phd in linguistics

Ph.D. Programs

The Department of Linguistics offers four concentrations leading to the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Linguistics (see list below). No matter the concentration, our faculty work closely with students, guiding their research and supporting their passions.

• Applied Linguistics
• Computational Linguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Theoretical Linguistics

Applicants to the Ph.D. program are encouraged to identify prospective research advisors, at least one of whom should be in the concentration to which they apply.

After entering the program, Ph.D. students may elect to add a minor in a second one of these concentrations [new policy effective Spring 2023].

An interdisciplinary (second) concentration in Cognitive Science is also available to Ph.D. students.

Master’s in Passing

If, in their course of the Ph.D. program, a doctoral student meets all of the requirements of a M.S. degree in Linguistics, he or she may apply to receive a “Master’s in Passing.” Please consult section IV.D.3 of the Graduate School Bulletin for full details about the “in passing” or “terminal” Master’s degree.

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PhD in Linguistics

These are the new requirements implemented beginning in August 2019; for the old requirements, please click here .

A Brief Description of the PhD Program

The PhD program in Linguistics allows a high degree of flexibility and specialization, and is designed to encourage students to advance quickly to producing original research. Students may choose any of several standard areas of specialization, or design their own specialization with the help of their faculty advisor.

The PhD program in Linguistics consists of three stages, which correspond to the three Graduate College doctoral degree stages (see chapter 6 in the Graduate College Handbook ). The entire PhD program in Linguistics is intended to take 5 or 6 years: 2 years for Stage 1, and 3 or 4 years for Stages 2 and 3.

Stage 1 , which should be completed in two years, consists of 40 hours of graduate coursework, and the Stage 1 qualifying examination ; at the completion of Stage 1, students are eligible to receive a MA in Linguistics.

Stage 2 consists of 64 hours of graduate coursework, the Stage 2 qualifying examination , and the preliminary examination .

Stage 3 consists of the final defense and dissertation deposit.

Entry Requirements for the PhD Program

Students may be admitted to the PhD program in Linguistics with or without a prior master’s degree in linguistics or a related field. Depending on the student’s prior preparation, they may be admitted either into Stage 1 of the PhD or into Stage 2 of the PhD. Students who have completed a master’s degree in linguistics or a closely related field may be considered for admission to Stage 2 of the PhD program. Students without an approved prior master’s degree will only be considered for admission to Stage 1 of the PhD program. For admission to Stage 1 of the PhD program, undergraduate preparation should include the study of at least one foreign language; a course equivalent to LING 400 (Introduction to Linguistic Structure); and a broad background in the humanities, social sciences, and/or mathematics. 

Students admitted to Stage 1 must complete 40 credit hours in the areas listed below, maintain a GPA of 3.5 or better in all core courses, maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better overall, and earn a grade of High Pass on the Stage 1 qualifying examination in order to advance to Stage 2. Students who complete Stage 1 with a GPA of 3.0 or better overall, and who earn a grade of either Pass or High Pass on the Stage 1 qualifying examination, are eligible t o receive an MA in Linguistics.

Students who are admitted directly to Stage 2, but lack any of the core courses required for Stage 1, must complete Stage 1 requirements immediately on entry into the program; the courses will not count toward the 64 hours required for Stage 2 of the PhD.

How to Apply

Follow this link to information about applying to the PhD program; click here to start your graduate application.

Academic Advising

All students should choose a faculty member to serve as their academic advisor. New students are advised by the Director of Graduate Studies until a different advisor is chosen. Consult often with your advisor about course selection, research projects, publications, conference presentations, and any other academic issue. You may change advisors at any time. Once you reach the stage of writing your dissertation, your academic advisor serves as your Director of Dissertation Research. Typically (though not necessarily), your advisor also serves as chair of your Prelim Examination and Final Examination Committees. To select or change an advisor, fill out the electronic advisor agreement form . Your advisor should be a tenure-track or tenured faculty member at the University of Illinois.

PhD Program Requirements: Stage 1

40 graduate credit hours are required for Stage 1 of the PhD in Linguistics. Credit hours which have already been applied to another degree do not count toward this total; nor do preparatory courses taken as a condition on admission. It is normally possible to complete Stage 1 in two years. Note: core courses for Stage 1 are under bullets A and B below; all other courses are non-core courses.

A. The following courses are required (12 hours):

• LING 501: Syntax I
• LING 502: Phonology I
• LING 507: Formal Semantics I

B. Choose at least one course each from two of the following four areas (8 hours):

• LING 450: Sociolinguistics I
• LING 406: Intro to Computational Linguistics Note: LING 402 (Tools & Technology in Speech and Language Processing) needs to be taken as a pre-requisite to LING 406 for students without a computational background
• LING 425: Introduction to Psycholinguistics
• LING 426: Child and Adult Language Acquisition
• LING 489: Theoretical Foundations of SLA

C. Choose at least one course  in quantitative and/or qualitative research methods (4 hours):

• LING 403: Introduction to Field Methods
• LING 413: Corpus Linguistics
• LING 514: Design and Methodology in Linguistic Research
• LING 516: Field Methods
• A section of LING 490 on statistics or methodology for language research (subject to SEEC approval)
• A section of LING 591 on statistics or methodology for language research (subject to SEEC approval)
• A relevant course from another unit, such as Educational Psychology, Psychology, Anthropology, or Communications, with approval from the Student Examination and Evaluation Committee (SEEC); please click here to see a list of methods courses from other units that can satisfy the methods requirement.

D. Practicum and independent study are required (4 hours):

• LING 504: Practicum (2 hours)
• LING 590: Special Topics in Linguistics (2 hours)

E. Three elective courses are required (12 hours):

• These may be any LING courses at the 400-level or above, or non-LING courses approved by the student's advisor.

F. Language Requirement:

• For students who are native speakers of a language other than English, English satisfies this requirement.
• For students who are native speakers of English, demonstrated 4 th -level proficiency is required, which can be achieved by (a) completion of four semesters of college study (or four years of high school study), or equivalent, within 5 years of matriculation; or (b) corresponding placement on an Illinois foreign language placement test.
• Language courses can be taken Credit-No Credit (CR/NC) here at UIUC to satisfy the requirement. 

G. Stage 1 Qualifying Examination:

• Students first work closely with a faculty member to prepare an original research paper. The paper must be submitted to the department during the Spring semester of the student's second year (the deadline is set by the Student Examination and Evaluation Committee, and is usually the first day of the Spring semester), and the oral exam must take place before the end of the Spring semester.
• Qualifying papers must be supervised by a tenure-line faculty member with a non-zero appointment in Linguistics. For any questions about qualifying paper supervision, students should contact the Director of Graduate Studies.
• The examination itself consists of an oral presentation of the research paper before a committee of faculty members, who may ask questions concerning the research, the written paper, and the presentation.
• High Pass : the student is eligible to proceed to Stage 2 of the PhD, as well as to earn a MA in Linguistics , provided all other requirements are met.
• Pass: the student is NOT eligible to proceed to Stage 2 of the PhD, but the student IS eligible to earn a MA in Linguistics , provided all other requirements are met. The student has to leave the program with a terminal MA.
• Fail : the student is NOT eligible to proceed to Stage 2 of the PhD, and NOT eligible to earn a MA; the student is dismissed from the program with no degree.

H. Minimum GPA requirements

• Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA across all courses, and a minimum 3.5 GPA across all core courses (listed under Point A and Point B above) in order to be eligible to proceed to Stage 2.
• Students who maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA across all courses are eligible to earn a MA in Linguistics , provided all other MA requirements are satisfied.

PhD Program Requirements: Stage 2

64 graduate credit hours are required for Stage 2 of the PhD in Linguistics. For students admitted directly to Stage 2 of the PhD, credit hours which have already been applied to another degree do not count toward this total; nor do preparatory courses taken as a condition on admission. The requirements below are in effect for all students entering the program in Fall Semester 2019 or later.

A. Choose at least one upper-level course in one of the following areas (4 hours):

• LING 541: Syntax II
• LING 581: Topics in Syntactic Theory
• relevant section of an advanced seminar or other course, with SEEC approval
• LING 542: Phonology II
• LING 520: Acoustic Phonetics
• LING 522: Articulatory Phonetics
• LING 582: Topics in Phonological Theory
• LING 547: Formal Semantics II
• LING 551: Pragmatics

B. Choose at least one upper-level course in one of the following areas (4 hours):

• LING 550 (Sociolinguistics II)
• LING 587 (Topics in Sociolinguistics)
• LING 506 (Topics in Computational Linguistics)
• LING 525 (Psycholinguistics)
• LING 529 (Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism)
• relevant section of LING 588 (Seminar in Second Language Learning)
• relevant section of LING 560 (Seminar in Bilingualism)
• LING 584 (Theories in Second Language Acquisition)
• relevant section of Ling 588 (Seminar in Second Language Learning)

C. Elective courses (12 hours)

• Students must complete at least 12 hours of graduate courses (400-level or higher) in Linguistics or related fields. These courses should reflect the student’s interests and professional goals, and should be selected in consultation with the advisor.

