Postgraduate Programmes in the School of Modern languages, Literatures and Cultures
Postgraduate programmes in French Studies, Spanish & Latin American Studies, German Studies and Chinese Studies available, please click on each language section on the menu on the left.
MA Applied Linguistics and Intercultural Studies
If you have ever wondered how language is shaped by intercultural and cross-cultural interaction, then Applied Linguistics and Intercultural Studies (ALIS) is the programme for you!
Through our MA degree, you’ll take a deep dive into questions at the heart of human experience through language. How do we acquire and learn different languages in the real world and in the classroom setting? How does language interact with age, gender, sexuality, biological sex, ethnicity, nationality, and social status? What are the implications of the global shift towards English in ever-more multilingual and multicultural societies? Our PhD programme is perfect for those who want to take their enquiries a step further and make a big contribution by exploring an original topic in the field.
You’ll also become a part of our diverse community of students, each bringing their own perspectives and experiences to their studies in ALIS. By engaging with the many fields explored throughout the programme, you’ll leave with a well-rounded education. Through in-class discussions, group work, presentations, and essay and thesis writing, you’ll develop strong interpersonal skills, as well as written and spoken communication skills. This is an opportunity to apply deep critical thinking and develop original ideas and approaches to existing and novel topics. Language is constantly evolving, so there’s a never-ending number of new developments to explore!
Past ALIS graduates have also discovered exciting paths into employment in related fields, such as teaching at post-primary and university levels nationally and internationally. They have also entered the private sector in such diverse areas as publishing, technology (e.g., natural language processing), financial services, and global commerce. Many of our MA graduates have also used their degree as a basis for doctoral studies at a number of institutions, from right here in Maynooth to Georgetown University and Yale University in the USA.
New programmes in French, German and Spanish for Teaching at Post-Primary Level
Are you a native or proficient speaker of French, German or Spanish? Have you completed or intend to complete a teacher training programme? Do you want to become a post-primary teacher but don’t have sufficient subject-specific credits for Teaching Council accreditation? If you answered “yes” to the above questions, we may have the right programme for you!
The School of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures is offering a suite of new programmes for teaching languages for prospective teachers who would like to complete the subject-specific credits required to submit themselves for accreditation with the Teaching Council of Ireland.
You can choose from a range of options in Translation, Literature, Film, and Language Teaching and put together your own programme to meet the requirements for Teaching Council accreditation. You’ll even be able to take all your classes on one day per week so you can meet your other professional and personal commitments at the same time! Past graduates of our programme in German Studies have been successfully accredited by the Teaching Council and continued their professional journeys as fully accredited post-primary teachers of German, including some who subsequently also completed their postgraduate teacher training (e.g. through the PME).
Prospective candidates may qualify for partial funding of their programmes through the Post-Primary Languages Initiative (PPLI).