or scholarship information
- research proposal of 250 to 1,000 words in length, detailing the subject area and topic to be investigated
By filling these details out as fully as possible, you'll avoid any delay to your application being processed by the University.
When applying, you'll be asked to upload:
- your research proposal
- scans of degree certificates/transcripts
- two reference letters
- confirmation of funding
Most PhD students start in October, so they move forward as one cohort, but you can start at any time of year (people often have to defer until they find funding.) Keep an eye on our funding databases for any forthcoming Strathclyde research studentship opportunities:
Supervisors
You'll need to identify your research supervisor before you finalise your application, preferably as soon as possible. When you've identified a potential supervisor, based on how well your research interests match theirs, drop them an email to introduce yourself. In the email, make sure you attach a draft of your research proposal along with a copy of your CV. Don't worry about how rough your research proposal may be at this stage – you'll have help from our School of Psychological Sciences and Health to refine it.
If your chosen supervisor if available to work with you, they'll confirm this and nominate a potential second supervisor. As soon as a second supervisor is confirmed, an offer of study will be sent to you through Pegasus, our online application system.
When you accept our offer, you'll receive a full offer in writing via the email address you provide.
Accepting an offer
When you've accepted our offer, we'll need you to fulfil any academic, administrative or financial conditions that we ask.
UK or EU students
If you're applying as a UK or EU student, you'll then be issued with your registration documentation.
