If you want to become a phonetician or phonologist, the University of Amsterdam is a good place to start, because phonetics and phonology courses are well integrated into the curriculum at all levels. The information written on this page applies to the academic year 2022-2023.

1. The BA level

All courses at the BA level are taught in English.

1.1. BA in Linguistics

If your prior education is VWO (or highschool) and your main interest is linguistics and speech, you can enroll in the BA Linguistics, which consists of three years of courses and leads to a BA diploma. Here we mention only some speech-related courses:

• Phonetics (year 1, semester 1, block 2, November-December, 6 ECTS);
• Transcription (year 1, semester 1, block 3, January, 6 ECTS);
• First Language Acquisition (year 2, semester 1, block 1, September-October, 6 ECTS);
• Phonology (year 2, semester 1, block 2, November-December, 6 ECTS);
• Neurolinguistics (year 2, semester 2, block 2, April-May, 6 ECTS);
• Speech Processing (year 3, semester 1, block 1, September-October, 6 ECTS);
• Research Methods & Statistics (year 3, semester 1, block 2, November-December, 6 ECTS);

1.2. BA in Linguistics on top of a HBO diploma

If you already have a HBO diploma in logopedie (speech pathology), language or computer science, you can get a BA in Linguistics in two years, basically by taking only the second and third years.

1.3. BA in Artificial Intelligence

We also teach a BA course outside the Faculty of Humanities:

• Spraakanalyse en -synthese (semester 1, block 1, September-October, 6 ECTS).

2. The MA level

Courses at the MA level are taught in English.

2.1. MA General Linguistics

The MA General Linguistics consists of one year of courses. You can enroll if you have finished a BA in linguistics or something equivalent, like a BA in a language with a specialization in linguistics. Note: if you want to pursue a PhD career later on, you are advised to apply for the Research MA instead (see below).

In the MA General Linguistics, you can take up to 42 ECTS in phonetics:

• Phonetics-Phonology Interface 1 (semester 1, block 1, September-October, 6 ECTS);
• Term Paper Linguistics (a subject of your choice: semester 1, block 2, January, 6 ECTS);
• Phonetics and Phonology 2 (semester 2, block 1, February-March, 6 ECTS);
• Statistics in Linguistics and Communication (applied to your own research: semester 2, block 1, February-March, 6 ECTS);
• Master's Thesis General Linguistics (a subject of your choice: semester 2, February-June, 18 ECTS);

For advice, contact Paul Boersma or Silke Hamann.

2.2. Research MA Linguistics and Communication

We participate in the Research MA Linguistics and Communication, which is for students who want to pursue a PhD career later on. With a Research MA, you are much more likely to find a PhD position in the Netherlands or abroad than if you only have the shorter MA mentioned above.

With a finished BA, you can apply for a Research MA, which will then take two years. With a finished MA, a Research MA will take you only one year.

If you are interested in First or Second Language Acquisition of Speech, Speech Communication, Speech Technology, or Speech Disorders, you are likely to take some of the MA courses mentioned above. You can also choose 24 EC of tutorials. When choosing judiciously, you can work for almost the full 120 EC on speech-related subjects.

3. The PhD level

In the Netherlands, PhD students are regarded more as researchers than as students. See the research page.