D. Research/Project/Independent Study Hours (12 hours)

• Students must complete at least 12 credit hours of LING 590: Special Topics in Linguistics, or of another independent research course approved by the advisor.

E. Language Requirement:

• Students must demonstrate knowledge of the structure of a language that is not their native tongue nor the same language that satisfied the foreign language requirement for Stage 1 of the PhD, or (in the case of students admitted directly to Stage 2) of the prior approved master's degree.
• This requirement may be satisfied through (a) 2 nd -level proficiency in the language, obtained through two semesters of college-level study, or equivalent; (b) 2 nd -level placement on an Illinois foreign language placement test; (c) completion of a course on the structure of the language; (d) completion of LING 516: Field Methods; or (e) a demonstration that the language is the focus of the student’s doctoral research.
• One of the languages with which the student is familiar (this may be the student’s native language, or the language used to satisfy one of the language requirements) must be a non-European or a non-Indo-European language.

F. Stage 2 Qualifying Examination:

• Students first work closely with a faculty member to prepare an original research paper. The paper may be in the same or a different area than the paper submitted for the Stage 1 qualifying examination , and it may be supervised by the same or a different faculty member. The Stage 2 paper must differ from the Stage 1 paper in terms of research topic, research questions, and/or research methods.
• For students who proceeded to Stage 2 from Stage 1, the Stage 2 paper must be submitted to the department during the Spring semester of the student's third year (the deadline is set by the Student Examination and Evaluation Committee, and is usually the first day of the Spring semester), and the oral exam must take place before the end of the Spring semester.
• For students who entered the program at Stage 2, the Stage 2 paper must be submitted to the department during the Spring semester of the student's second year (the deadline is set by the Student Examination and Evaluation Committee, and is usually the first day of the Spring semester), and the oral exam must take place before the end of the Spring semester.
• Pass : the student is eligible to proceed to the thesis proposal stage.
• Rewrite : the student is given a timeline to rewrite and resubmit the paper. Only one rewrite is permitted. The possible grades for a rewritten qualifying paper are Pass (proceed to the thesis proposal stage) or Fail (dismissal from the program).

G. Minimum GPA requirements

• Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA in all courses in order to be eligible to proceed to Stage 3.

H. Thesis Hours Required (32 hours)

Students must complete at least 32 credit hours of LING 599: Thesis Research. Enrollment in LING 599 is not normally allowed before the semester in which the student expects to complete the Preliminary Examination.

I. Preliminary Examination

All students must pass the Preliminary Examination, normally in the fourth year of the PhD program for students who entered at Stage 1, or in the third year of the PhD program for students who entered directly into Stage 2.

• To take the Preliminary Examination, first finish all your course requirements. Work closely with your advisor to prepare a written dissertation proposal. Assemble your examination committee, bearing in mind the policies on committee membership set by the Graduate College (see https://grad.illinois.edu/thesis/submitting-doctoral-committee-requests for more information). Submit your written proposal to your committee at least two weeks before the oral examination, which may be scheduled through the  Graduate Student Services Office  of the School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics (please fill out the scheduling form at  https://slcl.illinois.edu/resources/graduate-student-services/graduate-student-exams ). You will also need to file a petition to form your prelim exam committee through the Graduate College Petition Portal .
• The examination consists of an oral presentation of the dissertation proposal before the committee. The committee may ask questions about the proposed research, the written proposal, or the presentation.

PhD Program Requirements: Stage 3

Students complete all Stage 2 program requirements before proceedings to Stage 3.

A. Final Examination/Dissertation Defense

All students must write a dissertation and successfully defend its thesis in an oral examination. Familiarize yourself early in the process with the  Graduate College policies and procedures regarding dissertations .

• The Final Examination committee is normally (but not necessarily) identical to the Preliminary Examination committee. If it is different, please bear in mind the policies on committee membership set by the Graduate College (see https://grad.illinois.edu/thesis/submitting-doctoral-committee-requests for more information).  Work closely with your advisor and other committee members to be sure the dissertation is satisfactory before arranging for the Final Examination. The completed dissertation must be submitted to the committee at least two weeks prior to the examination, which may be scheduled through the  Graduate Student Services Office  of the School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics (please fill out the scheduling form found at https://slcl.illinois.edu/resources/graduate-student-services/graduate-student-exams ). You will also need to file a petition to form your prelim exam committee through the Graduate College Petition Portal .
• The Final Examination consists of an oral presentation of the dissertation and defense of its thesis before the committee. The committee may ask questions about the research, the written dissertation, or the presentation.

B. Dissertation Deposit

Following successful completion the defense, make any revisions requested to the dissertation by the committee, and secure the approval of your advisor. Make sure the dissertation conforms to the  Graduate College formatting policies . Deposit the dissertation according to  the procedure set by the Graduate College .

Applying credit from other institutions

Students who enter the program with previous graduate work in Linguistics from another institution may petition to transfer course credit to the University of Illinois. Transfer of credit is not possible if the courses have already been counted towards a degree at any other institution. Transfer must be requested through the  SLCL Graduate Student Services office .

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Department of Linguistics

Ph.d. program.

The main components of the Linguistics Ph.D. program are as follows:

• Course Requirements
• Language Requirement
• Generals Papers
• Dissertation
• Extra Funding Availability

All requirements, including two generals papers, should ideally be completed by the end of the third year, but in no case later than the end of the fourth. The dissertation prospectus is due on October 15 of the fall term of the fourth year. Failure to meet program requirements in a timely fashion may result in termination of candidacy. 

First-year students are advised by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) until they select a major field from the regular departmental faculty. Thereafter, progress toward completion of the Ph.D. requirements continues to be monitored by the DGS, but primary responsibility for overseeing study shifts to the major advisor. Students are free to change their major advisor at any time. By the end of the second year they should also select a co-advisor, who serves as a secondary advisor and faculty mentor.

Harvard Linguistics Graduate Student Handbook

Progress to the Degree (updated 7/1/2015)

A B+ average must be maintained in each year of graduate study. Grades below B- cannot be counted toward departmental requirements; two grades below B- in required courses will result in termination of candidacy. Ordinarily, a grade of Incomplete can only be converted into a letter grade if the work is made up before the end of the following term. No grade of Incomplete can be used to satisfy a departmental requirement.   No two programs of study are alike, but students should typically plan to complete the requirements for the degree according to the timetable below. Departures from this schedule must be approved by the main advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.   Years G1 and G2: Course requirements are satisfied. By the end of the G2 year, the first generals paper should be well underway.   Year G3: Teaching duties begin. The first generals paper should be defended before the end of the fall term, and the second generals paper by the end of the spring term.   Year G4: Teaching duties continue. A thesis prospectus, naming a dissertation committee, is due on October 15 of the fall term; the committee must be chaired or co-chaired by a member of the Department of Linguistics and must include at least two members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Dissertation Completion Fellowship applications are due at midyear.   Year G5: The thesis is completed and defended in the spring.

A.M. Degree  (updated 7/1/2015)

Graduate students who have completed two years of residence, who have fulfilled all the course requirements and language requirements for the Ph.D., and who have successfully defended one Generals paper, are eligible to petition for a Master’s (A.M.) degree.  

Note that there is no master’s program in Linguistics.                     

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Ph.D. in Linguistics

Ph.D. in Linguistics (General Linguistics Track) 

Note that the required courses and language requirement differ between the curriculum instituted Sept. 2018 and the prior curriculum. All other requirements are the same.

1A. Required courses (30 credits): Curriculum instituted Sept. 2018 

One graduate-level course in each of the following sub-disciplines:

• Syntax: LING 507 “Syntactic Theory I”
• Sociolinguistics: LING 532 “Sociolinguistics I”
• Language Processing and Development: LING 541 or 542 (“Language Processing and development I or II”)
• Phonology LING 552 (“Phonology II”)
• Phonetics LING 550 (“Introduction to Linguistic Phonetics”)
• Semantics LING 479 or 579 ("Semantic Theory I or II")

1B. Required courses (35 credits): Prior to Sept. 2018 

• LING 507 ("Syntax I")
• LING 508 ("Syntax II")
• LING 532 ("Sociolinguistics I")
• LING 551 ("Phonology I")
• LING 552 ("Phonology II")
• LING 550 or 553 ("Phonetics I or II")
• LING 578 or 579 ("Semantics I or II")

If a student has taken an equivalent course elsewhere, the requirement to take this course can be waived. The waiver needs to approved by the faculty in the relevant area and the GPC. Such waivers do not change the total number of credits required by the Graduate School for graduation.

2. Credits of study:

Additional courses for a minimum of 90 credits (27 of which are LING 800) to be determined by specialization and consultation with the advisory committee.

3A. Language knowledge requirement: Curriculum instituted Sept. 2018

General Linguistics Track students must satisfy one natural language requirement for the PhD. The choice of the language needs to be approved by the student’s advisory committee. The language requirement may be satisfied in one of the following three ways:

• One year of study at the university or community college level. Students who are language instructors in other UW departments can use their language teaching experience to satisfy one language requirement.
• A major research project that involves significant primary data collection that includes substantial structural analysis and results in a major paper such as a generals paper.

3B. Language knowledge requirement: Prior to   Sept. 2018

General Linguistics Track students must satisfy two natural language requirements for the PhD. Those may be satisfied in the following ways:

• Translation exam to demonstrate the ability to read linguistic literature in a foreign language; only one of the two language requirements for the PhD can be satisfied through the translation exam.

4. Colloquium conference talks:

Two papers delivered at a colloquium or conference.

5. Constitution of PhD committee:

By the end of the second year of study.

6. Generals Papers:

Two generals papers in different areas (normally 10cr LING 600). What counts as a different area is determined and needs to be approved by the student's committee.

7. General Examination:

An oral examination, in which the candidate is questioned on the two papers. The oral examination may not be scheduled until the committee has read the two papers and approved them as passing.

8. Dissertation Prospectus:

Within 6 months of the oral examination, the student will present a formal dissertation proposal to the subset of PhD committee members who constitute the reading committee, along with a proposed calendar for completion of the dissertation.

9. Final Exam:

A Final Exam on the dissertation attended by the candidate’s Supervisory Committee and open to others interested.

10. Dissertation:

A dissertation suitable for publication.

11. ABD (all but dissertation) requirement:

All degree requirements except for the dissertation and the two colloquia must be completed before the General Exam.

Ph.D. in Linguistics (Computational Linguistics Track)

The requirements for students on the computational linguistics track will meet all the same requirements as students in other specializations except :

1. Required courses:

• 2 syntax courses from among: LING 566, 507, 508
• 2 phonetics/phonology courses from among: LING 550, 551, 552, 553
• 1 semantics course from among: 578, 579
• 1 sociolinguistics course from among: LING 532, 533
• 3 Computational Linguistics courses from among: 567, 570, 571, 572, 573

3. Language knowledge requirement:

Students in Computational Linguistics must fulfill only one language requirement, but may not use a translation exam to do so. The language must be typologically substantially distinct from the student's native language; for example, a native English-speaking student would need to select a non-Indo-European language. Please refer to Language Requirements for details.

6. Generals papers:

Same as for the General Linguistics program except a Master’s thesis completed as part of the CLMS program may count as one of the two generals papers.

How to make the CLMS to PhD transition

M.A. in Linguistics

The M.A. is not required as a prerequisite to Ph.D. study.  Students enrolled in the PhD program may get an MA degree when they pass the general exam and file a request for an MA degree with the graduate school.  Students who have taken all the required courses for the PhD CompLing track may analogously file a request for an MS degree with the Graduate School, under either model A or B below. Students who would like to get an MS degree have to get their advisor's approval before filing an official request with the Graduate School.

A. Non-thesis model:

The Generals papers and Exam constitute the capstone project necessary for a master’s degree (or the student may complete the thesis model below).

B. Thesis model: 

• Required courses: Same as the required courses in PhD General Linguistics Track. 
• Language requirement: Same as the language requirement in PhD General Linguistics Track. 
• Thesis:  A thesis, written under the supervision of a Linguistics faculty member, and accepted by a second faculty reader. Normally the work is completed in 10 credits of LING 700.

Remarks on Graduate School Requirements

Students are advised to become familiar with Graduate School requirements, as well as those described on this website. If there are any questions, the student should contact the Graduate School, the Graduate Program Coordinator or the chair of the Supervisory Committee. Once admitted to the program, students should make it a regular practice to see the Graduate Program Coordinator about their progress at least once a year. All graduate students must be either registered or officially on leave. Failure to register or go on leave is interpreted as resignation from the Graduate School. Information on the Graduate School is available at http://www.grad.washington.edu . If you have any further questions or comments please contact us at [email protected]

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Linguistics, PhD

The Ph.D. program in Linguistics at Penn embraces a wide range of theoretical specializations and methodologies. What unites them is a commitment to careful and explicit formal analysis of the human capacity for learning and using language.

The core of our program is the formal generative tradition, but we encourage the cross-fertilization that results from the confrontation of empirical and theoretical perspectives on language structure. By our close collaboration with other programs (such as computer science and psychology) we promote an awareness of the broad view of language that interdisciplinary study induces. In addition to broad training, students are offered and expected to master the methods and results of their chosen areas of concentration in linguistics as a prerequisite to fruitful engagement in dialogue with others, both within and outside the program.

For more information: https://www.ling.upenn.edu/graduate/

View the University’s Academic Rules for PhD Programs .

Required Courses

The total course units required for graduation is 20. A minimum of 12 course units must be taken at the University of Pennsylvania.

The degree and major requirements displayed are intended as a guide for students entering in the Fall of 2024 and later. Students should consult with their academic program regarding final certifications and requirements for graduation.

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PhD in Linguistics

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Aims of the PhD

Human language is a multifaceted phenomenon. It is simultaneously a property of individual minds and of whole speech communities, and thus both internal and external to us. It both shapes and is shaped by our societies over time. It is a combination of sound (or sign), which has physical properties that can be measured, and meaning, which does not. Accordingly, becoming a linguistic researcher involves mastering a variety of methods, both quantitative and qualitative. The PhD in Linguistics at BU aims to produce scholars who are versatile enough to be experts in both of these aspects of linguistic inquiry, yet skilled enough to do cutting-edge research in a particular subfield of the discipline. We offer a solid grounding in a range of research methods, including field methods, quantitative methods, and computational methods.

Learning Outcomes

Students graduating with a PhD in Linguistics will demonstrate:

• broad knowledge of the discipline
• deeper knowledge in a specialized area or subfield
• ability to carry out a significant piece of independent research (which implies knowledge of and ability to use research methodologies in order to complete the research)

Prerequisites

The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is not required to apply.

Entering students are expected to have completed introductory classes in: 

• phonetics/phonology (e.g., GRS LX 601)
• syntax (e.g., GRS LX 621)
• semantics/pragmatics (e.g., GRS LX 631)

Students who do not have sufficient background in linguistics must complete additional coursework to fulfill the above prerequisites prior to entry or during the first year. Note: if completed at BU, GRS LX 601, 621, and 631 will not count toward the PhD course requirements.

Admissions & Funding

The deadline for application to enter the program in Fall 2023 is January 6, 2023.  Information about the graduate admissions process ( including the application process and requirements ) is available at the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (GRS) website:

We anticipate being able to admit about five students per year. All admitted students will receive full coverage of tuition costs plus a fellowship for five years. For further information about funding, consult the GRS website above.

Requirements

Course requirements.

The PhD requires successful completion of 64 credits at the graduate level, including three core courses: 

• GRS LX 703 Phonological Analysis
• GRS LX 722 Intermediate Syntax
• GRS LX 732 Intermediate Semantics

Six additional courses from the four areas below, with two courses each in two of the areas, and one course each in the remaining two areas:

• advanced phonetics, phonology, or morphology (e.g., GRS LX 706)
• advanced syntax, semantics, or pragmatics (e.g., GRS LX 723, 736)
• linguistic research methodology
• language acquisition or socio-historical linguistics

A 4-credit graduate proseminar sequence (GRS LX 801 & 802) is typically taken in the second year.

Finally, six additional courses (including up to 8 credits of directed study) are taken in Linguistics or related fields that comprise a specialization , which will generally be in the area of the dissertation. These courses will be decided upon by the student in conjunction with their advisor, whose approval is required.

Language Requirement

The PhD requires demonstration of graduate-level reading proficiency in two foreign languages (one of which may be English, for non-native speakers) by the end of the third year of enrollment.

These proficiencies can be demonstrated through any of:

• a language examination
• successful completion of a non-credit graduate-level foreign language reading course offered at BU
• the equivalent of two years of undergraduate study of the language at BU (or successful completion of any higher-level language course taught in the language)

Graduate-level foreign language reading courses offered at BU include:

• GRS LF 621 Reading French for Graduate Students
• GRS LG 621 Reading German for Graduate Students
• GRS LI 621 Reading Italian for Graduate Students
• GRS LS 621 Reading Spanish for Graduate Students

Qualifying Examinations

To advance to candidacy, students must satisfactorily complete and defend two substantial research papers in different areas of the field (the first by the end of the fourth semester, the second by the end of the sixth semester of enrollment).

Each Qualifying Paper (QP) will be planned and carried out under the supervision of a Linguistics faculty member with expertise appropriate to the relevant project and, upon completion, will be defended orally and approved by an examining committee, composed of the first and second reader as well as a third faculty member determined by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) in consultation with the student.

A brief proposal for each QP must be submitted, with signed approval of a first and second reader (who have been approved by the DGS and who have agreed to advise the student on the proposed project), by October 15 of the academic year in which the project is to be completed. For the second QP, a topic approval form, in which the student explains how the second QP differs from their first QP, must also be submitted, in advance of the proposal approval form.

Dissertation and Final Oral Examination

PhD candidates will demonstrate their abilities for independent study in a dissertation representing original research or creative scholarship.

