phd topics in linguistics

Doctoral Program

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

Students are provided with a broad-based background in linguistics, teaching experience in the classroom and other forums, and opportunities for original and high-quality research.  Our Ph.D. students write dissertations on a wide range of topics spanning and bridging many subareas of the field.  See our Ph.D. Alumni  page for dissertation titles and job placement information.

Overview of the Program

Through the completion of advanced coursework and strong methodological and analytical training, the  Ph.D. program prepares students to make original contributions to knowledge in linguistics, to articulate the results of their work, and to demonstrate its significance to linguistics and related fields.  At every stage in the program, students are encouraged to present and publish their research and to develop active professional profiles. 

Students generally complete the program in five years

• Coursework in core areas of linguistics, chosen by each student in consultation with faculty advisors to build the foundation that best suits their interests and goals.
• Fall Quarter: Includes seminar to introduce students to the research of faculty in the department
• Winter Quarter: Includes participation in small research groups or in one-on-one apprenticeships
• Spring Quarter: Includes beginning to work on the first of 2 qualifying research papers

Years 2 and 3

• Balance shifts from coursework to development of research skills
• Students complete two qualifying papers and then selects a principal advisor and committee for their dissertation by the end of year 3.

Years 4 and 5

• Devoted to dissertation and advanced research

Teaching Experience

As they move through the Ph.D. program, students also gain teaching experience by serving as teaching assistants in their second, third, and fourth year of graduate study. They also have access to the many programs provided by Stanford's Vice Provost for  Teaching and Learning , including the varied resources of the Teaching Commons .

Offers of admission to the Linguistics P.h.D program include funding for the full five years of doctoral study, including tuition and stipend, regardless of citizenship. 

We also encourage our applicants to apply for as many external fellowships and scholarships as they are eligible for; a compilation of funding opportunities for Linguistics graduate students can be found on our  Fellowship and Funding Information page .  Applicants should note that the deadlines for these fellowships are typically in the fall of the year prior to admission.

In addition, the  Knight-Hennessy Scholars  program is designed to build a multidisciplinary community of Stanford graduate students dedicated to finding creative solutions to the world's greatest challenges. The program awards up to 100 high-achieving students every year with full funding to pursue a graduate education at Stanford, including the Ph.D. degree in Linguistics. 

Additional information is available about the student budget , Stanford graduate fellowships , and other support programs .

Outside the classroom, there are many opportunities, both formal and informal, for the discussion of linguistic issues and ongoing research, including colloquia, workshops, and reading groups.

Partnership Opportunities

Although not part of the formal doctoral program, there are numerous opportunities for research and development work at the Center for the Study of Language and Information and  off-campus at local companies.  

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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:

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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/exams-committees 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 exam scheduling form ).
• 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/exams-committees . 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 exam scheduling form ).
• 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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Course Descriptions

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PhD Program

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The PhD program is for those interested in advanced research training and developing expertise in an area of their choice.

Program Overview

Our department covers a broad range of research topics, with substantial coverage of phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. We approach these topics from several different research traditions and backgrounds, with particular strengths in formal-theoretical linguistics, experimental and field linguistics, acquisition, and computational approaches to the study of communicative behaviour.

Program Requirements

Students in the PhD Linguistics program must complete coursework under the following requirements:

• LING 508: Phonetic Theory and Analysis (3 credits)
• LING 510: Phonological Theory and Analysis (3 credits)
• LING 520: Syntactic Theory and Analysis (3 credits)
• LING 525: Semantic Theory and Analysis (3 credits)
• First-year breadth courses may be waived if equivalent courses have been taken elsewhere.
• LING 505A: Issues in Morphological Theory and Analysis (3 credits)
• LING 511 : Topics in Phonology (3 credits)
• LING 513: Topics in Phonetics (3 credits)
• LING 521: Topics in Syntax (3 credits)
• LING 527: Topics in Semantics (3 credits)
• More than one section of LING 530 can be counted towards this requirement, with each three-credit section counting as one course.
• LING 531: Field Methods in Linguistics I (3 credits)
• The remaining six credits can be completed with either LING 532, LING 518, and/or an appropriate methods-related course within in Linguistics or in a different department

The first-year breadth courses and methods courses (except Field Methods) are waived if equivalent courses have been taken elsewhere, subject to an evaluation of the relevant syllabus.

First-year graduate students who do not have sufficient background for the first-year graduate courses (this is most typically an issue for LING 525 and LING 508) are expected to take the appropriate undergraduate courses (e.g., LING 325, LING 313) prior to registration in the graduate course.

Here are three sample course sequences that students usually take:

Sequence 1: 

Term 1: Breadth: LING 510, LING 520; Depth: LING 503

Term 2: Breadth: LING 508, LING 525; Depth: LING 511

Term 3: Depth: LING 513; Methods: LING 518, LING 531

Term 4: Depth: LING 530; Depth/Methods: LING 532

Sequence 2: 

Term 1: Breadth: LING 510, LING 520; Depth: LING 530

Term 2: Breadth: LING 525; Depth: LING 505A, LING 521

Term 3: Depth LING 527; Methods: LING 518, LING 531

Term 4: Depth/Methods LING 532

Sequence 3: 

Term 1: Breadth: LING 510; Depth: LING 503; Methods: 3 credits in statistics

Term 3: Depth LING 513; Methods: LING 518, LING 531

Term 4: Depth LING 530; LING 530

Qualifying papers

The QP process is an opportunity to develop, strengthen, and broaden research skills. Whether a student chooses the one-QP or two-QP option and the specific topic(s) are decisions students discuss and make in discussion with their committee. Discussions of what constitutes appropriate scope should take place within the committee.

Two-QP option (default): Students who select to write two QPs are acknowledging that they would benefit from the experience of engaging in two separate research topics under the guidance of a committee. Each committee must have three members, but each QP will have two readers. (The third member may be the Graduate Advisor.) The length of these QPs is to be the scope of a discipline-specific conference proceedings paper.

One-QP option: Students who select to write one QP are eager to engage more deeply with a single topic and set of research methods. Under this option, QPs will have three readers. The scope of this QP is to be appropriate for a journal manuscript, which is discipline specific. 

While QPs may feed into dissertation projects, there is no established expectation that they will or will not.

No defences, but QP presentations. Under neither of these options will students be required to defend their QPs. But, developing presentation skills is important to a scholar’s development. Students are required to present each QP. Such a presentation is a presentation and not a defence. The evaluation of a presentation is thus formative, and not summative. A QP does not need to be presented upon completion, but rather it is up to the committee to decide the presentation timing that is appropriate for a student. To facilitate this, there will be a Graduate Student Research Day at the end of every term, and all students will be invited to present.

As part of the Qualifying Paper process, and before beginning work on the paper, a student must have a short proposal for each paper approved by the supervisory committee. The proposal must establish the specific area and problem(s) to be addressed and cite a few key references from the literature which will be surveyed. The committee will normally respond to the proposal within 2 weeks of its submission. The Qualifying Paper proposal should follow the formatting guidelines of an abstract for the Annual Conference of the Canadian Linguistic Association, with the following addition: without exceeding the one-page length limit, the proposal should include a short budget (if there will be costs associated with completing the Qualifying Paper), budget justification and funding source (faculty member’s grant, outside grant, private funds, etc.). Also note that the content for a proposal will normally be more speculative than a conference abstract. Once approved, the Qualifying Paper proposal should be electronically filed with the Grad Admin and circulated electronically to the Department.

The final paper will be submitted to UBC Working Papers in Linguistics and must follow the UBCWPL style guidelines for length and formatting.

Dissertation

The dissertation marks the culmination of the PhD program. A dissertation should be an original and independent research project which makes some contribution to knowledge in the special area elected by the student.The dissertation marks the culmination of the PhD program. A dissertation should be an original and independent research project which makes some contribution to knowledge in the special area elected by the student.

By the end of a student’s third year, the student must submit to the Graduate Advisor a dissertation prospectus, along with the appropriate approval form signed by the members of the dissertation committee, and circulate the prospectus electronically to the Department. The content of a dissertation prospectus should be along the lines of an NSERC Discovery Grant or a SSHRC Insight Grant; it should have the following components:

• Summary (1 page maximum)
• Detailed description (6 pages maximum)
• Bibliography
• Budget (if there will be costs associated with completing the dissertation research)
• Budget justification (as appropriate)

Dissertations should be prepared in accordance with the thesis formatting regulations required by Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Dissertations which do not meet the standards specified may be rejected. Documentation should follow the style guide of the Canadian Journal of Linguistics, Language, or the American Psychological Association.

The completed dissertation will be read by a specialist from outside the University, arranged by the Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at least three months before the candidate expects to take the final oral examination. The student’s research supervisor and the Graduate Advisor will forward a list of names of specialists who might serve as External Examiner using the Doctoral Dissertation Form. When the dissertation has been approved for submission to the External Examiner, the candidate will take the final oral defence. This is a formal, public examination, chaired by an appointee of the Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, and attended by the members of the examining committee and other interested persons.

Students nearing the final stages of thesis writing should familiarize themselves with the timeline to the oral dissertation defense . During the weeks prior to the oral examination, students are strongly encouraged to give a practice oral presentation, ideally during a departmental research seminar slot. Practice orals should follow the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies format, allowing 30 minutes for a presentation, and a longer period for questions. While examining committee members are not prohibited from attending, practice orals should not be viewed as an opportunity to prepare students for specific questions that students will be asked by committee members at the official defence.

The candidate submits an electronic copy of the final dissertation to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. The electronic copy will be deposited in the cIRcle on-line repository, and linked from the department website. The final oral exam may be held at any time of the year (except from mid-December to mid-January) provided that the examining committee can be assembled.

Language requirement

In order to graduate, students must have a sound knowledge of one language other than English. They must fulfill this language requirement by the time of their thesis prospectus submission.

The language to fulfill this requirement is expected to be chosen on the basis of its relevance for the student’s research program, in consultation and by approval of the student’s supervisory committee. Relevance can be determined by a variety of factors such as the following:

• The language is the object of the student’s research, or is closely related to the language of research; for example, where a student’s research focuses on Yoruba, knowledge of Yoruba could fulfill the requirement, or where the student’s research is on St’at’imcets, knowledge of Halkomelem could fulfill the requirement.
• There is a significant and relevant linguistic literature in the language; for example, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, and Russian could fulfill the requirement.
• The language serves as a medium for conducting linguistic research relevant to the student’s program of research; for example, Hausa could fulfill the language requirement for a student conducting research on a language of northern Nigeria.

Students may fulfill the language requirements in various ways:

• Certain departments at UBC periodically schedule reading knowledge examinations. This exam evaluates a student’s language competence based on the translation of a text (approximately 1000 words) relating to the student’s field of study. A minimum second class standing (B- or better) must be obtained on this exam in order to satisfy the Foreign Language Requirement. For further information on such examinations, contact the appropriate departments.
• If you speak a language natively, your native proficiency can be accepted by the supervisory committee.
• If you have completed a program of post-secondary language study (a minimum of 12 credits or equivalent). A minimum second class standing (B- or better) must be obtained for these credits in order to satisfy the Foreign Language Requirement.
• For other languages, it may be necessary to establish an ad hoc mechanism for conducting an evaluation of the student’s knowledge. In such cases, the student should make a written request to their supervisory committee, including a proposal for how such an examination can take place, and including a proposal for a qualified examiner. Students considering this option should be aware that the requirements (including the required level of competence in the language and how to demonstrate it) may vary extensively from case to case, depending on the norms of the language community involved.

Continuous enrolment

Until their MA thesis prospectus has been approved, all MA students are expected to maintain a regular, active, physical presence in the Department. This can include participation in lab/project/reading groups, attending colloquia, research seminars or other ad hoc departmental events, meetings with their supervisor, committee members or other researchers in relevant areas. Certain circumstances may necessitate a student’s absence during some of this period (e.g. for field work); such absences should be discussed with the supervisory committee.

At all stages of the program, a student and their supervisor should be in regular contact and communication. At the thesis/dissertation stage, such contact should happen at least once a month (again, barring extenuating circumstances), either through in-person meetings, videoconferencing, or communication/reporting over email.

Supervision

A Research Supervisor is appointed for a student before the beginning of their first year in the program. The Graduate Advisor and the Research Supervisor, in consultation with the incoming student, will establish a three-member Temporary Supervisory Committee no later than the end of the first week of the first term.

Prior to registration for the second year, the Temporary Supervisory Committee shall be dissolved and a new Supervisory Committee shall be established. A MA Supervisory Committee consists minimally of the Research Supervisor and two additional members. Normally the members of the supervisory committee are from the Department of Linguistics; if the students committee includes members from outside the Department of Linguistics, a majority must be departmental members. Establishing a Research Supervisor is the joint responsibility of the student and the Graduate Advisor.

Both new and continuing MA students will have a meeting with their Supervisory Committee during the last week of August or in early September. At this meeting students can discuss their course work and other aspects of their program. Incoming students are requested to bring with them copies of the calendars of course offerings from the institutions they previously attended (other than UBC). At the end of April or the beginning of May, all students will meet with their Supervisory Committee to discuss the year’s progress and to plan further work. Any changes in a graduate student’s program must be approved by the Supervisory Committee.

The Graduate Advisor, in advising students, makes every effort to ensure that they have satisfied all the requirements for the degree — language requirements, course work, etc. However, it is ultimately every student’s responsibility to ensure that at the time he/she applies for the degree he/she has met all the requirements. Separate records of a student’s program and progress are kept by the Faculty of Graduate Studies; these records are obtained from information provided by the Graduate Advisor and are used to determine a student’s ultimate eligibility for graduation.

Annual evaluation

The Faculty will meet in April or May each year to discuss the progress of each student in the PhD program. The student’s supervisor will inform them of the results of the evaluation. If a student is not making satisfactory progress, they will either be required to withdraw from the program immediately or will be placed on probation and told what conditions must be fulfilled to obtain a satisfactory standing. If a student on probation has not fulfilled these conditions by the end of the following semester, they will then normally be required to withdraw from the program.

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Berkeley Berkeley Academic Guide: Academic Guide 2023-24

Linguistics.

About the Program

The program emphasizes intellectual breadth and connections integrating many areas of Linguistics, as well as connections with neighboring disciplines.  

Faculty expertise in the department spans an unusually diverse range of endeavors. The graduate program accordingly includes a broad range of advanced coursework focusing on analyzing linguistic structure, variation and change, and cognition, using methods including archival research, field methods, experimental and corpus-based analyses, and computational modeling.

The Linguistics department has strong commitments to language documentation and reclamation, theoretical training and research, and the interdisciplinary study of language and cognition. Graduate students in the Linguistics department are eligible to apply to two Graduate Designated Emphases : the Designated Emphasis in Indigenous Language Revitalization , and the  Designated Emphasis in Cognitive Science .

The department has an excellent record of placing graduates in professional careers in academia, in private industry (e.g. research and development, technology), and non-profit organizations.

Visit Department Website

Admission to the University

Applying for graduate admission.

Thank you for considering UC Berkeley for graduate study! UC Berkeley offers more than 120 graduate programs representing the breadth and depth of interdisciplinary scholarship. A complete list of graduate academic departments, degrees offered, and application deadlines can be found on the Graduate Division website .

Prospective students must submit an online application to be considered for admission, in addition to any supplemental materials specific to the program for which they are applying. The online application can be found on the Graduate Division website .

Admission Requirements

The minimum graduate admission requirements are:

A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;

A satisfactory scholastic average, usually a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 (B) on a 4.0 scale; and

Enough undergraduate training to do graduate work in your chosen field.

For a list of requirements to complete your graduate application, please see the Graduate Division’s Admissions Requirements page . It is also important to check with the program or department of interest, as they may have additional requirements specific to their program of study and degree. Department contact information can be found here .

Where to apply?

Visit the Berkeley Graduate Division application page .

Departmental Requirements

In additional to the general materials required by the University we ask that you include:

Writing Sample : A writing sample is required of all applicants. Ideally, this sample would be a research paper on a linguistic topic, but it should in any event demonstrate the applicant's competence in writing analytic expository prose. The writing sample is to be submitted/uploaded with your online application.

For detailed information as to what we are looking for please go to our website at Linguistics .

Doctoral Degree Requirements

All students in the Department of Linguistics graduate program, including those holding a  Master’s degree from another institution, must earn a Berkeley MA in Linguistics en route to the  PhD.

Research training is part of the MA/PhD program from the start. As part of the MA phase of the program, students write an MA Capstone Paper. The MA Capstone Paper represents a piece of original research, undertaken with guidance from two faculty members. After the MA and before advancing to PhD candidacy, students write a PhD Qualifying Paper, with guidance from two additional faculty members. Throughout the program, students participate in professional activities, including research, writing, and presenting their work at conferences.

The usual timeline of program milestones, including both the MA and PhD portions is as follows:

Year 1: Research training and coursework.  This includes  LINGUIS 200 (Graduate Proseminar). Towards the end of the year, a required MA Capstone Planning Meeting with (at least) two faculty members launches students into working on their MA Capstone Paper.

Year 2: Continued training and coursework. Completion of MA Capstone Paper.

