Like any place of work, university (and individual universities) come with a lot of specialist terms, vocab and acronyms. Here are some that you might come across during your undergraduate degree at Newcastle – and if you come across one not listed here, get in touch! You might also want to look at this student guide from the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.
If you’re a postgraduate student and an acronym or piece of jargon from your studies isn’t here, check our dedicated postgraduate jargon buster.
Aa
A – See End or ‘A’
ARMB – Armstrong Building, according to the timetabling system.
ASK – The Academic Skills Kit – a whole load of useful resources made by the Academic Skills Team, who can support you in your study and writing.
Academic Skills Team – Based in the library, these are the people who can help you write your assignments once you’ve found the information. If you’re not sure how to find your information, get in touch with the Library Liaison team.
Associate Lecturer – A member of teaching staff who is not salaried at Newcastle; they may be salaried at another institution or on an hourly-paid contract. Associate Lecturers typically use the title “Dr” if they have a PhD.
AVD – Azure Virtual Desktop. Use this to access your university desktop wherever you are or to access specific software on campus, such as Praat or CLAN. Read more on the IT services website.
Bb
BA – Bachelor of Arts (from the Latin baccalaureus artium or baccalaureus in artibus). This is the type of degree achieved through any of our undergraduate courses in Language and Linguistics.
BEDB – Bedson Building, according to the timetabling system.
Board of Examiners – A representative group of academic and professional services staff from SELLL who check all final marks, including final degree classifications.
BSTC – Barbara Strang Teaching Centre, according to the timetabling system.
Cc
Canvas – Our online virtual learning environment (or VLE), where you can find information about each of your modules and where your teaching staff will post teaching and learning materials. Always a good place to start if you have questions about the when/where/who/hows of your modules.
Just remember that Canvas has its own vocabulary that can, occasionally, clash with Newcastle terms. A “course” on Canvas is equivalent to a Newcastle module, and a “module” on Canvas is a page within that Canvas course.
Capstone project – This is another name for the independent research project that all students will complete in the final year of their degree. It is also known as a dissertation, which can be long form (10,000 words over the course of the academic year) or short form (5,000 words over one semester). A special note for Q1+ students – you can’t take a long-form dissertation, but you can take a dissertation in the School of Modern Languages if you want to work on the language you’re studying (that is 6,000 words over the academic year).
Carers’ Passport – If you are a carer, you can get specific help and support with your studies – check this page of the Wellbeing website for more details.
CHILDES – Child Language Data Exchange System. An amazing open access database for child language data – check it out here.
CLAN – Computerized Language Analysis. A piece of software used for analysing transcripts from databases like CHILDES. Read more in the CLAN manual.
Consultation (and Feedback) hours – All teaching staff have set hours in the week when they are available for drop-in meetings. Typically consultation hours are held in-person in staff offices, though you may be able to meet your tutors in this time virtually. You can find a staff member’s consultation hours, and details about in-person or virtual options, on the school website or on the Canvas pages of the modules they teach on.
Contact hours – These are the timetabled hours that you spend with teaching staff in lectures, seminars, and workshops. These do not include consultation hours, supervisor meetings, personal tutor meetings and the hours of independent study that you’ll put in.
Co-requisite – Some modules require that you are taking another, specific module, alongside at the same time. For information on specific modules, check the module catalogue. See also pre-requisite.
Course (1) – Usually synonymous with “degree course”, e.g. BA (Hons) Linguistics, which can also be referred to as a programme.
Course (2) – A “course” on Canvas, sometimes referred to as a page or site, may be equivalent to a Newcastle module, i.e. a set of classes and content with a module code overseen by a set teaching team. Each module will have its own Canvas course; you might also have Canvas courses for induction materials or extracurricular activities. If you’re not sure whether someone is referring to a set of classes or a site on Canvas, always ask!
