Doctoral Program

Our Ph.D. program in Linguistics requires the student to develop a solid understanding of the core areas of the discipline in addition to an in-depth specialty in one of the many areas available through the research interests of the faculty and associate faculty.

Ph.D. Program Requirements

Admission

Linguistics Graduate Brochure (PDF)

The student will work with his/her academic advisor to devise a course of study that best suits the student's research interests.

Prerequisites

• M.A. in Linguistics with a thesis.
• Breadth in course requirements is addressed at the M.A. level. Students with an M.A. in Linguistics from another institution may be required to make up any deficiencies in breadth through additional course work.

Minimum Course Requirements

24 credit hours, consisting of:

1. Methods Requirement: LING 741 Field Methods in Linguistic Description. If already taken (for MA), the replace with one of the following:
   • LING 720: Research Methods in Linguistics
   • LING 740: Linguistic Data Processing
   • LING 782: Research Methods in Child Language
2. Three of the following second level courses:
   • LING 707: Phonetics II
   • LING 714: Phonology II
   • LING 716: Second Language Acquisition II
   • LING 726: Syntax II
   • LING 737: Psycholinguistics II
   • LING 791: Morphology
   • LING 822: Seminar on Acquisition of Language
3. 4 electives (12 credit hours)
   

Additional Requirements

• Language Requirement:
  The MA language requirement: Reading ability in a foreign language (not English) with a significant linguistic literature.
  
• Research Skills Requirement:
  One of the following:
  • A course in a computer programming language
  • Computational Linguistics (LING 783)
  • A course in Statistics

Written Preliminary Examination

Student writes two papers and a dissertation proposal; the papers should be written in accordance with the Graduate Student Guide:

Major paper in the area of specialization. The linguistics MA thesis may be expanded/rewritten as the major paper. This paper should be of publishable quality. Minimum page length: 25 pages.
Minor paper in a second area. Minimum page length: 15 pages.
Dissertation proposal. Minimum page length: 10 pages.

Before completion of course work, the student should meet with her/his advisory committee and obtain approval for the paper areas. The papers are developed in close consultation with the student’s committee and are only officially submitted after the committee has signed the approval form and placed a copy of the form in the student’s folder. These papers should typically be submitted no later than one semester after the student has completed the 24 credit hours mentioned under 2. The papers should be of publishable quality. The committee will evaluate the adequacy of the student’s literature review as well as the quality of the theoretical contribution or research integration. The quality of the papers will be judged on their content and on the basis of their logical coherence and organization. The student’s advisory committee will sign a form that certifies when the student’s paper meets these standards and place a copy in the student’s academic folder.

Oral Comprehensive

Oral defense of the two papers and the dissertation proposal mentioned above. This exam ust must be taken no more than two months after the three papers have been turned in. The am exam will typically last two to three hours.

Dissertation

Dissertation and oral defense.

NOTE: All curricular decisions should be made in consultation with the student's advisory committee.

Final Oral Examination

A defense of the dissertation.

Median Time to Degree for Doctoral Degree Recipients

Doctoral Program	FY 2004 - FY 2006 Doctoral Degree Count for Full-Time and Part-Time Students	Median Time to Degree(in years) for Full-Time and Part-Time Students	FY 2004 - FY 2006 Doctoral Degree Count for Full-Time Students	Median Time to Degree (in years) for Full-Time Students Only
Linguistics	9	3.7	9	3.7

2009 Graduate Student Guide