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Is there a possibility of doing fieldwork abroad as a linguistics undergrad?

Hello,

I am interested in doing a BA in Linguistics.
Are there any undergraduate linguistics courses taught at UK universities that would allow a student to go abroad to conduct fieldwork?

Provided an undergrad has proper preparation, visas, ethics review etc. could they go abroad of their own volition, do fieldwork, and then write their findings as a final-year dissertation? I do not mean a year abroad that a course could mandate, but going abroad because it's related to their chosen research topic.

Would any UK university allow this? Has any UK linguistics student ever done this whilst still an undergrad?

(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 1

Uni of Southampton Students

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Original post by Primus2x

Hello,
I am interested in doing a BA in Linguistics.
Are there any undergraduate linguistics courses taught at UK universities that would allow a student to go abroad to conduct fieldwork?
Provided an undergrad has proper preparation, visas, ethics review etc. could they go abroad of their own volition, do fieldwork, and then write their findings as a final-year dissertation? I do not mean a year abroad that a course could mandate, but going abroad because it's related to their chosen research topic.
Would any UK university allow this? Has any UK linguistics student ever done this whilst still an undergrad?

Hi there @Primus2x

It's a great question! Carrying out research in another country can add originality and depth to your dissertation. At Southampton, all Languages and Linguistics students take a dissertation in the final year of their degree, where many students who study a second language will choose to use their year abroad to gather research into the language they are carrying out a dissertation on. The year abroad option is also open to Linguistics students without a second language. However, I understand you're not too interested in a year abroad, and I see no reason why you wouldn't be allowed to research your dissertation in another country without a year abroad, as many Linguistics dissertations are based on foreign languages. This seems completely reasonable, but I will check with our team to provide you with a conclusive response.

In terms of being abroad during your time writing your dissertation, this may be difficult as we expect you to be available to meet regularly with your tutors to advise and improve your work. You may want to travel for your research out of the school term (summer holidays) to give you time to complete the dissertation here in the UK in term time. The best advice I can give is to prepare early, be organised, and have conversations with your tutors and study abroad team at whichever university you choose, as they will be able to support you the whole way. Most universities will have similar policies and support when it comes to carrying out your dissertation abroad.

The great thing about Southampton is that we're super flexible around studying and working abroad. We have a great department to support you throughout your dissertation and also provide financial scholarships for university activities abroad. Our Linguistics department is closely linked with the Modern Languages department, which means we're very experienced with students going to other countries for university activities!
I'll contact our Languages + Linguistics and Study Abroad departments in the next few days to get a more accurate direct answer for you!

Hope this helps for now,
Lia (First Year Linguistics Student Representative) 😊

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