A prospectus for the dissertation must be completed and approved by the readers, the DGS, and the Department Chair.

Candidates must undergo a final oral examination in which they defend their dissertation as a valuable contribution to knowledge in their field and demonstrate a mastery of their field of specialization in relation to their dissertation.

All portions of the dissertation and final oral examination must be completed as outlined in the GRS general requirements for the PhD degree:

Director of Graduate Studies

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Ph.D. Program

The Ph.D. program in linguistics is designed with the interdisciplinary research goals of the department in mind.

Our curriculum aims to combine the best features of the knowledge-intensive model that is common in the humanities and the skills-intensive apprenticeship model that is more common in the physical and life sciences. The course requirements provide more flexibility than most linguistics programs, allowing students to acquire the broad training that is most appropriate to individual goals. Course loads are designed to leave time for students to become involved in original research at an early stage of the program. Many students continue to pursue research in multiple areas through their dissertation, and it is common for students to be co-advised by multiple faculty members.

Application

Join a community where new ideas develop in conversation, stimulated by the steady activity of our labs and research groups, frequent student meetings with faculty and regular talks by local and invited scholars.  Discover how to apply.

Our internationally recognized Ph.D. program combines current theoretical research in phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics with state-of-the-art experimental research in psycholinguistics, first language acquisition, language processing, neurolinguistics and computational linguistics. Explore our curriculum.

• Living Here

Our area also offers special resources for linguists. It is home to speakers of countless languages from around the world and home base to many national research agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the Linguistic Society of America.  Learn more about living here.

Who to Contact

William idsardi.

Professor, Linguistics

1401 A Marie Mount Hall College Park MD, 20742

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• Department of Linguistics >
• Graduate >

PhD in Linguistics

Dawei Jin, presenting a conference paper (now an Assistant Professor Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China)

The mission of the department’s PhD program is to train students to do research in linguistics and produce research that reflects the values and the mission of the department as a whole, to prepare them for academic jobs at teaching universities, liberal arts colleges, or major research universities and for jobs outside of academia. Our goal is to ensure that all of our students have at the end of their study an academic or industry position that requires a PhD in Linguistics. Our doctoral degree track focuses on breadth and empirical/experimental methodologies. Students receive training in traditional disciplines such as syntax, semantics, pragmatics, phonetics and phonology, and they may also receive substantial training in other areas, such as language typology, psycholinguistics, computational linguistics, and historical and contact linguistics. All of our students are required to take at least two semesters of Methods classes, which include courses in Field Methods, Quantitative Methods and Statistics, Corpus Linguistics and Computational Linguistics. Our students are also encouraged to explore interdisciplinary research within the UB Center for Cognitive Science , and many of our students receive extensive training in Cognitive Science through collaborations with the Psychology or Computer Science departments. 

PhD Funding

Join a community of scholars and researchers working together to solve pressing global problems. 

We are committed to recruiting the very best PhD students and preparing doctoral students for career success. UB features:

• World-class faculty experts  mentor PhD students in a dynamic research and learning environment. Students can focus on their research and scholarship alongside renowned faculty while preparing for the careers and professions that await them after graduation.
• A city on the rise.  Buffalo, N.Y. offers affordable housing, arts, culture and community. Learn more about Buffalo .

PhD Funding Opportunities

• Academic year stipends of $23,000  for all full-time, funded PhD students on 10-month academic teaching assistant, research assistant or graduate assistant appointments.
• UB’s stipend levels are competitive among public Association of American Universities (AAU) member institutions.
• Arthur A. Schomburg Fellowship Program : To be eligible for a Schomburg Fellowship, candidates must contribute to the diversity of the student body, and can demonstrate that they have overcome a disadvantage or other impediment to success in higher education. Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible to receive Schomburg Fellowships.
• Presidential Fellowships :  To be eligible for Presidential Fellowships, candidates must meet the criteria listed on the Presidential Fellowship page. Both domestic and international students are eligible, if they meet these criteria. For any questions regarding funding for academic year 2025–2026, contact the director of graduate studies or department chair.

Application Deadlines

December 15:  All PhD applicants wishing to be considered for financial support

March 1:  All other international PhD applicants

April 1:  All other domestic PhD applicants

Online Application

Degree requirements.

For most students with no transfer credits from other institutions, the categories in the table above should account for 48 of the 72 credits required for the Ph.D. The remaining 24 credits can be Independent Study, thesis/dissertation guidance or up to 12 credits from other UB departments. (Students in the Cognitive Science track and those earning a concurrent M.S. in Computational Linguistics may be permitted to take additional courses in other departments in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies.)

*Students should consult the Director of Graduate Studies to determine which Methods courses are more appropriate given their intended specializations.

Areas of Specialization

PhD students are required to take four courses in their main specialty (including relevant core and methods courses), and are expected to choose their two methods courses in accordance with their specialization. Students need not choose their area of specialization early in their graduate career; faculty only expect that students take these four courses by the time they finish their course work (i.e., complete their 72 credit hours).

Students admitted to the PhD track who decide, during the first or second year, that they no longer wish to pursue a PhD, may instead complete the course requirements for the MA specialization and take the MA exam.

Specializations and Applicable Courses

This list of courses is intended only as a guideline, and additional classes may be added to these lists upon approval by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). Please also note that some courses are more frequently taught than others. Students should contact the DGS to inquire about future course scheduling. 

*Psycholinguistics and Neurolinguistics are highly interdisciplinary and may involve substantial work in other departments.

Qualifying Paper

The qualifying paper (QP) is required of students who have been admitted to the Doctoral program in the Department of Linguistics. It must be completed before the student can pass on to Phase 2 of the program (i.e., the phase during which students conduct their PhD thesis research). The QP is intended to give the student experience in carrying out a research project that goes beyond what is normally required of a course paper; however the project certainly can evolve out of a course paper. The paper should have the format of a journal submission, and be between 9,000 and 12,000 words in length.

Early in their second year of graduate study, the student should choose a faculty member who will advise the student while he or she is working on the QP. (The faculty member may be, but does not have to be, the same faculty who will direct the student’s dissertation.) The role of the advisor is to guide the student as he or she is carrying out the research and the writing. The student, together with the advisor, select a second committee member (or “reader”), who will read and comment on the QP.

Once the QP has been approved by the advisor, the Director of Graduate Studies will assign a third committee member (or “reader”), and the other members of the QP committee will then read the QP and provide feedback or simply approve the paper if no additional revisions are necessary. When the committee has approved the QP, the three faculty sign the approval form. Students return the form to the Director of Graduate Study after all three faculty have signed the form, and (s)he will also sign it. Finally, the form is sent to the graduate secretary, so that (s)he can enter the information into our student database and file the form in the student’s file.

Students are required to make an oral presentation of their QP research at the end of their fifth semester (at the latest), and to finish their QP by the end of the sixth semester (at the latest). Upon completion of a student’s QP, the faculty as a whole will either determine whether (s)he should passed onto Phase 2 of the PhD program. In the event a student is not passed onto the P.D phase of the program, (s)he will earn a terminal MA and will leave the program.

Dissertation Proposal

The dissertation proposal is not intended to be a paper in the same sense as the QP. Rather, the dissertation proposal should be viewed as a very long abstract. It should include a statement of the topic (or hypothesis/claim); the context for the research (Why should other linguists be interested in the research? How does it fit into previous research?); the methodology and nature of the data or evidence that the student hopes to collect or find; and, perhaps, a preview of the conclusions the student hopes to present or the contribution the dissertation will make. Generally, the proposal should not be any longer than 20 pages; however the dissertation advisor ultimately determines the form of the proposal.

Dissertation Proposal Defense

The proposal defense is simply a meeting of the committee members and the student to ensure that everyone is clear about the nature of the topic, the scope of the research, and the methodology. Typically, no one “fails” a proposal defense, since the primary goal is to clarify and comment on the research before the research begins. The student should be aware, however, that the proposal defense may result in significant changes in the research plan.

Once the proposal defense has taken place, the committee members sign the form, the form is returned to the Director of Graduate Studies to sign, and finally the form is sent to the Assistant to the Chair.

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Course Catalog

• Linguistics, PhD

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics

The aim of the PhD program in Linguistics is to instruct students in the major areas of linguistic theory and the methods of linguistic analysis, and to prepare students to become independent researchers in one or more linguistic subfields.  

Admission Applicants to the MATESL and PhD programs in Linguistics must have completed a bachelor’s degree.

For the PhD program in Linguistics, undergraduate preparation should include the study of at least one foreign language; a course equivalent to LING 400 on this campus; and a broad background in the humanities, social sciences, or mathematics.

For the MATESL program, an undergraduate major in linguistics, English, a foreign language, or education is generally recommended, though other majors are also acceptable. Applicants must present a grade point average of at least 3.0 (A = 4.0) for the last 60 hours of undergraduate work. Two years of coursework in a foreign language or the equivalent are also required.

