Cardiff School of English Communication and Philosophy

MA/Diploma in Forensic Linguistics

Overview

The MA in Forensic Linguistics is an innovative programme providing a unique opportunity to study the impact of language in the legal and judicial process. The course investigates such questions as how police interviewers gain confessions from suspects, how narratives are constructed in court, how rape complainants are ‘revictimised’ in cross-examination and how legal documents fail to communicate with ordinary people. It also considers critcally various types of linguistic evidence that may be used in investigations or presented in court, including evidence as to who wrote a series of abusive emails or a terrorist document, whether two trademarks are confusingly similar, and whether a refugee comes from the country they claim. The course is delivered by a team of highly qualified and experienced forensic linguists and includes project work and field trips.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the programme, a successful student should be expected to demonstrate:

a knowledge of the principles and practice of research methods in language and communication, including research design, quantitative and qualitative data analysis and an awareness of the relative strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to research;
a clear understanding of the nature and scope of Forensic Linguistics as a specialised sub-discipline of applied linguistics and the problems associated with carrying out forensic linguistic research;
an awareness of and sensitivity to the types of data and analysis conducted within Forensic Linguistics, including the issues of ethics, anonymisation and confidentiality of data and data sources;
a basic awareness of the UK and US legal systems, insofar as they relate to issues of language and communication and forensic linguistic evidence;
a knowledge of some of the main legal cases and appeals in the UK, the US and elsewhere which have occurred over the past 50 years and which have involved a linguistic dimension;
a knowledge of the texts and practices involved in the legal process, including cautions, witness examination, jury instructions and judicial opinions;
the application of descriptive data analysis skills in a wide range of spoken and written discourse contexts within the legal process, including emergency calls, police interviews, courtroom interaction and written legal documents;
investigative data analysis skills in both spoken and written discourse contexts, including such areas as disputed authorship and plagiarism detection;
the critical analysis of ‘problematic’ legal texts such as the police caution, jury instructions, contracts and statutes;
an appreciation of the role and duties of the forensic linguistic consultant.

Stage 1: Taught Component

This taught stage consists of 6 modules, each carrying 20 credits, for a total of 120 credits. Diploma students must therefore obtain 120 credits in order to be awarded this qualification. MA students must obtain 120 credits in order to progress to the Stage 2 dissertation.

Because of the specialist nature of Forensic Linguistics, the programme is tightly structured. Both Diploma and MA students must take the following compulsory modules for Stage I:

Semester 1

Foundation Module: Core Skills, Principles and Issues involved in Language and Communication Research
Forensic Linguistics 1: Language in the Legal Process

Semester 2

Additionally, all students must select TWO optional modules. The list below is indicative of the modules likely to be on offer although these vary from year to year:

Current Issues in Sociolinguistics
Discourse and Social Interaction
Language Description
Issues in Applied Linguistics
Phonology
Qualitative Research Methods
The Collection and Analysis of Quantitative Data 1
The Collection and Analysis of Quantitative Data 2
Multimodality

Students are also strongly encouraged to attend the undergraduate lectures (though not seminars) on Forensic Linguistics in the first semester. This is because the MA sessions in Forensic Linguitics 1 have been designed to develop on themes introduced in the undergraduate sessions.

Students will be notified early in the first semester of any changes and additions to this schedule.

Stage 2: Dissertation

Students on the MA programme must complete a supervised dissertation of 14,000–20,000 words on a forensic linguistic topic.

Prospective PhD Students

Students who are intending to apply for a scholarship to pursue PhD studies after the MA are strongly encouraged to take Quantitative Research Methods and Qualitative Research Methods as their two options. These are required for PhD study and may significantly improve the chance of winning a scholarship.

Funding

For details of funding opportunities please click here.

How to Apply

You may apply online or send us a paper application form (also available from the 'Apply' section of Cardiff University's website). Applications are considered on a continuous basis throughout the year.

The School welcomes applications from students from outside the United Kingdom. More information is provided on our International Students page.

Part-Time Programme

The MA/Diploma/Certificate may be taken part-time over two academic years. This programme is designed for students who work full-time but have some flexibility with work hours (the lectures and workshops are held during the day rather than in the evening). In Year 1 Semester 1, students take the following obligatory modules: