Stockholm university
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Master's Programme in Multilingualism and Second Language Acquisition

The Master’s programme aims at providing students with transdisciplinary, in-depth knowledge and skills in the fields of Multilingualism and Second Language Acquisition with focus on both the individual and society. Students acquire competences in demand in high-quality linguistic research as well as different professional areas of the multilingual society.

Studenter som läser i en bok
Foto: Kristian Pohl

Multilingualism and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) are transdisciplinary fields of research connecting areas such as linguistics, psychology, cognitive science, sociology, anthropology, and education.

The Master’s Programme in Multilingualism and Second Language Acquisition comprises four semesters of full-time study and consists of compulsory and elective courses. Through the compulsory courses in the main field of study, which illuminate the main field from a number of cross-disciplinary approaches, you will acquire competences reflecting the breadth and depth of the field of Multilingualism and including knowledge of psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic, as well as social and sociolinguistic aspects of multilingualism and second language acquisition. Elective courses aim to contribute to broadening your competences beyond the main field of study or offer further specialisation within the field. 

By developing your scientific approach and equipping you with a range of theoretical and methodological tools that will enable you to independently conduct high-quality linguistic research from quantitative and qualitative approaches, the programme will prepare you for PhD studies in Bilingualism, Multilingualism, and Second Language Acquisition, or other linguistic and other fields. It will also give you valuable competences for a professional language-related career in, for example, education, health care, media, in public institutions as well as private companies.

The Master’s Programme in Multilingualism and Second Language Acquisition is offered by the Centre for Research on Bilingualism, Department of Swedish Language and Multilingualism, at Stockholm University. 

  • Programme overview

    Year 1

    Semester 1

    Multilingualism – in Individuals and Societies, 7.5 ECTS credits

    Scientific Methods and Research Ethics, 7.5 ECTS credits

    Second Language Acquisition, 7.5 ECTS credits

    English for Academic Research, 7.5 ECTS credits

    Semester 2

    Psycho- and Neurolinguistic Perspectives on Multilingualism, 7.5 ECTS credits

    Sociolinguistic Perspectives on Multilingualism, 7.5 ECTS credits

    Elective courses of 15 ECTS credits

    For a Master’s degree (60 credits), the elective course credits will consist of the course Master's (60 credits) Thesis in Multilingualism and Second Language Acquisition, 15 ECTS credits.

    Year 2

    Semester 3

    Quantitative Methods and Statistics for Language Research, 7.5 ECTS credits

    Qualitative Methods for Language Research, 7.5 ECTS credits

    Elective courses of 15 ECTS credits

    Semester 4

    Master's (120 credits) Thesis in Multilingualism and Second Language Acquisition, 30 ECTS credits

  • How to apply

    Before you apply

    Please see the right-hand side bar on this page (or further below on mobile devices) for information on eligibility requirements and selection criteria. 

    For information on English language requirements, please see the University Admissions' website.

    English language requirements (University Admissions)

    Where to apply

    You apply and upload required documents on universityadmissions.se.

    When to apply

    1st round (all applicants): Mid-October–Mid-January
    2nd round (EU/EEA and Swiss citizens only): Mid-March–Mid-April

    Key dates and deadlines (University Admissions)

    Required supporting documentation

    All applicants

    All applicants to the Master’s Programme need to submit a motivation letter.

    Motivation letter template (3488 Kb)

    Students with degrees and course points from countries other than Sweden

    Students with degrees and course points from countries other than Sweden must upload the following documents:

    • Bachelor's degree certificate/diploma and transcripts from your undergraduate studies
    • Proof of English language skills

    For more information and instructions please see universityadmissions.se.

    If you are in your final year of bachelor's studies

    You can apply and be accepted to Master’s studies even if you haven’t got a degree yet but are planning to complete your final year of bachelor’s studies before the start of the programme. For information on what supporting documents are required in this case, please visit this webpage:

    Final year of bachelor's studies (universityadmissions.se)

    Admission results

    1st round: Early April
    2nd round: Mid-July

  • Contact

    Study councelling and Course administration: Bilingualism