Students may be admitted to the PhD program in Linguistics with or without a prior master’s degree in linguistics or a related field. Depending on the student’s prior preparation, they may be admitted either into Stage 1 of the PhD or into Stage 2 of the PhD. Students who who have completed a master’s degree in linguistics or a closely related field may be considered for admission to Stage 2 of the PhD program. Students without an approved prior master’s degree will only be considered for admission to Stage 1 of the PhD program. Students admitted to Stage 1 must complete 40 credit hours in the areas listed on the department website, maintain a GPA of 3.5 or better in all core courses, and earn a grade of High Pass on the qualifying examination in order to advance to Stage 2. Students who are admitted directly to Stage 2, but lack any of the core courses required for Stage 1, must complete Stage 1 requirements immediately on entry into the program; the courses will not count toward the 64 hours required for Stage 2 of the PhD.

Applicants to all Linguistics graduate programs programs should  apply online  and submit a statement of purpose, three letters of recommendation and a writing sample of 10-20 pages in length. Original transcripts (with English translations if applicable) showing all undergraduate and graduate work completed should be sent to:

SLCL Graduate Student Services 3070 Foreign Languages Bldg. 707 S. Mathews Ave. Urbana, IL 61801

Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are optional. The applicant should ask the ETS to submit scores to institution 1836. Applicants whose native language is not English are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and must score at least 88 (100 preferred) on the internet-based test (iBT); they must also pass the speaking sub-section of the iBT with a minimum score of 24 (see www.grad.illinois.edu/Admissions/instructions/04c). Applications are accepted for fall admission only. Application questions may be directed to  SLCL Graduate Student Services .

Financial Aid The Linguistics department aims to provide financial aid for all graduate students in the Ph.D. program in Linguistics for up to five years, in the form of fellowships, teaching assistantships, research assistantships, or departmental assistantships. To hold a teaching assistantship non-native English speakers must first pass a  test of their oral English ability .  Some students receive aid through other units in the University. New applicants receive automatic consideration for financial aid within the department, including teaching assistantships for the non-Western languages taught in its programs. For details and applications, write to the above address.

For students in the MATESL program, financial assistance is offered to as many qualified applicants as possible, but cannot be awarded to all. A record of extensive experience in teaching English as a second language enhances a candidate's chance of receiving financial assistance during one's first semester. A limited number of University fellowships are available for exceptionally qualified candidates.  Teaching assistants  teach students in the Division's ESL program and in the Intensive English Institute.

The aim of the PhD program in Linguistics is to instruct students in the major areas of linguistic theory and the methods of linguistic analysis, and to prepare students to become independent researchers in one or more linguistic subfields. Candidates entering with an approved master’s degree must complete 64 graduate hours with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (A = 4.0) and satisfy other department and Graduate College requirements. Candidates entering without an approved master’s degree must complete 104 graduate hours with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (A = 4.0) and satisfy other department and Graduate College requirements.

(Entering WITHOUT an approved Master's. Students are not admitted to the MA program directly. When Stage 1 of the doctoral program is completed doctoral students may earn the MA.)

Other Requirements

(Entering the PhD Program WITH an approved Master's degree)

• Students will receive grounding in core areas of language and linguistics.
• Students will receive grounding in their area of linguistic specialization.
• Students will learn the research methodology appropriate for their subfield of linguistics.
• Students will gain academic oral communication and presentation skills.
• Students will gain academic writing skills.
• Students will learn to prepare a portfolio for the job market.

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics  

Graduate Degree Programs in Linguistics

(Including African Languages [Bamana, Lingala, Swahili, Wolof, and Zulu], Arabic, Hindi-Urdu, Modern Greek, Persian, Sanskrit, and Turkish)

• Linguistics, MA
• Teaching of English as a Second Language, MA (MATESL)
• Romance Linguistics
• Second Language Acquisition & Teacher Education

The Department of Linguistics offers graduate programs leading to the Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language, and Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics. Students are not normally admitted to a terminal master's in Linguistics degree program. More detailed information on departmental programs, offerings, admission, degree requirements, and financial aid, may be found at: www.linguistics.illinois.edu .

Linguistics Department Head of Department: Hye Suk James Yoon Director of Graduate Studies: Tania Ionin Director of Admissions Committee: Rakesh Bhatt Linguistics Department website Linguistics Department faculty 4080 Foreign Languages Building, 707 South Mathews, Urbana, IL 61801 (217) 333-3563 Linguistics email

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• PhD in Linguistics

Human language is a multifaceted phenomenon. It is simultaneously a property of individual minds and of whole speech communities, and thus both internal and external to us. It both shapes and is shaped by our societies over time. It is a combination of sound (or sign), which has physical properties that can be measured, and meaning, which does not. Accordingly, becoming a linguist involves mastering a variety of methods, both quantitative and qualitative. The PhD in Linguistics at Boston University aims to produce scholars who are versatile enough to be experts in both of these aspects of linguistic inquiry, yet skilled enough to do cutting-edge research in a particular subfield of the discipline. We offer a solid grounding in a range of research methods, including field methods, quantitative methods, and computational methods.

Learning Outcomes

Students graduating with a PhD in Linguistics are expected to demonstrate:

• A broad knowledge of the discipline.
• A deeper knowledge in a specialized area or subfield.
• The ability to carry out a significant piece of independent research (which implies knowledge of and ability to use research methodologies in order to complete the research).

Course Requirements

The PhD in Linguistics requires successful completion of 64 units at the graduate level, including:

• CAS LX 703 Phonological Analysis
• CAS LX 722 Intermediate Syntax: Modeling Syntactic Knowledge
• CAS LX 732 Intermediate Semantics: The Grammatical Construction of Meaning
• Advanced courses in phonetics, phonology, or the phonology/morphology interface (normally including CAS LX 706)
• Advanced courses in syntax, the syntax/morphology interface, semantics, or pragmatics (normally including CAS LX 723 and/or LX 736)
• Linguistic research methodology
• Language acquisition or the study of language as a social or a historical phenomenon
• Two Graduate Proseminars in Linguistics, CAS LX 801 and CAS LX 802
• Six additional graduate-level courses (including up to 8 units of directed study) in linguistics or related fields sufficient to define a specialization that will be the area within which the dissertation is written. These courses will be decided upon by the student in conjunction with their advisor, whose prior approval is required. Note that CAS LX 601 Phonetics, LX 621 Syntax, and LX 631 Semantics will not be counted toward the PhD course requirements.

Language Requirement

All students pursuing a PhD in Linguistics are required to demonstrate graduate-level reading proficiency in two foreign languages (one of which may be English, for non-native speakers) by the end of the third year of enrollment. Language proficiency can be demonstrated through a language examination, successful completion of a noncredit graduate-level foreign language reading course offered by Boston University, or the equivalent of two years of undergraduate study of the language at Boston University.

Qualifying Examination

A candidate for the doctoral degree must satisfactorily complete two substantial research papers in different areas of the field (the first by the end of the fourth term, the second no later than the sixth term of enrollment). Each Qualifying Paper (QP) will be planned and carried out under the supervision of a Linguistics faculty member with expertise appropriate to the relevant project; it will be defended orally and approved by an examining committee, composed of the first and second reader, as well as a third faculty member determined by the DGS in consultation with the student. A brief proposal for each QP must be submitted, with signed approval of a first and second reader (who have been approved by the DGS and who have agreed to advise the student on the proposed project) by mid-October of the academic year in which the project must be completed.

Dissertation and Final Oral Examination

Candidates shall demonstrate their abilities for independent study in a dissertation representing original research or creative scholarship. A prospectus for the dissertation must be completed and approved by the readers, the Director of Graduate Studies, and the Department Chair. Candidates must undergo a final oral examination in which they defend their dissertation as a valuable contribution to knowledge in their field and demonstrate a mastery of their field of specialization in relation to their dissertation. All portions of the dissertation and final oral examination must be completed as outlined in the GRS General Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree .

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Graduate Programs

Our graduate programs provide a unique environment where linguistic theory, multiple methodologies, and computational research not only coexist, but interact in a highly synergistic fashion.  

Our focus is on the Ph.D. degree.  The department occasionally admits students already enrolled at Stanford for the M.A. degree. Ph.D. students in other departments at Stanford may also apply for the Ph.D. Minor. 

Doctoral Program

Our Ph.D. program emphasizes rigorous theoretical work that has at its base a firm empirical foundation in language data.

Ph.D. Minor

Our Ph.D. Minor allows Ph.D. students in other Stanford departments to develop a solid grounding in linguistics that can complement and enhance their studies and research in their home department.

M.A. for Stanford Graduate Students

We offer an MA degree for Stanford graduate students which develops students' knowledge of linguistics, preparing them for a professional career or doctoral study in linguistics or related disciplines.

Coterminal M.A. Program

Our Coterminal M.A. Program develops students' knowledge of linguistics, preparing them for a professional career or doctoral study in linguistics or related disciplines.

Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, PhD

• Program description
• At a glance
• Degree requirements
• Admission requirements
• Tuition information
• Application deadlines
• Program learning outcomes
• Career opportunities
• Contact information

Applied Linguistics, Discourse, Educational Linguistics, Language Policy, Language Study, Linguistics, PHONOLOGY, SEMANTICS, SYNTAX, Second Language Aquisition, Second Language Writing, english

Prepare for a career in academia or a variety of other professional paths. This program boasts internationally recognized faculty with expertise in a wide range of linguistics and applied linguistics subfields. Supervised internships, innovative mentoring programs, opportunities for research training and professional development, and a vibrant research community help you succeed in your academic and professional goals.

The PhD program in linguistics and applied linguistics focuses on the scientific study of human language and the application of that study to the human condition.

Students in this program select a research specialization in formal linguistics, applied linguistics or some combination within these fields of study.

The curriculum provides professional training in linguistics and applied linguistics with focused research in several linguistic subfields, including syntax, semantics, phonetics, phonology, pragmatics, discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, language contact and change, language planning, Indigenous American linguistics, language documentation and revitalization, second language acquisition, second language teaching and learning, teaching English to speakers of other languages, global Englishes and computer-assisted language learning.

• College/school: The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• Location: Tempe

84 credit hours, a written comprehensive exam, an oral comprehensive exam, a foreign language exam, a prospectus and a dissertation

Required Core (18 credit hours) APL 555 Disciplinary Discourses (3) APL 601 Introduction to Applied Linguistics (3) LIN 511 Phonetics and Phonology (3) LIN 514 Syntax (3) LIN 515 American English (3) or LIN 516 Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis (3) LIN 655 Advanced Disciplinary Discourses in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics (3)

Electives and Research (33 credit hours) LIN 501 Approaches to Research (3)

Specialization (21 credit hours)

Culminating Experience (12 credit hours) LIN 799 or APL 799 Dissertation (12)

Additional Curriculum Information When approved by the student's supervisory committee and the Graduate College, this program allows 30 credit hours from a previously awarded master's degree to be used for this degree. If students do not have a previously awarded master's degree, then 30 credit hours is made up of additional electives and research coursework which must include LIN 510, if they have not previously taken it or its equivalent.

Students must demonstrate evidence of competent knowledge of a natural language other than modern English, to be selected by the student and subject to the approval of the chair of the dissertation committee. The language requirement must be completed before the student is eligible to take the doctoral examinations. This requirement may be met by any of the following:

• earning a "B" or higher (3.00 on a 4.00 scale) in a 400- or 500-level course in an appropriate (approved) language
• demonstrating comparable proficiency by taking a language examination, administered by the School of International Letters and Cultures, in a language approved by the student's supervisory committee
• demonstrating native-speaker proficiency, as determined by the School of International Letters and Cultures, in a language approved by the student's supervisory committee
• earning a "B" or higher (3.00 on a 4.00 scale) in both ENG 530 Old English and ENG 531 Old English Literature or the equivalent of each
• holding a bachelor's degree in an approved foreign language
• having fulfilled a foreign language requirement toward a previously awarded master's degree that was completed within five years of the semester for which the student was admitted to the doctoral program
• two years (four semesters) of successfully completed college-level coursework (no more than six years prior to admission to the degree program) at least at the 100 and 200 levels with a "C" or better for languages which the School of International Letters and Cultures does not offer or does not offer above the 200 level

The foreign language requirement must be in a language approved by the student's doctoral supervisory committee.

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree from a regionally accredited institution.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

All applicants must submit:

• graduate admission application and application fee
• official transcripts
• statement of purpose
• resume or curriculum vitae
• three letters of recommendation
• academic writing sample relevant to the field
• statement of teaching philosophy (teaching assistantship only)
• proof of English proficiency

Additional Application Information An applicant whose native language is not English (regardless of current residency) and has not graduated from an institution of higher learning in the United States must provide proof of English proficiency. Applications will not be processed without valid proof of English proficiency. More information about English proficiency requirements can be found the school website . Please note that official scores must be sent to ASU in order for the application to be processed.

The well-considered one- to two-page statement of purpose should explain the applicant's scholarly background and training, career goals, proposed research specialization, any secondary field of interest and why the applicant wishes to pursue a PhD in linguistics and applied linguistics at Arizona State University. Applicants applying for funding must also submit a statement of teaching philosophy.

Program learning outcomes identify what a student will learn or be able to do upon completion of their program. This program has the following program outcomes:

• Critical analysis expertise: Students will demonstrate the ability to explain, synthesize and critique existing scholarship in their research area.
• Independent research expertise: Students will be able to design and carry out an original research study in their discipline and subdisciplines.
• Scholarly writing expertise: Students will demonstrate the ability to produce written scholarly work at a level expected by the profession and consistent with the degree program.

Graduates with research expertise in linguistics and applied linguistics work in a variety of professional contexts, such as academia, government, business, health care, legal settings, publishing, the private sector and nongovernmental organizations.

Career examples include:

• computer-assisted language learning expert
• data analyst
• forensic linguist
• language policy or documentation expert
• language program director or coordinator
• language researcher
• linguistic consultant
• program and curriculum developer
• teacher trainer
• university professor

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Ph.D. Degrees

Our ph.d. programs.

Ph.D. candidates have been completing their doctorates in our department every year since 1956. We offer a Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics with multiple concentrations.

Ph.D. in Linguistics

Doctoral students in Linguistics establish themselves as experts in specific areas of language investigation, building on coursework comprising the M.A. program. An unusual feature of Linguistics at Indiana University is the requirement of a substantive minor outside of the department, which establishes each student with a research relationship with faculty outside the department. Students commonly are on the ground-floor of creating cross-disciplinary research agenda, opening up new ways of looking at language.

Doctoral students develop research skills to open up investigation into an aspect of language. Since the doctoral program is one of the largest in the nation, our students are developing expertise in many different areas, ranging from acoustics to speech motor control, to logic and discourse representation, from how languages adapt words from other languages to how speakers adopt patterns to move across language groups, from grammatical theory to learning a second language.

Ph.D. in Linguistics with a Concentration in Computational Linguistics

Computational linguistics is an interdisciplinary field which addresses the use of computers to process or produce human language. Linguistics contributes to this field an understanding of the special properties of language data, and also provides theories and descriptions of language structure and use. Computational linguistics is largely an applied discipline concerned with practical problems. Typical applications include: natural language processing, machine translation (translating from one language to another), speech synthesis, speech production, information retrieval (finding relevant documents or parts of documents in large collections of texts), cognitive modeling, and, in general, almost anything dealing with natural language interfaces.

Ph.D. in Linguistics with a Concentration in African Languages and Linguistics

Since our Linguistics department has a long history of research and teaching of languages from all over the continent of Africa, we offer a doctoral concentration specifically to support students who are developing expertise in linguistic inquiry into the languages of Africa. The program, though similar to the general Ph.D. program, requires engagement in offerings specifically targeting African linguistics, and is administered by our faculty who are leaders in the study of the languages of Africa.

Find more information about Ph.D. degrees in our Student Portal

Professionalization

As part of our graduate program, we offer professionalization workshops every 3-4 weeks. To quickly develop a sense of professional opportunities in our field, incoming students are strongly encouraged to attend. These workshops introduce you to a range of extracurricular topics, including:

• What it means to be a professional linguist
• Conferences
• Publications
• Grants and funding
• Job-seeking
• Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocols

Learn more about career preparation

All Ph.D. students are required to engage in research, and master’s students are encouraged to do the same. This work is often facilitated by research groups and labs.

Student spotlight: Jeremy Coburn

Fieldwork with the Hadza: At Home and Abroad

In order to mitigate the difficulties (and expense) of frequently traveling to northern Tanzania to study the language of the  Hadza , Jeremy collaborated with the Hadza community to develop a community-based remote fieldwork methodology.

Learn more about Jeremy's fieldwork

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PhD in Linguistics

As one of the top four graduate programs in theoretical linguistics, the close-knit PhD in linguistics program prepares you to conduct individual creative research as early as possible in your graduate career, working very closely with faculty. You’ll concentrate your study in the area of syntax, semantics, phonology, phonetics, psycholinguistics, language acquisition, morphology, or computational linguistics. Upon graduation, you’ll be well prepared to become a professor in the field of theoretical linguistics at universities around the world.

Application information & deadlines

December 20, 2023, linguistics.

Conduct creative research with faculty in specialty areas including syntax, semantics, and phonology in a top graduate program in theoretical linguistics.

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Doctoral Program

The mission of the Ph.D. Program in Linguistics is to train students to pursue research and teach in the areas of general linguistics and a chosen subfield. The Ph.D. in Linguistics at South Carolina typically involves a much broader range of coursework than what is found at more traditional Linguistics Departments and Programs in the United States.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Linguistics

The Ph.D. program in Linguistics at USC does not focus on the training of theoretical linguists, but instead sees its mission as that of training historical linguists, language acquisition specialists, sociolinguists, and others, who can apply linguistic theory to the pursuit of their research. The interdisciplinary nature of our program affords our students the opportunity to investigate the intersections of multiple sub-disciplines such as sociolinguistics and phonetics, historical linguistics and phonology, language acquisition and syntax, and psycholinguistics and semantics.