Credits – You need to complete 120 credits’ worth of work per year in a typical undergraduate SELLL degree. Most SELLL modules are worth 20 credits, so you take 6 per year. There are some exceptions, e.g. the final stage dissertation module, which is worth 40 credits, so you’d take just 4 other modules alongside this. If you take modules from other Schools, e.g. if you’re on a Q1+ degree, some modules may only be worth 10 credits, so you’d need to take 2 of these to equate to one typical SELLL module.
CS – Careers Service
CW – Creative Writing or Content Warning
Dd
Degree classification – The overall non-numerical mark for your degree: a first, a 2:1, a 2:2 or a third. These groupings may also be referred to as grade bands in the context of individual modules or pre-final stage averages.
Dissertation (long-form) – A long-form undergraduate dissertation at Newcastle is a year-long independent research project that you may choose to do in your final year (this option is not available to students on the Q1+ degrees, who have other options – chat to your personal tutor or the DPD). It is not true that you have to do a long-form dissertation to get an honours degree! A standard Language and Linguistics long-form dissertation is around 10,000 words along – about the same as an average-length academic article. To see past examples of really excellent dissertations, visit the Excellent Language and Linguistics Dissertation Repository. For alternatives to a long-form dissertation, see Dissertation (short-form).
Dissertation (short-form) – A short-form dissertation is a semester-long research project that you may choose to do in your final year. It is typically around 5,000 words. You might choose this option over a long-form one if you want to take more taught modules, or if you have a very well-defined research question that doesn’t require extended or complicated data collection. You can only take one short-form dissertation module, either in the first or in the second semester. You cannot take both a short-form and long-form dissertation, or a short-form dissertation and an SML dissertation (see Capstone project).
Doctorate – see PhD.
DoE – Director of Education. This is an academic who is in charge of decision-making in the school relating to matters of education, such as induction week, approving new modules, and much, much more.
DPD – Degree Programme Director. This is an academic who can advise you if you want to better understand or change some aspect of your degree programme. The DPD can help with module selection, module changes, transferring to a different degree programme, interrupting (suspending) your studies or withdrawing from your course. If you’re a Q1+ or Q300 student, you should seek your advice from the Language and Linguistics DPD in the first instance.
Ee
EDI – Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
ELLDR – The Excellent Language and Linguistics Dissertation Repository. Take a look to get inspiration for your final stage independent study project from some of the best dissertations we’ve read in recent years.
End or ‘A’ – In the module catalogue you may see this next to an assignment type. This means that this assignment will be due towards the end of the semester. This might also be referred to as a ‘final’ assignment.
External examiner – A colleague from a different Language and Linguistics department in the UK who reviews teaching materials and how assignments are designed and marked, helps to ensure fairness and advises on how to improve our practice.
Ff
First class {degree, mark, work} – The highest grade possible in the system used in UK universities. Your work is often awarded a numerical mark: if this is over 70, then your work is first class (or can be referred to as “a first”). Check the marking criteria for SELLL and any module-specific criteria to see the characteristics of a piece of work of first class standard. These numerical marks are *not*, we repeat *not*, percentages or marks out of 100. (See also: 2:1, 2:2, third)
Formative – a formative assignment is one that doesn’t count towards your final mark for a module. Formative assignments are designed to give you a chance to practise new skills, test out new knowledge, and gain feedback to help you do the best you can in your summative assignments.
F&C hours – Feedback and Consultation hours. See also Consultation (and Feedback) hours.
Gg
Grade band – See degree classification.
Hh
HaSS – The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, of which SELLL is part. Very occasionally referred to as HSS, usually in the context of the module choices procedure.
HDB – Henry Daysh Building, according to the timetabling system.
HERB – Herschel Building, according to the timetabling system.
Hon(our)s – This is the kind of degree you will leave with if you pass all your modules – your degree will be, e.g. BA (Hons) English Language and Literature. It is possible to get a BA degree without Honours if you have a certain (very small) number of failed modules.