Year 3: LINGUIS 201 (Advanced Graduate Proseminar in Linguistics), PhD Qualifying Paper and Qualifying Exam . Advancement to PhD candidacy.

Year 4: Annotated Bibliography and Dissertation Prospectus + Prospectus Review, begin dissertation writing.

Year 5 (and 6):  Continue Dissertation Writing + Dissertation Committee Meetings

The MA Course Requirements

Students must complete a minimum of 24 semester units of graduate coursework in Linguistics, which include the Proseminar LINGUIS 200 , two Methods courses (any two of LINGUIS 240A , LINGUIS 240B , LINGUIS 260 Statistical Methods, or LINGUIS 252 Computational Modeling), and at least one course each from four of the five bins shown below.  

To find more specific information and details about our PhD, please review our Department website and the Grad Program Webpage .

LINGUIS 200 Graduate Proseminar in Linguistics 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 Required of graduate students during first year in program. An introduction to linguistics as a profession, its history, subfields, and methodologies. Graduate Proseminar in Linguistics: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: Two hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Linguistics/Graduate

Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.

Graduate Proseminar in Linguistics: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 201 Advanced Graduate Proseminar in Linguistics 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 The course is designed to help students become professional linguists by showing them how to write abstracts of papers, how to prepare papers for presentation at conferences, and how to prepare written versions of papers for submission as qualifying papers (and for journal publication), as well as to give students practical experience in the public presentation of their work. Advanced Graduate Proseminar in Linguistics: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: M.A. requirements should be completed or instructor approval

Advanced Graduate Proseminar in Linguistics: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 201A Second-Year Proseminar in Linguistics 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2014 The goal of the course is to help second-year graduate students navigate the graduate program and develop professional skills. Second-Year Proseminar in Linguistics: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Second-year standing (or equivalent) in the Linguistics graduate program

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of seminar per week

Additional Format: One hour of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.

Second-Year Proseminar in Linguistics: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 201B Advanced Graduate Proseminar in Linguistics 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2014 The course is designed to help students become professional linguists by showing them how to write abstracts of papers, how to prepare papers for presentation at conferences, and how to prepare written versions of papers for submission as qualifying papers (and for journal publication), as well as to give students practical experience in the public presentation of their work. Advanced Graduate Proseminar in Linguistics: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Course must be taken at the beginning of graduate student's third year.

Formerly known as: Linguistics 201

LINGUIS 205 Advanced Cognitive Linguistics 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2018 This will be an advanced course in cognitive linguistics. Among the topics covered will be cognitive bases for aspects of grammatical structure, cognitive constraints on language change and grammaticalization, and motivations for linguistic universals (i.e., constraints on variability). Advanced Cognitive Linguistics: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 105. Graduate standing or consent of instructor

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Three hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.

Grading: Letter grade.

Advanced Cognitive Linguistics: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 208 Advanced Psycholinguistics 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2022, Fall 2019, Spring 2019 This is a graduate-level introduction to psycholinguistics. This course provides an overview of key questions and research findings in psycholinguistics. Psycholinguistics focuses on the mechanisms underlying human language production and comprehension. Central to psycholinguistics is the formulation of conceptual and computational models of those mechanisms. Advanced Psycholinguistics: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Graduate standing in Linguistics or consent of the instructor

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: Three hours of seminar per week.

Instructors: Gahl, Johnson

Advanced Psycholinguistics: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 210 Advanced Phonetics 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2023, Fall 2021, Spring 2020 A reading course focusing on theories of speech production, perception, and acoustics as they relate to phonetic and phonological patterns found in the languages of the world. Students write 5-8 "responses" to target articles, and the class as a whole reads background articles and books that place the target articles into their context. Advanced Phonetics: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Linguistics 110. Graduate standing or consent of instructor

Additional Format: Three hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.

Advanced Phonetics: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 211A Advanced Phonology I 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Spring 2023 Introduction to phonological theory at the graduate level with an emphasis on cross-linguistic phonological patterns. Advanced Phonology I: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Linguistics 111. Graduate standing or consent of instructor

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture per week.

Advanced Phonology I: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 211B Advanced Phonology II 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2021, Fall 2020 Continuation of 211A focusing on topics of current interest in phonological theory. Advanced Phonology II: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Linguistics 211A

Advanced Phonology II: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 213 Advanced Experimental Phonetics 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2021, Spring 2019, Spring 2016 The goal of this course is to provide graduate students with advanced practical training in experimental methods within phonetics. This is a rotating topics course. The specific techniques taught will depend on the instructor. Advanced Experimental Phonetics: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Graduate student status or consent of instructor

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

Instructors: Lin, Johnson

Advanced Experimental Phonetics: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 215 Advanced Morphology 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2018, Fall 2015 Examination of complex morphological systems. Issues in the theory of word morphology. Advanced Morphology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 211A. Graduate standing or consent of instructor

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Advanced Morphology: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 220A Advanced Syntax I 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 This course aims at developing a solid conceptual, analytical, and empirical foundation for doing research in syntax and semantics. The emphasis is on gaining familiarity with the central empirical phenomena, as well as core theoretical notions, methodology, and argumentation. Advanced Syntax I: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Graduate standing or consent of instructor

Advanced Syntax I: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 220B Advanced Syntax II 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2022, Spring 2021 This course continues 220A with an in-depth examination of selected syntactic and semantic phenomena and the methods of their analysis. The phonomena investigated varies with each offering of the course. Advanced Syntax II: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Linguistics 220A

Advanced Syntax II: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 221 Advanced Formal Semantics I 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2021 This course is designed to introduce graduate students to the core principles and empirical issues addressed by formal semantics and to familiarize them with the analytical tools involved in conducting research in this domain. The focus of this class is truth-conditional aspects of meaning and the compositional interpretation of phrases and sentences. Students will develop skills in semantic analysis and argumentation by focusing on semantic questions that arise in the analysis of a range of different phenomena, including quantification, the semantics of definite/indefinite descriptions, and relative clauses. Advanced Formal Semantics I: Read More [+]

Instructor: Deal

Advanced Formal Semantics I: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 221B Advanced Formal Semantics II 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023 Students will continue to be introduced to various foundational issues and results in formal semantics. This course will provide a thorough introduction to intensionality as a phenomenon of natural language, as well as the core techniques and results of intensional (possible-world) semantics and the semantics of tense. In particular, we will examine in depth the semantics of sentential complements, the de re / de dicto distinction, modal auxiliaries, and tense and aspect morphemes. We will pay special attention to the ways that languages may vary with respect to these phenomena. Students will gain exposure to primary literature in the field of semantics through: key course readings, in-class presentations and final research project Advanced Formal Semantics II: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Linguistics 221 or permission of the instructor

Advanced Formal Semantics II: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 222 Advanced Linguistic Typology 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2021, Spring 2019 This course is a graduate level introduction to linguistic typology that covers quantitative, formal, and functional approaches to the typology of morphosyntactic and phonological phenomena. Students will be introduced to: 1) influential frameworks and tools for typological research including implicational hierarchies, semantic maps, and combinatorial typologies; 2) the status of universals in typology and formal, functional, and diachronic explanations for universals; 3) key topics in typology, including word order correlations and sampling methodology, grammatical relations typology, areal typology, and phonological typology. Advanced Linguistic Typology: Read More [+]

Instructors: Jenks, Michael

Advanced Linguistic Typology: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 225 Construction Grammar: The Relationship Between Thought and Language 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2015 Construction grammar arose in cognitive linguistics from phenomena showing how thought structures language and how language also structures thought, and from grammatical phenomena that could not be accounted for by transformational grammars. Over the past three decades two major theoretical approaches have evolved: One based on embodied cognition results, conceptual metaphor, and the neural modeling of brain mechanisms necessary to account for thought and language; and another theoretical approach that is disembodied, purely formal, and uses feature structures and head-driven grammars. The course will discuss these and other approaches. Construction Grammar: The Relationship Between Thought and Language: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Either Linguistics C105, C106, or 205. Or permission of instructor

Instructor: Lakoff

Construction Grammar: The Relationship Between Thought and Language: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 230 Advanced Comparative and Historical Linguistics 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 The scholarly tradition of historical and comparative linguistics. Methods of reconstruction. Advanced Comparative and Historical Linguistics: Read More [+]

Advanced Comparative and Historical Linguistics: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 234 Indo-European Linguistics 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2013, Spring 2012 A survey of Indo-European (IE) linguistics, intended for general linguists interested in learning about the most fully developed sub-area of historical linguistics and for language-area specialists interested in how specific language areas relate to IE as a whole. All areas of the field will be surveyed (phonology, morphology, syntax, lexical semantics, cultural reconstruction, and subgrouping and diversification), with special emphasis on issues of broad current research interest. Indo-European Linguistics: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: An introductory historical linguistics course or a good knowledge of an older Indo-European language

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture/discussion per week.

Indo-European Linguistics: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 240A Advanced Field Methods 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2022, Fall 2021 Training in elicitation and analysis of linguistic data in a simulated field setting. The same language is used throughout the year. Linguistics 240B is the continuation of 240A. Advanced Field Methods: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Linguistics 211A and Linguistics 220A. Graduate standing or consent of instructor

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4 hours of session per week

Additional Format: Four hours of session per week.

Advanced Field Methods: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 240B Advanced Field Methods 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021 Training in elicitation and analysis of linguistic data in a simulated field setting. The same language is used throughout the year. Linguistics 240B is the continuation of 240A. Advanced Field Methods: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Linguistics 240A

LINGUIS 243 Language, Computation, and Cognition 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021 This course provides a graduate-level introduction to the relation of language and cognition, through the lens of computation. We will explore universal aspects of cognition that underlie language, and the effect of one's native language on cognition. We will do this by: (1) reading a mixture of classic and recent papers on these issues,(2) replicating or extending computational analyses in those papers,(3) identifying interesting questions that are left open by the material covered, and (4) designing and conducting research to answer those open questions. Language, Computation, and Cognition: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Graduate students in linguistics or one of the other cognitive sciences or consent of instructor

Instructor: Regier

Formerly known as: Linguistics 290R

Language, Computation, and Cognition: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 245 Anthropological Linguistics 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2016, Spring 2010 Graduate level survey of anthropological linguistics which seeks to understand the role of culture in linguistic meaning, language use, and the development of linguistic form and, conversely, the role of linguistic form and structure in social action and in cultural practices. Anthropological Linguistics: Read More [+]

Instructor: Michael

Anthropological Linguistics: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 250A Sociolinguistic Analysis: Variation 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2008 This series of courses is designed to give graduate students in linguistics and related fields advanced training in current theories and methods in sociolinguistics. The five courses (Variation; Language Contact; Language and Gender; Conversation/Discourse Analysis; Endangered Languages) represent five major foci of current sociolinguistic interest. Students will be exposed to historical overviews, readings, discussions, and demonstrations of methods and will be expected to do original field research, the results of which are to be presented orally and in a 15- to 25-page research paper. Sociolinguistic Analysis: Variation: Read More [+]

Instructor: Bleaman

Sociolinguistic Analysis: Variation: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 250B Sociolinguistic Analysis: Language Contact 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Fall 2008 This series of courses is designed to give graduate students in linguistics and related fields advanced training in current theories and methods in sociolinguistics. The five courses (Variation; Language Contact; Language and Gender; Conversation/Discourse Analysis; Endangered Languages) represent five major foci of current sociolinguistic interest. Students will be exposed to historical overviews, readings, discussions, and demonstrations of methods and will be expected to do original field research, the results of which are to be presented orally and in a 15- to 25-page research paper. Sociolinguistic Analysis: Language Contact: Read More [+]

Instructors: R. Lakoff, Michael

Sociolinguistic Analysis: Language Contact: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 250C Sociolinguistic Analysis: Language and Gender 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2010, Spring 2009, Spring 2005 This series of courses is designed to give graduate students in linguistics and related fields advanced training in current theories and methods in sociolinguistics. The five courses (Variation; Language Contact; Language and Gender; Conversation/Discourse Analysis; Endangered Languages) represent five major foci of current sociolinguistic interest. Students will be exposed to historical overviews, readings, discussions, and demonstrations of methods and will be expected to do original field research, the results of which are to be presented orally and in a 15- to 25-page research paper. Sociolinguistic Analysis: Language and Gender: Read More [+]

Sociolinguistic Analysis: Language and Gender: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 250D Sociolinguistic Analysis: Conversation/Discourse Analysis 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2012, Fall 2009, Fall 2007 This series of courses is designed to give graduate students in linguistics and related fields advanced training in current theories and methods in sociolinguistics. The five courses (Variation; Language Contact; Language and Gender; Conversation/Discourse Analysis; Endangered Languages) represent five major foci of current sociolinguistic interest. Students will be exposed to historical overviews, readings, discussions, and demonstrations of methods and will be expected to do original field research, the results of which are to be presented orally and in a 15- to 25-page research paper. Sociolinguistic Analysis: Conversation/Discourse Analysis: Read More [+]

Sociolinguistic Analysis: Conversation/Discourse Analysis: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 250E Sociolinguistic Analysis: Endangered Languages 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2008 This series of courses is designed to give graduate students in linguistics and related fields advanced training in current theories and methods in sociolinguistics. The five courses (Variation; Language Contact; Language and Gender; Conversation/Discourse Analysis; Endangered Languages) represent five major foci of current sociolinguistic interest. Students will be exposed to historical overviews, readings, discussions, and demonstrations of methods and will be expected to do original field research, the results of which are to be presented orally and in a 15- to 25-page research paper. Sociolinguistic Analysis: Endangered Languages: Read More [+]

Sociolinguistic Analysis: Endangered Languages: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 251 Indigenous Language Revitalization: Contexts, Methods, Outcomes 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Spring 2019 This course provides consistent engagement with indigenous languages, speakers, and texts. It gives an overview of historical and social contexts that produce language endangerment and loss; definitions and debates over terms and methods associated with language revitalization; ethical and methodological issues in language revitalization work; practical skills in language documentation and linguistic analysis; and case studies and outcomes in language revitalization. Indigenous Language Revitalization: Contexts, Methods, Outcomes: Read More [+]

Indigenous Language Revitalization: Contexts, Methods, Outcomes: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS C251A Indigenous Language Revitalization: Contexts, Methods, Outcomes 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2022 This is the core course for graduate students who intend to complete the interdisciplinary Designate Emphasis in Indigenous Language Revitalization, and is open to non-DE graduate students as well. The course will provide consistent engagement with indigenous languages, speakers, and texts. The course will provide an overview of historical and social contexts that produce language endangerment and loss; definitions and debates over terms and methods associated with language revitalization; ethical and methodological issues in language revitalization work; practical skills in language documentation and linguistic analysis; and case studies and outcomes in language revitalization. Indigenous Language Revitalization: Contexts, Methods, Outcomes: Read More [+]

Instructor: Baquedano-Lopez

Also listed as: EDUC C251A

LINGUIS 252 COMPUTATIONAL LINGUISTICS 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2021 This course provides a graduate-level introduction to computational linguistics. We will explore computational principles and methods that cross-cut different branches of linguistics, and will apply those principles to replicate and extend computational analyses in a selection of published papers. COMPUTATIONAL LINGUISTICS: Read More [+]

Objectives & Outcomes

Student Learning Outcomes: Familiarity with computational principles and methods in linguistics, and experience in conducting computational analyses.

Prerequisites: The course is open to graduate students in linguistics or related disciplines. Access for other students is by permission of instructor. Some basic prior experience with programming is necessary, but no prior experience with computational linguistics is required. Starter code for homework assignments will be provided, giving students a basis on which to build further. Programming will be in Python

Instructor: REGIER

COMPUTATIONAL LINGUISTICS: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 253 Language Contact 3 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course is an introduction to the study of the linguistic and social phenomena that arise when speakers of different languages come in contact with one another, or when a community of speakers makes use of multiple languages. We will attend closely both to the grammatical dimensions of language contact processes and outcomes, and to the socio-historical and cultural conditions under which these processes take place. A major focus of the course will be to critically examine the notion that language contact gives rise to a set of clearly distinguishable language types (pidgins, creoles, and mixed languages), as well as the notion that each of these types arise under determinate socio-historical conditions. Language Contact: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for LINGUIS 253 after completing LINGUIS 253 . A deficient grade in LINGUIS 253 may be removed by taking LINGUIS 253 .

Language Contact: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 255 Advanced Sociolinguistics 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 This course is a graduate-level introduction to the major theories and methodologies of sociolinguistics, which addresses the relationship between linguistic structure and the social and cultural contexts in which language is embedded. The course focuses on the variationist tradition but includes readings from allied areas (linguistic anthropology, the sociology of language, etc.). Advanced Sociolinguistics: Read More [+]

Advanced Sociolinguistics: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 256 Advanced Sociolinguistics: Variation 3 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course addresses the theoretical status and grammatical locus of sociolinguistic variation and develops practical research skills in the quantitative analysis of sociolinguistic variables. Advanced Sociolinguistics: Variation: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: LINGUIS 255 or permission of instructor (graduate standing)

Advanced Sociolinguistics: Variation: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 270 Structure of a Particular Language 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2018, Spring 2015 An analysis of the language structure of a particular language. The language investigated changes from year to year. Structure of a Particular Language: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 211A and 220A

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of session per week

Additional Format: Three hours of Session per week for 15 weeks.