Students who do not already hold an M.A. or M.S. degree in linguistics are encouraged to consult with the Graduate Director before submitting their application online to discuss the option of concurrent enrollment in the M.A. and Ph.D. programs.

Timetable to Completion

The Graduate School requires at least 60 post baccalaureate credit hours for a doctoral degree with 48 hours coming from coursework and 12 from dissertation hours. All coursework requirements for the Ph.D. must be completed within eight years of first enrolling. Typically, students complete coursework within three to four years. 

Degree Requirements

Doctoral students choose a special field to guide their studies from different areas of specialization .  Approved special fields are the following:

• English/French/German/Spanish linguistics
• Historical linguistics
• Linguistic anthropology
• Philosophy of language
• Phonological theory
• Psycholinguistics
• Second/foreign language acquisition
• Sociolinguistics
• Syntactic theory
• Teaching English as a second/foreign language

General information about the Ph.D. program can be found in the Graduate Bulletin . The timetable to completion, course requirements, foreign language requirements, comprehensive examination details, subfield guidelines, and other program-specific requirements can be found in the Graduate Student  Handbook .

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Linguistics - doctorate (phd).

DEGREE OVERVIEW

The PhD degree provides training in the primary areas of the field related to speech sounds, sentence structure, meaning, and psycholingusitics; advanced training in field linguistics and documentary linguistics, experimental linguistics, corpus linguistics, and second language acquisition; and experience in presenting original research in professional venues. Students will pursue and develop in-depth expertise in at least one area of specialization.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The Department of Linguistics & TESOL seeks to deepen our understanding of language by examining how it is represented, used, and processed. Our department works toward this goal through research and teaching in theoretical linguistics, focusing on phonology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and psycholinguistics as well as the interfaces among these domains of inquiry. In order to explore questions in these areas, we use multiple methods—including field methods, corpus-based methods, and experimental research methods—to collect and analyze data from a wide range of the world's languages and from both native and non-native speakers of these languages. This approach to the scientific study of language is the primary focus of our PhD in linguistics, MA in linguistics, and BA in linguistics.

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CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

• Tenure-line and non-Tenure-line professorships
• Postdoctoral researchers
• Language consultants, Language engineers
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WHY CHOOSE US?

• Located in the DFW area, where there are speakers of many different languages
• Active research environment with many opportunities to win internal research awards and grants
• Many opportunities to be trained to teach college-level classes
• An opportunity to also complete a graduate TESOL certificate

GET STARTED

Take the next step toward investing in yourself by learning more about our Linguistics - Doctorate (PHD) program.

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PROGRAM CONTACT

Name: Dr Daniel Scarpace 

Phone: 817-272-3133 

Email: [email protected]

Learn more about this program on the Department or College website.

Department of Linguistics & TESOL

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If you wish to apply follow this link.

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Linguistics

A graduate minor in linguistics permits students to investigate various aspects of linguistics, emphasizing the ability to think about language in a systematic and disciplined way and to apply the methods of the field to research problems in their own disciplines. Graduate courses for the minor may be cross-listed with courses in Anthropology, Communication Disorders, Computer Science, English, Psychology, and World Languages and Cultures.

Degrees Offered:

Learning Goals

For those pursuing a master’s degree, a declared minor in linguistics consists of 9 credits in linguistics including two foundation courses:

Admission Requirements

Graduate College Requirements:

• 4 year Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent)
• Academic Records/Transcripts
• Minimum 3.0 GPA  (Program may alter requirement.)
• Proof of English Proficiency.

Program Specific Requirements:

• Three essays (may be uploaded with online application)
• Concurrent applicants follow directions on web page
• Duolingo is temporally being accepted instead of TOEFL/IELTS
• Program Requires GRE: No
• Program Requires GMAT: No
• Program Will Review Without TOEFL or IELTS: No

International Requirements:

• Financial Statement:   Application

Application Requirements

Application Deadlines:

Fall term - June 15, Spring term - Nov 15, Summer term - March 15.

International students should apply at least three months before the start of term they are applying.

Application Details:

This program is open to domestic and international students.

Application Instructions

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Requirements for an MA degree in Linguistics

Students have two options for earning an MA degree in Linguistics in our Department. Although the two degrees are similar in structure, they have different eligibility requirements, and it is therefore important to read the requirements below carefully in order to determine which (if any) of these options are available to you.

Please note: the Linguistics Department does not have a stand-alone MA program that students who are not already PhD students at the University of Michigan may apply for.

Embedded/terminal MA

This MA degree is only available to students who are already enrolled in the Linguistics PhD program. It can either be taken by students who wish to withdraw from the PhD program before completing all requirements for that degree (in which case it is considered a “terminal MA”), or it can be applied for students en route to completing of their PhD (in which case it is considered and “embedded MA” or an “MA along the way”). The requirements for both options are the same. Students have to complete at least 30 credits, composed as follows, to qualify for this MA:

13 credits: LING 512, LING 513, LING 515, LING 516

3 credits: LING 740

2 credits: LING 750

3 credits: LING 997

9 credits: Three courses selected from those that apply toward the doctoral electives, LING 780, and/or cognate requirements

Students in the PhD program who are interested in receiving an embedded or terminal MA should contact the Graduate Coordinator at [email protected] . 

Joint MA for students in other Rackham programs

This MA is only available to students who are currently enrolled in a different Rackham PhD program. In order to qualify for this degree, students have to complete at least 30 credits, composed as follows:

17 credits: Additional Linguistics courses at the 500-level or above and/or graduate level cognate courses. At most 6 of these credits can come from cognate courses.

If you are interested in applying to the Joint MA Program, please reach out to our Graduate Coordinator at [email protected] for more details on the application process.

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Graduate students bring cognitive science to deaf K-12 classrooms and beyond

What happens when you touch something, asks Misa Suzuki, G-’24 . “Does the touch stay on your hand or go to your brain?” That was a question she asked students at the Maryland School for the Deaf Columbia Campus (MSD-C) during a recent visit introducing them to the wonders of the nervous system and scientific research. “Students were almost too excited,” she says. “One kid even got up on stage with me.”

Suzuki and a team of fellow graduate students from several disciplines — Linguistics, Education, Psychology, Accessible Human-Centered Computing, Deaf Studies, and Neuroscience — spent the past year developing educational resources through their project, “In Your Hands: Promoting Early Diverse Deaf Engagement in the Cognitive Sciences.” Funded by a grant from the Cognitive Science Society Broadening Participation in Cognitive Science Initiative, the project has several parts: creating lesson plans, producing a video, and building a website, all designed to cultivate interest and provide greater access for deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, and deafdisabled K-12 students.

They often met several times a week to pull this off, says Bonnie Barrett, G-’24, who co-led the team with Suzuki. “This was something that all of us took on willingly on top of our schoolwork and job duties,” says Phoenix Cook, G-’24, who was inspired to be part of a team paving the way for the next generation of deaf scientists. Joseph Palagano, ’22, notes that there is no standard curriculum for introducing cognitive science to K-12 students. So developing a program specifically for deaf children learning in both American Sign Language and English was a chance to conjure a sculptor’s creativity. “With an end goal in mind, a set of tools, and faith in each other’s abilities, we began to carve away,” he says. “We committed ourselves to delving into uncharted waters.”

To test out their ideas, they needed an audience, so Suzuki and Barrett reached out to several schools with a short ASL video describing their goals. All of the schools responded positively, Barrett says, and then came an invitation to visit MSD-C in May. Standing in front of the kids there, leading them through activities, skits, and games, the team truly got to see the impact of this work. “It was a lot of fun, and of course, quite fulfilling to see our project come to life,” she says. They did five hour-long sessions with a total of nearly 100 students in kindergarten through eighth grade over the course of the day.

The first group was the youngest kids. “Everything is new to them,” Suzuki says. “We explained that the brain controls everything in your body. If you are biking, cooking, or eating, that is your brain.” These are abstract concepts, but team members tried to find familiar ways to help the kids see the connection. “Think about the sign for ‘understand.’ It is by your brain,” she says.

The kids really enjoyed passing around a model of the brain, adds Barrett, who notes that older kids were also intrigued by the equipment used to do experiments. “Team members described EEG and fMRI, and then shared a bit about work in AI and virtual reality before we moved into our discussion about bilingualism and the brain,” Barrett says. This discussion led to a chance for a role-play activity that helped kids understand what research looks like — and that they could grow up to be researchers — Suzuki says.

With each new topic, it was powerful to witness the kids’ reaction to the material. “You could see it in their faces. Recognizing the benefit of bilingualism — this was something they had not thought of. This is going to be life changing,” Suzuki says.

The experience proved that the team is on the right track with the “In Your Hands” project, which has benefited from the help of advisor Dr. Deanna Gagne, as well as other Gallaudet faculty, teachers at several schools for the deaf, scientists working in the field, and other community members. “Their support, and the care that so many people beyond our team have put into this project, have really made a huge difference in what we have created,” Barrett says.