Ii
Induction – A period of a week at the start of semester 1 in September, when you are welcomed (or rewelcomed!) to Newcastle after the summer break. It’s an opportunity to check in with your personal tutor, learn some more about the coming year, and (re)familiarise yourself with campus and all it has to offer.
Intercalating (year) – See Stage.
IPA – International Phonetic Alphabet
Kk
KGVI – King George VI Building, according to the timetabling system.
Ll
Lecture – A traditional form of content delivery, where a member of academic staff will present material in larger halls. Lectures in English Language and Linguistics in SELLL can be as large as 120 students in first year, or as small as 25 students for more specialist modules. Depending on the size of the lecture, there may be some short interactive activities. Lectures are also opportunities to ask questions about the content delivered in those sessions.
Lecturer (1) – A term often used to refer to academic staff who teach. See also Postgraduate Demonstrator, Associate Lecturer, Lecturer (2), Senior Lecturer, Reader and Professor.
Lecturer (2) – A job title or academic rank, the entry level position for salaried academic staff who teach (many of them also conduct their own research). Lecturers typically use the title “Dr” if they have a PhD. See also Senior Lecturer, Reader and Professor.
LMS – Learning Management System. See also VLE and Canvas.
LRC – Language Resource Centre
Mm
(The) Marj – Marjorie Robinson Library Rooms. A useful building full of study spaces on Sandyford Road (opposite Northumbria University main campus).
Marking criteria – The descriptors and qualities that determine what mark is given to your work. There is a set of School marking criteria for work in Language and Linguistics (as well as Literature), which you can read on the SELLL website. Some of your modules might also have specific criteria for different types of assessment, so check the module‘s Canvas course page to be sure.
Marking rubric – Occasionally, the marking criteria may be referred to as a ‘rubric’ – this really refers to the table in which the marking criteria are matched to different grades/marks. Some tutors might include this kind of table in their feedback to you on Canvas, but this might not be appropriate for all assignments.
Mid or ‘M’ – In the module catalogue you may see this next to an assignment type. This means that this assignment will be due some time around the middle of the semester, i.e. mid-module.
Moderation – This is a process where a sample of marked assignments are reviewed by other colleagues for consistency and fairness before marks are released to you. They’re also checked over by an external examiner at the end of the semester before they’re completely finalised. For more detail on this process, check out the assessment and feedback page on the School website.
Module (1) – Roughly equivalent to classes at school or college, you study around 6 modules per year to make up your required number of credits. Some are compulsory for your course (also called your programme) but some are optional, i.e. you can choose modules from what’s on offer in SELLL and, sometimes, other schools in HaSS.
Modules in Language and Linguistics usually consist of around 33 contact hours per semester, or 3 hours per teaching week, though this can vary very slightly.
You can find out more about modules, their contact hours and more using the module catalogue.
Module (2) – ‘Module’ is also the term on Canvas for the page where your weekly teaching materials are posted. The overall site on Canvas for each module is called a course.
Module catalogue – The list of all modules available on degree programmes at Newcastle.
Module choices – In around May of stage 1 and stage 2, you will need to choose your modules for the following year. You do this via the student portal but all the information you need can be found on the SELLL website. You’ll also be given plenty of information about exactly when and how to complete your module choices via email – so keep an eye out!
My Working Hours app – If you work for the university on campus, you’ll log your hours using the My Working Hours app, which isn’t a smartphone app but is accessible via a web browser. Check out the dedicated webpage from Student Services for more info, or pop up to the School Office to ask the Professional Services staff.
Nn
NCL – Newcastle! Quicker to type, this is also the National Rail code for Newcastle train station.
NESS – The software system used by Professional Services staff to enter marks. It also underpins systems like the student portal, but as a student, you’ll never have to use NESS directly (you lucky things).
NSS – National Student Survey.
NUReflect – A platform accessible by both students and staff where you can check who your personal tutor is, arrange and record meetings with them, and use the “My Learning” section to reflect effectively on your studies (you can also share these reflections with your tutors if you wish). You can access NUReflect at reflect.ncl.ac.uk or through Canvas.
