Master in Sociolinguistics and Multilingualism
Kaunas, Lithuania
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
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EARLIEST START DATE
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TUITION FEES
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STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* For applicants from EU/EFTA countries. For applicants and citizens of visa free countries: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Sakartvelo, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Moldova, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, United Kingdom, United Sta
Introduction
Sociolinguistics and Multilingualism (SoMu) is an international joint-degree study programme offered by Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), Kaunas, Lithuania, Johannes-Gutenberg University (JGU), Mainz, Germany, Stockholm University (SU), Stockholm, Sweden, and the University of Tartu (UT), Tartu, Estonia. SoMu trains a new generation of sociolinguists who will possess a broad scholarly and practical understanding of the parallel use of multiple languages in Europe and a professional awareness of multilingualism’s social dynamics and its cultural, political, and socioeconomic impact in varying European contexts.
During their four-semester studies, students study at three different universities:
- The first semester is taught in Kaunas at Vytautas Magnus University.
- The second is in Mainz at Johannes-Gutenberg University.
- For the third semester, students choose between Stockholm and Tartu.
- And the fourth-semester students stay at the university as the main supervisor of their MA thesis.
The programme is meant for students, who are interested in the role of language in society. With its geographical focus on the entire Baltic Sea region, the programme is unique amongst all sociolinguistic MA programmes in Europe in the width of languages and societies covered in it. The language of instruction is English.
What makes SoMu special?
- Multilingualism
- Interdisciplinary Competences
- Unique Geographical Focus
- Cross-cultural Communication
- Built-in Mobility
Feedback of lecturer
This international programme can be best described in one word ‘variation’. In SoMu you can both investigate and experience linguistic and cross-cultural variation by studying with a highly diverse international group of students, learning several new languages, exploring language use in society, and moving from university to university in different countries. Worth taking the opportunity!
Prof. Jūratė Ruzaitė, former coordinator of SoMu at VMU
Admissions
Program Outcome
Graduates of the programme obtain the following skills:
- Critical and self-critical thinking;
- Cooperation, interpersonal, as well as cross-cultural communication skills;
- General and specific sociolinguistic knowledge, especially regarding multilingualism;
- Knowledge of the general (socio-)historical context and the ability to locate sociolinguistic research and debate in general and European and Baltic-Sea region research;
- Awareness of present societal, cultural, and linguistic settings;
- Professional working competence in English; knowledge of lesser-used and taught languages;
- Interdisciplinary methodological skills.
Career Opportunities
Sociolinguistics and Multilingualism offer students the possibility for professional networking and perspectives for their future job mobility within the European labor market. Its successful completion opens access to further academic studies in thematically related third-cycle (doctoral) programs with a subsequent career within academia and/or a wide array of employment possibilities in the private and public sectors.
The market and job trends signal the demand for versatile specialists in multilingualism issues, and the graduates of this program can expect to find employment in the following fields:
- Academic sphere, e.g., research tasks and/or doctoral studies in sociolinguistics, cross-cultural communication, identity, multilingualism, regionalism, etc.;
- Counseling on multilingualism issues at political and cultural institutions, including the EU institutions;
- Counseling and teaching on multilingualism issues in educational institutions of all levels;
- Counseling business and finance organizations on issues involving multilingualism and regional and economic cooperation;
- Various international, national, and regional public and private sector institutions and projects concerned with multilingualism, language planning, and policy;
- Mass media (with additional qualifications), e.g. in fields such as political journalism.