The School of Language and Scripture (SLS) is a collaboration with Wycliffe Bible Translators, training people to work with marginalised communities, to see lives transformed through a relationship with God and his life-changing Word.

At the heart of the School’s activities is the MA Language, Community and Development, a programme providing and enhancing the essential tools for community-based development, linguistics, literacy, Bible translation and Scripture engagement.

Some components of the MA programme can also be taken as stand-alone short courses, including:

Other short courses are offered on campus from time to time, or via distance learning through correspondence with a tutor. Please contact us if you would like to know more about any of these training opportunities:

The School’s staff are qualified academics and current practitioners with experience of working in development and Bible translation roles in a wide variety of contexts. It offers academic and professional training that meets the initial training requirements for personnel working with SIL International and partners. Courses offered by the School are also appropriate for anyone wishing to develop an understanding of how languages and cultures impact the ability to  serve effectively across cultures.

The School is a member of the International Training Network, which offers similar training at a variety of locations across the world.

Application process

To apply for the courses listed above that have a separate webpage, please use the form on that webpage.  To apply for any of the other courses without such a link, please complete the form below and select the appropriate course from the dropdown list. For an overview of how our application process works, have a read of our How to apply page.

Please note: In order for applications form non-UK/EEA to be processed in time, we request that applications made from countries outside the UK/EEA should be submitted at least 6 weeks before the start of the course (including references sent to the college). This is in order to give sufficient time for a visitor visa application to be processed, and required funds to be released for the commencement of the course.  Assistance with visa application will not be given.