NUSU – Newcastle University Students’ Union. Run by current students or recent graduates in sabbatical roles, this body represents student interests to the university and the wider community. It’s also a physical space where you can join clubs and societies, grab supplies and hang out. Check out the NUSU website for more information.
Oo
Office hours – See Consultation (and Feedback) hours
Pp
Pass mark – The pass mark for a typical undergraduate assignment (e.g. essays, posters, presentations etc.) in SELLL is 40.
PDF or .pdf – Portable Document Format. But that’s not the important bit – .pdf files will display *identically* on any computer. So if you save your final assignments as .pdfs before uploading them to Canvas, you can be sure that they will display right for the person who will mark your work. This is *not* true of Word docs (.docx) or Mac equivalents, so we strongly recommend that you upload your assignments as .pdfs, especially if your assignments contain the IPA, syntax trees or images. If you’re not sure how to save .docx files as .pdfs on your device, a quick Google should see you right.
PEC – Personal Extenuating Circumstances. This is a form that you fill in you need to request an extension on an assignment, deferral [pushing back] of an assignment, or other kinds of amendments to submission timelines. The PEC form is available through the student portal. You can find out more about PECs on the School website.
PEEP – Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan. You may have one of these if you have a physical disability which requires staff to be aware of your needs in the event of a fire or similar.
PERB – See Percy
Percy – the Percy building, where all your SELLL lecturers and seminar tutors have their offices, and you’ll likely have some lectures and seminars. Known as PERB on the timetabling system.
Personal tutor – You will be assigned a personal tutor from the academic teaching staff when you arrive at SELLL, and when possible, you’ll keep the same tutor throughout your degree. This person may also be one of your module leaders, but this isn’t guaranteed. You can go to your personal tutor for help with issues outside of the teaching content, including help with module choices, references for job applications, and advice about wellbeing and study support. If you are on a Q1+ degree, you will be assigned a personal tutor from SML for the duration of your year abroad for specialised support during that time, and then return to a SELLL personal tutor for your final year.
PhD – Also known as a doctorate, this is the highest non-honorary research degree that is awarded at Newcastle and is typically a prerequisite for gaining an academic job (as well as a range of other types of job). In the UK, PhDs take at least three years and the candidate produces a thesis (a very long, original dissertation of around 80,000 words), which they then present and defend in front of a panel of examiners.
Postgraduate Demonstrator (or PGDem) – A current PhD student at Newcastle who also has teaching responsibilities, for example leading seminars. This person will be highly skilled and knowledgeable in their subfield and will be well on their way to completing their PhD. Gaining teaching experience during the PhD is crucial for finding a salaried academic job on completion of their PhD.
Praat – Free software for performing speech analysis in phonetics. Download it or learn more here.
Pre-requisite – A module may have a pre-requisite, which is something you need to have done or studied in order to take that module. For more details on specific modules check the module catalogue. See also co-requisite.
Professional Services staff – Professional Services (or PS) staff look after the administrative, financial and some pastoral work in the Schools. In SELLL, our Professional Services staff work in the School Office on the third floor of the Percy building. If you need to contact them, you can pop up there during the day, or email english@ncl.ac.uk or lang.ling@ncl.ac.uk.
Professor – A job title or academic rank, the most senior position for salaried academic staff who teach (many of them also conduct their own research). Some professors may also be research-only professors or in management roles and not have any teaching duties. Professors typically use the title “Professor” or “Prof.”. See also Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Reader.
Programme – You might refer to your programme as your course – it’s essentially the modules you must or can take to end up with the degree you’re aiming for, e.g. BA (Hons) Linguistics with Spanish. If you’re ever unsure about what the structure of your course/programme is, or if you want to make changes to your programme, chat with your personal tutor or the Degree Programme Director.
PG – Postgraduate.