These experts gave the team tips on what kinds of activities would work best for students. So when Suzuki presented her question about touch, she didn’t ask for a show of hands. She had students vote with their feet by moving to one side of the room or the other. These collaborators also ensured that the lesson plans aligned with the overall science curriculum. “They thought it was a great idea to have our team of people who actually work in the sciences teach and emphasize that science is for all, and there’s so much we can do with it,” Barrett says.

That is a message “In Your Hands” has amplified by gathering photos of deaf scientists from around the world. “We intend to share these images in our video and on our website so students can see actual living scientists, and get a sense of where scientists work,” she adds.

The video, which will be released later this year, features an introduction to cognitive science delivered by 15 deaf, signing individuals, including some kids. “It’s really important for that representation to be there,” Suzuki says. “You won’t get the same level of engagement unless you see someone like yourself. We want the audience to feel like their peers are talking to them.” The filming sessions provided extra opportunities to engage with the subject matter and collaborate. “Each actor had unique ideas, perspectives, and ways of conveying information in ASL, and we worked together to translate the material,” Barrett says.

This is only the beginning for the team, which plans to continue with “In Your Hands.” They will visit Kendall Demonstration Elementary School this fall, and MSD-C has asked them to return. “You can do a lot in an hour. But there is so much more possibility there,” Suzuki says. Wadha Alshammari, currently in the M.A. in Deaf Education program at Gallaudet, hopes they can schedule more one-on-one time for students so they can ask questions — and she can learn more about them. “I’m from Saudi Arabia, where the culture is different. Growing up, I didn’t have a lot of experience with signed language, so it is interesting to see how it is taught,” she says.

The team will make their lesson plans available to anyone who wants them, and they would like to also translate the materials into other languages so that the program can be used internationally. “We have learned from our mistakes and acquired new skills, making this a rich experience that I will certainly apply in my home country, Saudi Arabia,” says Alshammari, who plans to establish a new school for deaf children and teach there. Suzuki wants to bring it to her native Japan as well.

They are all committed to spreading this information as widely as possible and setting an example for deaf children everywhere. “Growing up, I never met any deaf scientists or scholars,” Cook says. “I only met deaf people who worked at a press shop or taught ASL, so I felt like this field was out of reach for me, or I wasn’t destined for it. By being a deaf scientist, I hope to help lift that barrier of internalized audism and open deaf children’s eyes to the world of possibilities that’s before them.”

After all, when you touch something — or someone — that sends a message to the brain.

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phd defence

Phd defence: lauren schneider.

Please join us for Lauren Schneider’s PhD defence on Wednesday, July 31, 9:00am – 12:00pm. The defence will take place in Room 7402 of Robert C. Brown Hall, SFU Burnaby Campus. Lauren’s work, titled Serial verb constructions in Hul’q’umi’num’ Salish , presents an account of Hul’q’umi’num’ Salish constructions in which multiple verbal elements are stacked together. She examines the use of these serial verb constructions (SVCs) in great detail, including a survey of the various word orders available and the limits of SVC flexibility in Hul’q’umi’num’ Salish.

Serial verb constructions (SVCs) are an understudied phenomena in Salish languages. Hul’q’umi’num’ is the Vancouver Island dialect of Halkomelem Salish and this language makes frequent use of SVCs in narratives. Using data from elicitations and a corpus of texts, I present an account of constructions in which multiple verbal elements are stacked together. I begin by reviewing the relevant literature in SVC typology, Salish language syntax, motion semantics, discourse strategies, etc.

I examine in greater detail the use of SVCs to encode motion semantics, paying particular attention to the order of the verbs. During this study, I found two patterns of grammaticalization of verbs that are likely moving toward dependent verb forms. The first is the verb huye’ ‘leave’ which is serialized more often than any other verb and exhibits a strong preference for occurring as the first verb; this verb is in the process of becoming an auxiliary. The second is the verb nem’ ‘go’ which frequently occurs as the end of a serial string to introduce goal or location information; this verb is in the process of developing coverb function.

Hul’q’umi’num’ SVCs can be composed of any combination of intransitive and transitive verbs. I survey the various word orders available to these constructions and probe the limits of their flexibility. Next, I expand the scope of my examination to the entire oral paragraph, revealing how the discourse context plays a significant role in the realization of the syntax of SVCs. Finally, I conduct a preliminary survey of serialization and alternative patterns in the other Salish languages.

Committee Members

• Dr. Donna Gerdts, Supervisor and Professor SFU
• Dr. Nancy Hedberg, Professor SFU
• Dr. Réjean Canac-Marquis, Associate Professor SFU
• Dr. Daisy Rosenblum, Assistant Professor, UBC 

The UCLA Linguistics Department’s normal business hours are M-F 8am-12pm, 1-4pm. Office schedule and availability may change based on UCLA protocol ( www.covid-19.ucla.edu). Masks are optional but strongly recommended indoors. All UCLA affiliates and visitors must self-screen for symptoms before coming to campus.

The Department of Linguistics

Commencement 2024, ucla linguistics commencement 2024  .

Sunday, June 16, 2024 5:30 PM Royce Hall    

Ceremony Program Class of 2024 List 

Keynote speaker.

Dr. Karen Emmorey received her Bachelor’s degree (1982) and her doctorate in Linguistics (1987) from UCLA. She was a Staff Scientist at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, CA from 1988-2005, and she is currently a Distinguished Professor in the School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at San Diego State University and the Director of the Laboratory for Language and Cognitive Neuroscience. Dr. Emmorey’s research focuses on what sign languages can reveal about the nature of human language, cognition, and the brain. She studies the processes involved in how deaf and hearing people produce and comprehend sign language and how these processes are represented in the brain. Her research interests also include bimodal bilingualism (i.e., sign-speech bilingualism) and the neurocognitive underpinnings of reading skill in profoundly deaf adults.

Undergraduate Student Speaker

Angeline Skye Eusebio Espina, a 2nd-year transfer student, is graduating with a B.A. in Linguistics and Psychology. Throughout her time at UCLA, Angeline gained extensive and valuable knowledge in Linguistics (phonetics being her favorite), while creating cherished memories and connections. She also played a role in establishing and expanding the social media influencer & marketing organization, REACH, to UCLA’s campus as Vice President of REACH at UCLA, growing the club from zero to over 250 members in just a year and a half. She is deeply grateful for all the opportunities and support she received during her Linguistics undergraduate experience. Angeline plans to pursue a career in Speech-Language Pathology, aiming to serve the Early Intervention population with passion.

A Message from Our Chair

Dear Linguists from the Class of 2024, 

  Congratulations on receiving your UCLA degree. You are now part of a select group of individuals who can discuss laterals, lambdas, and locatives! With all your hard work, and your persistence, you have mastered our rigorous and challenging program! You are ready to take the world by storm!

We – all your faculty, TAs, and staff – are thrilled to host the third Royce Hall Commencement ceremony for you. I hope to see you, and everyone who contributed to your success, at the UCLA Linguistics Graduation event. 

We wish you every success in this world. And don’t be strangers. We want to know what you are doing with your degrees. So, please join us on the burgeoning UCLA Linguistics LinkedIn group . A fellow Bruin Linguist awaits, wherever life takes you. 

With best wishes, 

Megha Sundara Department Chair and Professor

Link to View Commencement Video

• Department Overview
• Job Opportunties
• Graduate Students
• Ph.D. Recipients
• Faculty Office Hours
• TA Office Hours
• In Memoriam
• What is Linguistics?
• Prospective Students
• Majors and Minor
• Opportunities
• American Sign Language
• Bruin Linguists Society
• Student Resources
• The Graduate Program
• For Prospective Students
• For Current Students
• Course Schedule
• Undergraduate Courses
• Current Proseminars
• Archive of past proseminars
• Summer Courses
• Course Technology Requirements
• Overview of Research
• UCLA Working Papers
• Psycholinguistics Laboratory
• Digital and other research resources
• Visiting Scholar Requirements
• Room Reservation Request
• Key Loan Request
• General Information for Students
• For Department Members

Linguistics Scholars Featured in Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) Version of Star Wars

Gi-ga-miinigoowiz Mamaandaawiziwin

 May the Force be with you

The Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) version of Star Wars: A New Hope (Anangong Miigaading) makes its debut on August 8, 2024, at Centennial Concert Hall in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Starting on August 10, the film will debut in limited release in Winnipeg and other select markets. Walt Disney Studios Canada is collaborating with exhibitors in Winnipeg and other select markets to offer free screenings for the community. 

This new version features Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) voice talent, including University of Minnesota Institute of Linguistics alumni Aandeg Jedi Muldrew (MA '22) as Luke Skywalker and Dustin Gerald Morrow Aagimewikamig (BA '21, MA '23) as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Morrow is a current PhD candidate.

See the full press release and watch the trailer . 

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Congratulations Class of 2024!

The faculty & staff of the Institute of Linguistics congratulate the outstanding class of 2024!

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