Master in Language Technology
Summary
The Master in Language Technology programme explores the various ways computers use human language. As a student of the programme, you will engage in hands-on learning supported by a combination of approaches from linguistic theory, statistics, and machine learning, enabling you to pursue a specialist career in the area of language technology.
About
- Have you ever wondered how Google manages to find relevant documents, even documents that do not contain any of the words you used in your search?
- Have you ever wished to get an answer to a question rather than a list of documents?
- Have you ever talked to a conversational assistant on your smartphone, or to a computer on the phone about travel plans and wished it would work better?
- Have you ever used translation on the web and wondered how it could be improved?
These are just some of the questions you will explore as a student of the master’s programme in Language Technology. Language technology is about getting computers to process, use, and understand human language, and involves collaboration between a number of different fields. However, it is not only about research.
Lately, conversational assistants such as Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apple’s Siri have received a lot of attention. These are just some of many examples of high-profile commercial applications of language technology.
You can also study Individual Courses, read more on the page Elective courses in language technology
Three departments – two universities – one programme
The master’s programme in Language Technology is a co-ordinated effort
by the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology. Our programme involves close collaboration between researchers who specialize in a number of different fields including linguistics, languages, computer science, and artificial intelligence. The programme is run jointly by the Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science, the Department of Swedish, and the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Students will also get access to several research groups, including:
• Centre for Linguistic Theory and Studies in Probability (CLASP) at the Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science
• Språkbanken "Language Bank" at the Department of Swedish
• Division of Functional Programming and the Grammar Technology Group at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Combining theory with a hands-on approach
Teaching is closely connected to research and is characterized by a focus on hybrid approaches combining theoretical and rule-based approaches with statistical and machine learning techniques. You will learn about linguistic theory as applied to language technology, and about modern approaches to language technology, from researchers who are actively engaged in developing current and future technologies. Our teachers are engaged in areas such as text technology and linguistic data resources, grammar technology and linguistic theory, and dialogue technology and spoken interaction. You will participate in hands-on practical training grounded in theory and research, which will enable you to pursue a specialist career in industry or academic research.
Find more information in the programme syllabus, see the link above.
Programme structure and content
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The first semester introduces programming for language technological applications and concepts and theories from formal linguistics in four mandatory courses:
• Introduction to Programming
• Introduction to Formal Linguistics
• Basic skills for Language Technology
• Themes in NLP and Language Technology
- The second semester has four mandatory courses:
• Dialogue Systems
• Machine Learning for Statistical NLP: Introduction
• Computational Semantics
• Computational Syntax
In the third semester you choose electives from a variety of courses in language technology and related areas. Many students choose the following:
• Machine Learning for Statistical NLP: Advanced
• Dialogue Systems 2
• Language Technology Resources
• Artificial Intelligence: Cognitive Systems
• Language Technology Project course
The final semester is devoted to your degree project, which can be conducted in collaboration with industry or one of the three research groups affiliated with the programme.
Who should apply?
The programme draws students from a wide variety of backgrounds including linguistics, computer science, cognitive science and philosophy. Do you have a background in linguistics, with some knowledge of formal linguistics or programming, and wish to understand how computers can be made to use human language, while also expanding your competence and becoming more attractive on the job market?
Or have you studied computer science, and wish to apply your knowledge to natural language? Engage in a cross-disciplinary field with great job opportunities, and apply for the master’s programme in Language Technology.
Prerequisites and selection
Entry requirements
Students with an undergraduate degree (at least three years full-time study) in
- language technology,
- computational linguistics,
- computer science, or
- linguistics (with a background in formal linguistics, programming, or mathematics, inclusively, corresponding to 30 hecr, half a year full-time study)
are eligible to apply for this programme.
Students with an undergraduate degree in cognitive science, languages, philosophy, engineering, information technology, mathematics, or other relevant fields can also be considered, provided they can show a background in formal linguistics, programming, computer science, or mathematics, inclusively, corresponding to 30 hecr, half a year full-time study. English 6 or equivalent is also required.
Special instructions for application
Formal linguistics is linguistics that uses formal methods (e.g. rule based systems, trees, feature structures, graphs, finite state machines, logic, models and statistics) to study or represent language.
Fill in the programme-specific Application summary sheet and submit it along with the rest of your supporting documents.
Selection
The selection is based on (1) a personal letter, and (2) grades from previous relevant higher education. The personal letter should explain clearly the motivation for choosing this programme. The letter should introduce the applicant both personally and academically/professionally.
After graduation
Graduates of the programme receive the degree Master of Arts with a major in Language Technology, enabling you to pursue a specialist career in the area of language technology.
A language technology specialist can work as a developer, researcher or project manager in diverse areas such as text analysis, information retrieval, automatic translation, conversational AI, user interface design, and game development.
Facilities
Our department is located at Humanisten, Renströmsgatan 6, floor 5.