Structure of a Particular Language: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 290A Topics in Linguistic Theory: Syntax 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2016, Spring 2016 Seminars or special lecture courses. Topics in Linguistic Theory: Syntax: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor

Topics in Linguistic Theory: Syntax: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 290B Topics in Linguistic Theory: Semantics 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2015 Seminars or special lecture courses. Topics in Linguistic Theory: Semantics: Read More [+]

Topics in Linguistic Theory: Semantics: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 290D Topics in Linguistic Theory: Pragmatics 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2020, Fall 2019 Seminars or special lecture courses. Topics in Linguistic Theory: Pragmatics: Read More [+]

Topics in Linguistic Theory: Pragmatics: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 290E Topics in Linguistic Theory: Phonology 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2019, Spring 2017 Seminars or special lecture courses. Topics in Linguistic Theory: Phonology: Read More [+]

Topics in Linguistic Theory: Phonology: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 290F Topics in Linguistic Theory: Diachronic Linguistics 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2014, Fall 2012, Fall 2010 Seminars or special lecture courses. Topics in Linguistic Theory: Diachronic Linguistics: Read More [+]

Topics in Linguistic Theory: Diachronic Linguistics: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 290H Topics in Linguistic Theory: Linguistic Reconstruction 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2011, Fall 1999, Fall 1998 Seminars or special lecture courses. Topics in Linguistic Theory: Linguistic Reconstruction: Read More [+]

Topics in Linguistic Theory: Linguistic Reconstruction: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 290L Additional Seminar on Special Topics to Be Announced 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2021, Fall 2020 Seminar or special lecture courses on linguistic topics. Additional Seminar on Special Topics to Be Announced: Read More [+]

Additional Format: Hours to be arranged.

Additional Seminar on Special Topics to Be Announced: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 290M Topics in Linguistic Theory: Psycholinguistics 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2021, Spring 2018 Seminars or special lecture courses. Topics in Linguistic Theory: Psycholinguistics: Read More [+]

Topics in Linguistic Theory: Psycholinguistics: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 297 Research Mentorship 1 - 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019 Mentor undergraduates in research on projects in the subfields of linguistics, sponsored by a faculty member; written report required. Research Mentorship: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-2 hours of fieldwork per week

Additional Format: One to two hours of fieldwork per week.

Research Mentorship: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 298 Special Group Study 2 - 8 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 Special Group Study: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: One full year of graduate study at Berkeley or consent of graduate adviser

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-8 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: Two to eight hours of seminar per week.

Special Group Study: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 299 Special Individual Study 2 - 12 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2021, Spring 2014, Spring 2013 Special Individual Study: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-8 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: Two to eight hours of independent study per week.

Special Individual Study: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 301 Teaching Practice and Instruction 2 or 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 Course may be repeated for credit, but credit for the instructional training portion is to be given only once for each individual course taught by a T.A. For graduate students currently serving as T.A.s in the Department's undergraduate courses. Two units of credit are given for the teaching experience each time a student serving as T.A. enrolls in this course; two more units are given for teaching instruction, this taking the form of weekly consultations between instructors and their T.A.s. Teaching Practice and Instruction: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-4 hours of independent study per week

Subject/Course Level: Linguistics/Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers

Teaching Practice and Instruction: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 375 Training for Linguistics Teaching Assistants 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 A teaching-methods "clinic" for first-time Linguistics GSI's. Sessions will deal with the presentation of linguistic concepts in each of the foundation courses, the creation of homework assignments and examination, policies and practices regarding correction of students' work, grading, and feedback. Training for Linguistics Teaching Assistants: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 110, 120 and 130 or consent of instructor

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: Two 90-minute sections per week.

Formerly known as: Linguistics 302

Training for Linguistics Teaching Assistants: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 601 Individual Study for Master's Students 1 - 8 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Fall 2012 Individual study for the comprehensive or language requirements in consultation with the field adviser. Individual Study for Master's Students: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Course does not satisfy unit or residence requirements for master's degree.

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week

Subject/Course Level: Linguistics/Graduate examination preparation

Individual Study for Master's Students: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 602 Individual Study for Doctoral Students 1 - 8 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Fall 2012 Individual study in consultation with the major field adviser, intended to provide an opportunity for qualified students to prepare themselves for the various examinations required of candidates for the Ph.D. Individual Study for Doctoral Students: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: One full year of graduate work at Berkeley or consent of graduate adviser

Credit Restrictions: Course does not satisfy unit or residence requirements for doctoral degree.

Individual Study for Doctoral Students: Read Less [-]

LINGUIS 700 Colloquium 0.0 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019 Colloquium lecture presentations by Berkeley faculty and students, and invited visitors, on topics in language and linguistics. Department students and faculty offer feedback, suggestions, and critiques on work in progress. Colloquium: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of colloquium per week

Additional Format: Zero hour of colloquium per week.

Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.

Formerly known as: Linguistics 999

Colloquium: Read Less [-]

Contact Information

Department of linguistics.

1203 Dwinelle Hall

Phone: 510-642-2757

[email protected]

Department Chair

Terry Regier, PhD

1221 Dwinelle Hall

[email protected]

Graduate Student Affairs Officer

Johnny Morales Arellano

1207 Dwinelle Hall

Phone: 510-643-7224

[email protected].

Head Graduate Advisor

Susanne Gahl

1220 Dwinelle Hall

[email protected]

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Department of Language and Linguistic Science

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Sociolinguistics

• Investigating the Role of Social Ideology, Language Ideology, Familiarity and Pronoun Type on Language Attitudes Towards Gender Neutral Pronouns in the UK
• The Only Way is Essex: a case study exploring what 'constructed reality' television programmes are doing for attitudes towards and awareness of different varieties of English in the United Kingdom
• Language Choice and Language Use in Computer Mediated Communication: Code Switching and Script Switching in Libyan Arabic
• Attitudes, Exposure, and the English Pronunciation of Dutch Learners
• A regional comparison of listener perception of speaker ethnicity via the non-verbal communication of laughter
• The current social status of T-glottalling in York English
• Codeswitching between Mandarin and Southern Min Dialect in political discourse in Taiwan
• A study of mid-vowels in a Lorraine village
• The variation in Early Modern English third person singular verbal inflection
• An analysis of non-standard periphrastic 'do' in Somerset English
• Language attitudes in twenty-first century Wales
• Gender in the community of practice 'University Caving Club': Phonological variation
• The witch [i:z] watch [it] - variable tense unstressed vewels in Stoke-on-Trent
• "Biasa jua tu orang Brunei they always say catu": Formal aspects of Brunei Malay-English language alternation in informal conversations between Bruneian students

Syntax and Semantics

• The Tok Pisin noun phrase
• Towards an investigation of socially-conditioned semantic variation
• Definite article reduction in a religious community of practice
• The definiteness effect in Chinese 'you'-existential constructions: A corpus based study
• Topics and pronouns in the clausal left periphery in Old English
• Scalar implicatures in polar (yes/no) questions
• Quantification, alternative semantics and phases
• The syntax and semantics of V2 – 'weil' in German 
• An analysis of Chinese quantifiers 'ge', 'dou' and 'quan' and their co-occurrence
• Distribution and licensing condititions of Negative Polarity Items in Mandarin Chinese
• The NP/DP Distinction in Slavic: A comparative approach
• A complex predicational analysis of the 'ba'-construction in Mandarin Chinese
• Two types of raising in Korean
• Serial verb constructions in Mandarin Chinese
• From Turncoats to Backstabbers:  How headedness and word order determine the productivity of agentive and instrumental compounding in English

Forensic Phonetics

• An Investigation into the Perceived Similarity of the Speech of Identical Twins and Same Sex Siblings
• Detecting Authenticity of Audio Files Compressed by Social Media Platforms
• Investigating Changes from Neutral to Soft and Whispered Speech and their Impact on Automatic Speaker Recognition
• The Effect of Anger and Fear on Forensic Authomatic Speaker Recognition System Performance
• The Impact of Face Coverings on Speech Comprehension and Perceptions of Speaker Attributes
• Tracking Linguistic Differences in the Ultrasound Images of the Tongue in Spoken and Silent Speech Conditions Using Pose Estimation

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PhD in Linguistics: Theoretical and Applied Linguistics

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The Linguistics Section is unique in the UK in that it integrates theoretical and applied linguistics in a single academic department. The Linguistics Section provides great variety and flexibility in course contents as well as subject-specific training and diversity of intellectual interactions. PhD topics in the range of research specialisms represented in the Section and beyond the Section in the MMLL Faculty are accepted. Students may choose to focus on a theoretically oriented study of the language sciences (e.g. interest in the syntactic organisation or sound structure of different languages or in the analysis of meaning in semantics and pragmatics), but may also be interested in a more applied direction of Linguistics (e.g. language acquisition, language processing, data mining of language corpora) or may choose to look at Linguistics from a specific language point of view (e.g. Italian linguistics). 

