Corpus Linguistics

Analysing large-scale corpora helps uncover patterns of communication and hidden bias in language that we might not have noticed before and has lots of exciting applications in all sorts of domains such as literature, languages, policy, education, sociology, health communication.

For example, researchers in the School of Languages and Applied Linguistics at the The Open University UK have used corpus linguistics with (critical) discourse analysis to answer questions about ideological representations in news media texts (for example, constructions of gender, representations of poverty and place); with pragmatics to study professional communication such as email; and in combination with ethnography to study writing in social work practice.

Programme Structure

Potential research projects:

• Projects which combine critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics
• The use of corpus linguistics to explore issues of ender in any kind of text but especially in the media and/or literature
• Professional communication including professional writing
• Corpus approaches to politeness in language
• Corpus pragmatics
• Corpus study of student writing
• Corpus study of children’s and young adult fiction
• Corpus approaches to language and gender
• Corpus approaches to sociolinguistic variation and change

Admission requirements

Academic requirements

GPA: Upper Second Class

English requirements

TOEFL iBT: 87

Other requirements

Entry requirements:

• Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent). If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your knowledge of English.

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in AUD and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

• International (non-residents): 23,889 AUD / year (approx. 12,705 GBP / year)
• Domestic (citizens or residents): 9,413 AUD / year (approx. 5,006 GBP / year)

Living costs

Milton Keynes, United Kingdom: 1,594–2,529 AUD / month. The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.