The aim of this paper is to describe and analyse the discipline of “Language Sciences” from the perspective of the National Council of Universities. By examining a short diachronic period of around twenty years, the aim is to identify the major trends in the research areas that define the discipline. Two sets of statistics on qualification for the posts of senior lecturer and associate professor make it possible to identify, on the one hand, the most frequently researched fields and, on the other, those in which research yields the highest qualification rates. These findings are examined in relation to the locations where theses are defended and the new regulations governing doctoral studies in France, in order to highlight the diversity of practices, developments and the potential future of the Language Sciences.