Course content and focus areas
The English-language Master’s program in Empirical Linguistics at Goethe University Frankfurt is a research-oriented, four-semester program dedicated to the data-driven analysis of natural languages. It deepens students’ linguistic knowledge and teaches advanced methods for systematically investigating linguistic structures, variation, and change.
The program focuses on independent research: Students develop their own research questions, work with various types of linguistic data, and apply modern empirical methods – ranging from corpus analysis and statistical procedures to experimental designs. In doing so, both contemporary and historical linguistic phenomena are examined within their structural and typological contexts.
The program combines a methodological-theoretical foundation with a broad range of specialization areas where students can develop their own academic profiles. Students can choose from various linguistic specializations with regional and systemic-linguistic focuses. The goal is to specifically equip students to conduct independent research and prepare them for both doctoral studies and international career paths – such as in academia, education, or technology-oriented fields like language data analysis and AI.