In British universities, the PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) is traditionally awarded solely on the basis of a thesis, a substantial piece of writing that reports original research into a closely defined area of enquiry. Within linguistics, some PhD students may do most of their work in libraries, spend part of their time collecting and analysing fieldwork data, or carry out experiments in the phonetics laboratory or psycholinguistics laboratory. The completion of the PhD thesis is generally expected to take three to four years. It is also possible to take a part-time route, and the expected timeframe would be five to seven years.  

In addition to providing special supervision, both the Linguistics Section and the MMLL Faculty run a programme of professional training for the benefit of all research students.  The programme includes seminars and workshops on library resources, giving conference papers, publishing, applications and interviews, teaching skills, specialist linguistic training, and film-making. The University runs a central programme covering a range of topics from PhD research development to language training and writing and editing skills. Students also have access to a Social Sciences research methods training programme. If you wish, you are likely to be given the opportunity of gaining experience in small group teaching for colleges. There may also be opportunities to gain some experience in language teaching in the MMLL Faculty.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the programme, candidates will have acquired excellent skills, experience and knowledge to undertake postdoctoral work (research and teaching) or another related profession.

For Cambridge students applying to continue from the MPhil by Advanced Study to PhD, the minimum academic requirement is an overall distinction in the MPhil.

For Cambridge students applying to continue from the MPhil by Thesis to PhD, the usual academic requirement is a pass in the MPhil.

All applications are judged on their merits, and students must demonstrate their suitability to undertake doctoral level research.

If the Master's degree from which the applicant is progressing is not the MPhil in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, the Master's degree has to contain a substantial Linguistics component. 

The Postgraduate Virtual Open Day usually takes place at the end of October. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions to admissions staff and academics, explore the Colleges virtually, and to find out more about courses, the application process and funding opportunities. Visit the  Postgraduate Open Day  page for more details.

See further the  Postgraduate Admissions Events  pages for other events relating to Postgraduate study, including study fairs, visits and international events.

Departments

This course is advertised in the following departments:

• Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics
• Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics

Key Information

3-4 years full-time, 4-7 years part-time, study mode : research, doctor of philosophy, department of theoretical and applied linguistics this course is advertised in multiple departments. please see the overview tab for more details., course - related enquiries, application - related enquiries, course on department website, dates and deadlines:, lent 2024 (closed).

Some courses can close early. See the Deadlines page for guidance on when to apply.

Michaelmas 2024

Funding deadlines.

These deadlines apply to applications for courses starting in Michaelmas 2024, Lent 2025 and Easter 2025.

Similar Courses

• Theoretical and Applied Linguistics by thesis MPhil
• Theoretical and Applied Linguistics by Advanced Study MPhil
• Machine Learning and Machine Intelligence MPhil
• Education (Research in Second Language Education) MPhil
• Education (Research in Second Language Education) PGCE entry only MEd

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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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211 Research Topics in Linguistics To Get Top Grades

Many people find it hard to decide on their linguistics research topics because of the assumed complexities involved. They struggle to choose easy research paper topics for English language too because they think it could be too simple for a university or college level certificate.

All that you need to learn about Linguistics and English is sprawled across syntax, phonetics, morphology, phonology, semantics, grammar, vocabulary, and a few others. To easily create a top-notch essay or conduct a research study, you can consider this list of research topics in English language below for your university or college use. Note that you can fine-tune these to suit your interests.

Linguistics Research Paper Topics

If you want to study how language is applied and its importance in the world, you can consider these Linguistics topics for your research paper. They are:

• An analysis of romantic ideas and their expression amongst French people
• An overview of the hate language in the course against religion
• Identify the determinants of hate language and the means of propagation
• Evaluate a literature and examine how Linguistics is applied to the understanding of minor languages
• Consider the impact of social media in the development of slangs
• An overview of political slang and its use amongst New York teenagers
• Examine the relevance of Linguistics in a digitalized world
• Analyze foul language and how it’s used to oppress minors
• Identify the role of language in the national identity of a socially dynamic society
• Attempt an explanation to how the language barrier could affect the social life of an individual in a new society
• Discuss the means through which language can enrich cultural identities
• Examine the concept of bilingualism and how it applies in the real world
• Analyze the possible strategies for teaching a foreign language
• Discuss the priority of teachers in the teaching of grammar to non-native speakers
• Choose a school of your choice and observe the slang used by its students: analyze how it affects their social lives
• Attempt a critical overview of racist languages
• What does endangered language means and how does it apply in the real world?
• A critical overview of your second language and why it is a second language
• What are the motivators of speech and why are they relevant?
• Analyze the difference between the different types of communications and their significance to specially-abled persons
• Give a critical overview of five literature on sign language
• Evaluate the distinction between the means of language comprehension between an adult and a teenager
• Consider a native American group and evaluate how cultural diversity has influenced their language
• Analyze the complexities involved in code-switching and code-mixing
• Give a critical overview of the importance of language to a teenager
• Attempt a forensic overview of language accessibility and what it means
• What do you believe are the means of communications and what are their uniqueness?
• Attempt a study of Islamic poetry and its role in language development
• Attempt a study on the role of Literature in language development
• Evaluate the Influence of metaphors and other literary devices in the depth of each sentence
• Identify the role of literary devices in the development of proverbs in any African country
• Cognitive Linguistics: analyze two pieces of Literature that offers a critical view of perception
• Identify and analyze the complexities in unspoken words
• Expression is another kind of language: discuss
• Identify the significance of symbols in the evolution of language
• Discuss how learning more than a single language promote cross-cultural developments
• Analyze how the loss of a mother tongue affect the language Efficiency of a community
• Critically examine how sign language works
• Using literature from the medieval era, attempt a study of the evolution of language
• Identify how wars have led to the reduction in the popularity of a language of your choice across any country of the world
• Critically examine five Literature on why accent changes based on environment
• What are the forces that compel the comprehension of language in a child
• Identify and explain the difference between the listening and speaking skills and their significance in the understanding of language
• Give a critical overview of how natural language is processed
• Examine the influence of language on culture and vice versa
• It is possible to understand a language even without living in that society: discuss
• Identify the arguments regarding speech defects
• Discuss how the familiarity of language informs the creation of slangs
• Explain the significance of religious phrases and sacred languages
• Explore the roots and evolution of incantations in Africa

Sociolinguistic Research Topics

You may as well need interesting Linguistics topics based on sociolinguistic purposes for your research. Sociolinguistics is the study and recording of natural speech. It’s primarily the casual status of most informal conversations. You can consider the following Sociolinguistic research topics for your research:

• What makes language exceptional to a particular person?
• How does language form a unique means of expression to writers?
• Examine the kind of speech used in health and emergencies
• Analyze the language theory explored by family members during dinner
• Evaluate the possible variation of language based on class
• Evaluate the language of racism, social tension, and sexism
• Discuss how Language promotes social and cultural familiarities
• Give an overview of identity and language
• Examine why some language speakers enjoy listening to foreigners who speak their native language
• Give a forensic analysis of his the language of entertainment is different to the language in professional settings
• Give an understanding of how Language changes
• Examine the Sociolinguistics of the Caribbeans
• Consider an overview of metaphor in France
• Explain why the direct translation of written words is incomprehensible in Linguistics
• Discuss the use of language in marginalizing a community
• Analyze the history of Arabic and the culture that enhanced it
• Discuss the growth of French and the influences of other languages
• Examine how the English language developed and its interdependence on other languages
• Give an overview of cultural diversity and Linguistics in teaching
• Challenge the attachment of speech defect with disability of language listening and speaking abilities
• Explore the uniqueness of language between siblings
• Explore the means of making requests between a teenager and his parents
• Observe and comment on how students relate with their teachers through language
• Observe and comment on the communication of strategy of parents and teachers
• Examine the connection of understanding first language with academic excellence

Language Research Topics

Numerous languages exist in different societies. This is why you may seek to understand the motivations behind language through these Linguistics project ideas. You can consider the following interesting Linguistics topics and their application to language:

• What does language shift mean?
• Discuss the stages of English language development?
• Examine the position of ambiguity in a romantic Language of your choice
• Why are some languages called romantic languages?
• Observe the strategies of persuasion through Language
• Discuss the connection between symbols and words
• Identify the language of political speeches
• Discuss the effectiveness of language in an indigenous cultural revolution
• Trace the motivators for spoken language
• What does language acquisition mean to you?
• Examine three pieces of literature on language translation and its role in multilingual accessibility
• Identify the science involved in language reception
• Interrogate with the context of language disorders
• Examine how psychotherapy applies to victims of language disorders
• Study the growth of Hindi despite colonialism
• Critically appraise the term, language erasure
• Examine how colonialism and war is responsible for the loss of language
• Give an overview of the difference between sounds and letters and how they apply to the German language
• Explain why the placement of verb and preposition is different in German and English languages
• Choose two languages of your choice and examine their historical relationship
• Discuss the strategies employed by people while learning new languages
• Discuss the role of all the figures of speech in the advancement of language
• Analyze the complexities of autism and its victims
• Offer a linguist approach to language uniqueness between a Down Syndrome child and an autist
• Express dance as a language
• Express music as a language
• Express language as a form of language
• Evaluate the role of cultural diversity in the decline of languages in South Africa
• Discuss the development of the Greek language
• Critically review two literary texts, one from the medieval era and another published a decade ago, and examine the language shifts

Linguistics Essay Topics

You may also need Linguistics research topics for your Linguistics essays. As a linguist in the making, these can help you consider controversies in Linguistics as a discipline and address them through your study. You can consider:

• The connection of sociolinguistics in comprehending interests in multilingualism
• Write on your belief of how language encourages sexism
• What do you understand about the differences between British and American English?
• Discuss how slangs grew and how they started
• Consider how age leads to loss of language
• Review how language is used in formal and informal conversation
• Discuss what you understand by polite language
• Discuss what you know by hate language
• Evaluate how language has remained flexible throughout history
• Mimicking a teacher is a form of exercising hate Language: discuss
• Body Language and verbal speech are different things: discuss
• Language can be exploitative: discuss
• Do you think language is responsible for inciting aggression against the state?
• Can you justify the structural representation of any symbol of your choice?
• Religious symbols are not ordinary Language: what are your perspective on day-to-day languages and sacred ones?
• Consider the usage of language by an English man and someone of another culture
• Discuss the essence of code-mixing and code-switching
• Attempt a psychological assessment on the role of language in academic development
• How does language pose a challenge to studying?
• Choose a multicultural society of your choice and explain the problem they face
• What forms does Language use in expression?
• Identify the reasons behind unspoken words and actions
• Why do universal languages exist as a means of easy communication?
• Examine the role of the English language in the world
• Examine the role of Arabic in the world
• Examine the role of romantic languages in the world
• Evaluate the significance of each teaching Resources in a language classroom
• Consider an assessment of language analysis
• Why do people comprehend beyond what is written or expressed?
• What is the impact of hate speech on a woman?
• Do you believe that grammatical errors are how everyone’s comprehension of language is determined?
• Observe the Influence of technology in language learning and development
• Which parts of the body are responsible for understanding new languages
• How has language informed development?
• Would you say language has improved human relations or worsened it considering it as a tool for violence?
• Would you say language in a black populous state is different from its social culture in white populous states?
• Give an overview of the English language in Nigeria
• Give an overview of the English language in Uganda
• Give an overview of the English language in India
• Give an overview of Russian in Europe
• Give a conceptual analysis on stress and how it works
• Consider the means of vocabulary development and its role in cultural relationships
• Examine the effects of Linguistics in language
• Present your understanding of sign language
• What do you understand about descriptive language and prescriptive Language?

List of Research Topics in English Language

You may need English research topics for your next research. These are topics that are socially crafted for you as a student of language in any institution. You can consider the following for in-depth analysis:

• Examine the travail of women in any feminist text of your choice
• Examine the movement of feminist literature in the Industrial period
• Give an overview of five Gothic literature and what you understand from them
• Examine rock music and how it emerged as a genre
• Evaluate the cultural association with Nina Simone’s music
• What is the relevance of Shakespeare in English literature?
• How has literature promoted the English language?
• Identify the effect of spelling errors in the academic performance of students in an institution of your choice
• Critically survey a university and give rationalize the literary texts offered as Significant
• Examine the use of feminist literature in advancing the course against patriarchy
• Give an overview of the themes in William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”
• Express the significance of Ernest Hemingway’s diction in contemporary literature
• Examine the predominant devices in the works of William Shakespeare
• Explain the predominant devices in the works of Christopher Marlowe
• Charles Dickens and his works: express the dominating themes in his Literature
• Why is Literature described as the mirror of society?
• Examine the issues of feminism in Sefi Atta’s “Everything Good Will Come” and Bernadine Evaristos’s “Girl, Woman, Other”
• Give an overview of the stylistics employed in the writing of “Girl, Woman, Other” by Bernadine Evaristo
• Describe the language of advertisement in social media and newspapers
• Describe what poetic Language means
• Examine the use of code-switching and code-mixing on Mexican Americans
• Examine the use of code-switching and code-mixing in Indian Americans
• Discuss the influence of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” on satirical literature
• Examine the Linguistics features of “Native Son” by Richard Wright
• What is the role of indigenous literature in promoting cultural identities
• How has literature informed cultural consciousness?
• Analyze five literature on semantics and their Influence on the study
• Assess the role of grammar in day to day communications
• Observe the role of multidisciplinary approaches in understanding the English language
• What does stylistics mean while analyzing medieval literary texts?
• Analyze the views of philosophers on language, society, and culture

English Research Paper Topics for College Students

For your college work, you may need to undergo a study of any phenomenon in the world. Note that they could be Linguistics essay topics or mainly a research study of an idea of your choice. Thus, you can choose your research ideas from any of the following:

• The concept of fairness in a democratic Government
• The capacity of a leader isn’t in his or her academic degrees
• The concept of discrimination in education
• The theory of discrimination in Islamic states
• The idea of school policing
• A study on grade inflation and its consequences
• A study of taxation and Its importance to the economy from a citizen’s perspectives
• A study on how eloquence lead to discrimination amongst high school students
• A study of the influence of the music industry in teens
• An Evaluation of pornography and its impacts on College students
• A descriptive study of how the FBI works according to Hollywood
• A critical consideration of the cons and pros of vaccination
• The health effect of sleep disorders
• An overview of three literary texts across three genres of Literature and how they connect to you
• A critical overview of “King Oedipus”: the role of the supernatural in day to day life
• Examine the novel “12 Years a Slave” as a reflection of servitude and brutality exerted by white slave owners
• Rationalize the emergence of racist Literature with concrete examples
• A study of the limits of literature in accessing rural readers
• Analyze the perspectives of modern authors on the Influence of medieval Literature on their craft
• What do you understand by the mortality of a literary text?
• A study of controversial Literature and its role in shaping the discussion
• A critical overview of three literary texts that dealt with domestic abuse and their role in changing the narratives about domestic violence
• Choose three contemporary poets and analyze the themes of their works
• Do you believe that contemporary American literature is the repetition of unnecessary themes already treated in the past?
• A study of the evolution of Literature and its styles
• The use of sexual innuendos in literature
• The use of sexist languages in literature and its effect on the public
• The disaster associated with media reports of fake news
• Conduct a study on how language is used as a tool for manipulation
• Attempt a criticism of a controversial Literary text and why it shouldn’t be studied or sold in the first place

Finding Linguistics Hard To Write About?

With these topics, you can commence your research with ease. However, if you need professional writing help for any part of the research, you can scout here online for the best research paper writing service.

There are several expert writers on ENL hosted on our website that you can consider for a fast response on your research study at a cheap price.

As students, you may be unable to cover every part of your research on your own. This inability is the reason you should consider expert writers for custom research topics in Linguistics approved by your professor for high grades.

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PhD in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics (MLAL212)

The nature of the phd degree.

In British universities the PhD ('Doctorate of Philosophy') is traditionally awarded solely on the basis of a dissertation, a substantial piece of writing which reports original research into a closely defined area of enquiry. Candidates for the PhD in Cambridge are guided by a Supervisor, though they will normally also discuss their work with a number of other experts in their field. The nature of the work depends on topic. Within linguistics, some PhD students may do most of their work in libraries, or spend part of their time collecting and analysing data, or carry out experiments in the  phonetics laboratory  or psycholinguistics laboratory. The dissertation must make a significant contribution to learning, for example through the discovery of new knowledge, the connection of previously unrelated facts, the development of new theory or the revision of older views. The completion of a PhD dissertation is typically expected to take three to four years full-time, or five to seven years part-time.

PhD Topics and Supervisors

Students registered for the PhD in the Section of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics will normally have one of the staff of the Section as Supervisor, though sometimes specialists outside the Section will fulfill this role.

Prospective applicants can get an idea of the range of topics which can be supervised from the following lists of people:

• Staff and their Research Interests
• Full Section Staff List
• Members of the Faculty
• Current PhD Students

However, since by doctoral research is by definition original, they should not hesitate to discuss ideas within or across areas of linguistics which are not explicitly represented in these places with the Section.