Q1+ – A term used in SELLL to refer to all the courses based in SELLL that involve Linguistics and a modern language, namely Q1R1, Q1R2, Q1R4, and Q1T4. These courses all have things in common that don’t necessarily hold for Q100, Q300 and Q302, for example the year abroad.
Q100 – The UCAS code for BA (Hons) Linguistics.
Q1R1 – The UCAS code for BA (Hons) Linguistics with French.
Q1R2 – The UCAS code for BA (Hons) Linguistics with German.
Q1R4 – The UCAS code for BA (Hons) Linguistics with Spanish.
Q1T4 – The UCAS code for BA (Hons) Linguistics with {Chinese or Japanese}.
Q300 – The UCAS code for BA (Hons) English Language and Literature.
Q302 – The UCAS code for BA (Hons) English Language.
QT19 – The UCAS code for BA (Hons) Modern Languages and Linguistics. Students on this degree take 40 credits a year in SELLL but are based in the School of Modern Languages, meaning that their personal tutor is always from SML.
Rr
Reader – A job title or academic rank, the third level up for salaried academic staff who teach (many of them also conduct their own research). Not all universities have Readers – in some institutions, Senior Lecturers are promoted straight to Professor. Readers typically use the title “Dr” if they have a PhD. See also Lecturer, Reader and Professor.
ReCap – The lecture capture software. Lectures are typically recorded to allow you to review them, check and update your notes, for revision or to catch up if you’ve missed a lecture. You can find the recordings on a dedicated ReCap tab within each Canvas course.
Research day – All lecturers have one day per week when they have no teaching or administration duties and can concentrate on their research, which makes up around 40% of their job. This is typically a Friday or a Monday, though it could be mid-week, especially if the lecturer works part-time.
RIDB – Ridley Building, according to the timetabling system. Check whether you’re in Ridley 1 or 2, though!
RLF Fellows – Royal Literary Fund fellows. Two professional writers, based in SELLL (usually on the first floor) who can provide feedback on your written work and advice on how to improve your writing. Look out for posters in Percy for their email contact details.
Ss
Sabbatical officers – Sometimes called ‘sabbs’, they are full-time, paid, elected executive positions at the Students’ Union. There are several roles, each with a different remit, e.g. for equality issues, activities and sports, and, of course, a president.
School – Schools group related subjects together. All degree programmes are based in a School and students on these programmes are members of that School. Each school has its own building(s), professional services staff, and academic staff (though academic staff in particular may do some teaching across Schools).
On this page and in other SELLL documents, you might see “the School” used to refer to SELLL itself.
If you would like to know more about the other Schools in our Faculty, check out the Faculty website.
School Office – The physical School Office is on the third floor of the Percy Building. It’s open between 10-4 every day. This is where the professional services staff work and can help you with any administrative queries or worries you have. Pop on up – they’re very friendly.
SELLL – The School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics. A fun exercise for first year Language and Linguistics students studying structural ambiguity.
Semester – The academic year is split into three semesters. Semester 1 starts in September; teaching tends to end by Christmas though exams, essays etc. might be due in January. Semester 2 starts at the end of January or early February, and finishes around May. You typically take 60 credits of study in semester 1 and another 60 in semester 2, though this may vary depending on modules you take in other Schools. Semester 3 runs between June and early September – undergraduates have no teaching during semester 3; postgraduate students will be working on research projects. You can find academic term dates on the university website (or use Google as a shortcut!).
Semester abroad – You might choose to study abroad for a semester in stage 2. This is different from the year abroad, which is an obligatory part of Q1+ degrees. For more information, check out this page of the School website. Important note: you *must* apply for this before January of stage 1, which is very early!
Seminar – A form of contact hour that takes place in small groups of no more than 20. The activities in a seminar can be very flexible. Seminars often require reading or exercises to be completed beforehand to get the most out of the session, but they’re still worth attending because you’ll always go away with something new from a seminar discussion.
Senior Lecturer – A job title or academic rank, the second level up for salaried academic staff who teach (many of them also conduct their own research). Senior Lecturers typically use the title “Dr” if they have a PhD. See also Lecturer, Reader and Professor.
