Applied Linguistics and Language Acquisition in Multilingual Contexts

The programme is particularly aimed at bachelor's degree or pre-EHEA degree holders in linguistics or modern languages who would like to pursue a research career in applied linguistics and language acquisition. It is also aimed at bachelor's degree or pre-EHEA degree holders in philology or areas of applied linguistics and language acquisition, including linguistics, psychology, translation and interpretation, education, teacher training or other equivalent qualifications, who wish to apply research results from the fields of applied linguistics and language acquisition to their professional activity. The programme may also be of interest to holders of degrees in other disciplines who would like to work professionally in the area of language acquisition, or who currently work in language training and would like to deepen their theoretical and practical knowledge of the field.

Since the courses are taught entirely in English, students should have a good working knowledge of the language (C1 level or higher) so that they are able to complete all of the learning activities.

In accordance with Article 16 of Royal Decree 1393/29 October 2007, students must hold one of the following qualifications to access university master's degree courses:

• An official Spanish degree.
  
• A degree issued by a higher education institution within the European Higher Education Area framework that authorizes the holder to access university master's degree courses in the country of issue.
  
• A qualification from outside the framework of the European Higher Education Area. In this case, the qualification should be recognized as equivalent to an official Spanish degree. If it is not recognized, the University of Barcelona shall verify that it corresponds to a level of education that is equivalent to official Spanish degrees and that it authorizes the holder to access university master's degree courses in the country of issue. Admission shall not, in any case, imply that prior qualifications have been recognized as equivalent to a Spanish master's degree and does not confer recognition for any purposes other than that of admission to the master's degree course.

Preference will be given to candidates with prior training in linguistics or psycholinguistics, although applications are welcome from any other candidate who meets the general requirements for access to university master's degree study. Holders of undergraduate degrees who have no training in linguistics or applied linguistics may be required to take bridging courses, as determined by the Admissions Committee.The master's degree syllabus includes two bridging courses: Acquisition of English as a Second Language I (5 credits) and Applied Linguistics (5 credits). Candidates with the following degrees will not be required to complete bridging courses:

• Bachelor's degree or pre-EHEA degree in any language.
  
• Bachelor's degree or pre-EHEA degree in applied linguistics or psycholinguistics.
  
• Bachelor's degree or pre-EHEA degree in modern languages.
  
• Bachelor's degree or pre-EHEA degree in translation and interpreting.
  
• Bachelor's degree or pre-EHEA degree in teacher training, specializing in modern languages.
  
• Bachelor's degree or pre-EHEA degree in foreign language teaching.

Holders of bachelor's degree or pre-EHEA degrees in other fields, including education, humanities and psychology, may be asked to take bridging courses, depending on their specialization, the subjects they took during their degree, the foreign language courses they have studied and their experience in the field of teaching foreign languages or applied linguistics.

Candidates must have English language skills at level C1 or higher. This is a formal requirement for admission to the programme, as all work will be carried out in English. Level C1 in the European Common Framework of Reference for Languages is equivalent to the Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) or a TOEFL qualification with a total CBT score above 220.

Candidates with a degree from English-speaking universities or who have completed the bachelor's degree in English Studies or equivalent may not need to present proof of their knowledge of English.