Senior Tutor – This is an academic in SELLL who takes care of more serious personal and pastoral issues that the personal tutor might not be able to help with. They can advise on deferring [pushing back] assessment deadlines, wellbeing matters and more.
SML – The School of Modern Languages, based in the Old Library Building. Q1+ students take some of their modules in SML, depending on what language they are studying alongside Linguistics. Students on years abroad will also have a personal tutor from SML for that year.
SSC – Student-Staff Committee. See also Student Voice Committee.
SSP – Student Support Plan. If you need support with your studies due to a medical condition or some other circumstance, contact Student Health and Wellbeing. You should also keep your Personal Tutor or Senior Tutor in the loop.
Stage – Each year of study of a Newcastle degree is called a stage, so a first-year student is ‘in’ Stage 1, a second-year student in Stage 2, etc. There are some quirks for Q1+ students – your fourth year (after your year abroad) is still referred to as stage 3 in SELLL. During your year abroad, you may also see your stage referred to as “Stage 0” or “Intercalating”.
Student Portal – This is where all your personal details, registration information and marks are stored, amongst other things. You can access it at https://studentportal.ncl.ac.uk.
Summative – Summative assignments count towards your final mark for a module.
Supervisor – All students on Language and Linguistics degrees undertake an independent research project in their final year. To guide and advise you through this project you are allocated a supervisor from the teaching staff who has expertise in the area you’re interested in. You will arrange meetings with your supervisor throughout the duration of your project, submit work to them for feedback, and discuss next steps.
SVC – Student Voice Committee, also sometimes referred to as the Student-Staff Committee. You can find out who represents you and read the minutes of meetings on the School website.
Tt
(a) Third – This is the lowest passing grade in the system used in UK universities (out of four). Your work is awarded a numerical mark: if this is between 40 and 49, then your work is a third (or third class). Check the marking criteria for SELLL and any module-specific criteria to see the characteristics of a piece of work of third class standard. For complex historical reasons, and these numerical marks are *not*, we repeat *not*, percentages or marks out of 100. (See also: first class, 2:1, 2:2)
Timetable – We don’t actually think you need reminding what a timetable is, but this is a good opportunity to link to the timetabling website so you can check yours!
Tutor – A term often used to refer to teaching staff. See also Lecturer (1), Postgraduate Demonstrator, Associate Lecturer, Lecturer (2), Senior Lecturer, Reader and Professor.
Uu
UG – Undergraduate
Vv
VLE – Virtual Learning Environment. See Canvas.
Yy
Y001 – The UCAS code for BA (Hons) Combined Honours. Students on this degree take between 40 and 80 credits a year in SELLL but are based in Combined Honours, meaning that their personal tutor is always from Combined Honours.
#
2:1 or 2:i {degree, mark, work} – Pronounced “two one”, this is the second highest grade possible in the system used in UK universities (out of four). Your work is often awarded a numerical mark: if this is between 60 and 69, then your work is a 2:1 (also called upper second class or second class: first division). Check the marking criteria for SELLL and any module-specific criteria to see the characteristics of a piece of work of 2:1 standard. For complex historical reasons, and these numerical marks are *not*, we repeat *not*, percentages or marks out of 100. A 2:1 is considered a ‘good’ degree, in the sense that it is the minimum requirement for many graduate training schemes. (See also: first class, 2:2, third)
2:2 or 2:ii {degree, mark, work} – Pronounced “two two”, this is the third highest passing grade possible in the system used in UK universities (out of four). Your work is often awarded a numerical mark: if this is between 50 and 59, then your work is a 2:2 (also called lower second class or second class: second division). Check the marking criteria for SELLL and any module-specific criteria to see the characteristics of a piece of work of 2:2 standard. For complex historical reasons, and these numerical marks are *not*, we repeat *not*, percentages or marks out of 100. (See also: first class, 2:1, third)