Please direct any enquiries regarding entry requirements and academic matters to the Postgraduate Secretary in the MMLL Postgraduate Office: [email protected] , and any enquiries regarding the technicalities of applying to the Postgraduate Admissions Office .

Applications must be accompanied by a research proposal of approximately 500 to 1,000 words. This should outline a topic of research which the applicant has chosen, and the method for investigating it. The research proposal will form the basis of a PhD student's research, but naturally may be modified as the research proceeds.

Candidates are advised to apply  well in advance of  the funding deadlines listed on the Postgraduate Office  'Applying to MMLL ' page.

Research Areas

All students belong to two of the Section’s  research areas.  One of these will be the primary area of research and the other a related field. Each area organises two half-day events per year which provide the opportunity to hear invited speakers and to present students' work. Students are also be expected to get involved in organising the events for their major area.

Research Training

All students must attend a prescribed amount of research training each year. Their personal programme for each year should be discussed with their supervisor. The Faculty's research training programme provides many useful courses, some of which are compulsory. In addition, the department organises two research training sessions per term with topics of particular interest to linguistics PhD students. These are compulsory for all PhD students registered in the Section. All enquiries about these should be made to Prof Brechtje Post , the Linguistics PhD Coordinator.

There are a limited number of places available on the Section's Quantitative Methods for Analysing Language Data (QMALD) statistics training lectures.

Information on training sessions are circulated to current students with details on how to sign up.

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UMass Boston

• Applied Linguistics PhD

Join a cohort of scholars, researchers, and activists dedicated to linguistic diversity.

UMass Boston's PhD program in Applied Linguistics is a critically-oriented community of scholars, researchers, and activists dedicated to understanding linguistic diversity in everyday life. Our unique program emphasizes learning-by-doing through mentorship, coursework, and community-engagement. The Applied Linguistics PhD prepares candidates for teaching, research, and public advocacy careers in higher education, government, community, nonprofits, and private organizations.

Our apprenticeship model combines intensive faculty mentoring from the department’s internationally recognized faculty with structured support from a diverse and active doctoral student community . We also draw on the interdisciplinary expertise of our colleagues across Greater Boston and around the world to provide opportunities for community-engaged scholarship . Applied Linguistics doctoral students are involved in a range of local and global projects and initiatives related to our areas of inquiry : bilingual/multilingual education, multilingual language policy, critical applied linguistics, social resources and social contexts in language learning, and sociocultural theory.

Our curriculum is designed to engage future researchers in critical study of language in society. Through the exploration of cutting-edge research methods, students will develop a comprehensive and deep understanding of the theoretical, empirical, and practical dimensions of language use, language teaching and learning, and language policy in local and transnational contexts; and how they interrogate systems of power that produce marginalization, exploitation, and discrimination. Simultaneously, students cultivate their own scholarly identity, develop their inquiries, and generate knowledge to improve life in our schools, communities, and society. Students and faculty collaborate on research projects, manuscripts, advocacy work, and conference presentations throughout the doctoral program. 

Our PhD program requires three years of residency. During the first two years, a typical course load is three courses per semester (fall and spring) plus department events including the Colloquium, Roundtables, working groups, and talks; classes are offered between 4 and 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Funding, including tuition, living stipend, and health insurance, is available for up to three years on a competitive basis.

Please contact Graduate Program Director Professor Avary Carhill-Poza for information about the program, application process, or connection to current students: [email protected] .

Start Your Application

Plan Your Education

How to apply.

The Department of Applied Linguistics at UMass Boston is committed to cultivating diversity in scholarship and scholar identity and to providing intellectual, social, emotional, and financial support to students from groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education. As such, we strongly encourage students with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, including first generation students, international students, students of color, and linguistically diverse students to apply.

The deadline to submit all materials is January 1 for fall admission. Applicants are responsible for confirming with Graduate Admissions that their application is complete (including all documents and transcripts) well before January 1. Applicants to the PhD Program in Applied Linguistics should submit the following admissions materials:

• UMass Boston Graduate Application
• Official transcript from each college and university attended (including evidence of a master’s degree in applied linguistics or related field, with a minimum graduate GPA of 3.0)
• A current Curriculum Vitae
• Three letters of recommendation, at least two of which should come from individuals who can assess the applicant’s academic preparation for advanced graduate work
• One well-written sample of academic work (e.g. MA thesis, course paper, research project, published article, etc.)
• Statement of purpose [1500 words maximum] that addresses the following questions:
• How do your research interests map onto the areas of inquiry supported by the PhD Program in Applied Linguistics (bilingual/multilingual education, multilingual language policy, critical applied linguistics, social resources and social contexts in language learning, and sociocultural theory)?
• What practical or real-world changes do you hope to see as a result of your research, scholarship, and/or activism?
• What professional, personal, and academic experiences have especially equipped you to bring a critical perspective to your research, scholarship, and/or activism? And, how do your experiences as a multilingual language learner, language teacher, or language user inform your goals? (For applicants who are not multilingual, please explain your plans for developing fluency in another language while completing the PhD program.)

For international students who have not completed at least two academic years of full-time study (excluding ESL or test-prep) at an approved English-speaking college, proof of English language proficiency is required.

Deadlines & Cost

Deadlines: January 1 for fall

Cost: For additional information regarding tuition and fees, please visit the Bursar’s Office or send an email to [email protected] . Please refer to Graduate Student Financial Aid for more information on financial aid.

Application Fee Waivers: Fee waivers are automatic for all UMass Boston alumni, veterans, and McNair Scholars. Additionally, fee waivers for financial hardship are granted to applicants on a first-come-first-serve basis. To request a fee waiver, applicants should first complete their application (but not submit it), then send an email to the Program Director with the subject line: PhD Fee Waiver Request. State your reasons for requesting the fee waiver in your email and attach a letter from your academic advisor attesting to the financial need to waive the application fee. Applications must be complete in order to receive a fee waiver.

Support: Funding for doctoral students—including tuition, living stipend, and health insurance—is available for up to three years on a competitive basis. Applicants to the PhD program in Applied Linguistics are considered for Graduate Assistantships during the application review process in January.

Coursework is the primary way for students to develop their scholarly identity, knowledge, and research skills as they refine a dissertation topic for study. During the first two years of the PhD program, students are encouraged to explore a range of topics and get to know faculty before they choose an advisor for their dissertation project. In their third year, students move on to candidacy by passing associated benchmarks supported by their inquiry courses. The following courses are offered in the Applied Linguistics PhD Program:

Core Courses (9 Credits)

• APLING 700 - Issues in Applied Linguistics 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 701 - Issues in Second Language Acquisition 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 702 - Issues in Sociolinguistics 3 Credit(s)

Seminars (9 Credits)

• APLING 707 - Current Research on Language and Pedagogy 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 708 - Corpus Linguistics 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 709 - Language Policy 3 Credit(s)

Colloquium (1 Credit)

• APLING 890 - Graduate Colloquium in Applied Linguistics 1 Credit(s)

Research Methods Courses (9 to 15 Credits)

Complete at least three courses from below.

• APLING 703 - Applied Linguistics Research Methods 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 704 - Advanced Discourse Analysis 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 705 - Advanced Ethnography 3 Credit(s)
• PPOL-G 604L - Statistical Methods in the analysis of Social Problems I 3 Credit(s)
• PPOL-G 605L - Statistical Methods in the Analysis of Social Problems II 3 Credit(s)

Electives (3 to 9 Credits)

Complete no more than three from below.

• APLING 601 - Linguistics 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 603 - Language, Culture and Identity 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 605 - Theories and Principles of Language Teaching 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 611 - Methods and Materials in Foreign Language Instruction 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 612 - Integrating Culture into the Language Curriculum 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 614 - Foundations of Bilingual/Multicultural Education 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 615 - Dual Language Pedagogy 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 618 - Teaching ESL: Methods and Approaches 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 621 - Psycholinguistics 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 623 - Sociolinguistics 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 627 - Phonetics and Phonemics 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 629 - The Structure of the English Language 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 633 - Discourse Analysis in ESL 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 635 - Literacy & Culture 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 637 - Ethnography of Education: Culture, Language, & Literacy 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 670 - Testing in the Bilingual/ESL Classroom 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 673 - Reading in the Bilingual/English as a Second Language (ESL) Classroom 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 696 - Independent Study 1-6 Credit(s)
• APLING 697 - Special Topics in Applied Linguistics 1-6 Credit(s)

Inquiry Courses (6 Credits)

• APLING 891 - Qualifying Paper Seminar 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 892 - Dissertation Proposal Writing Seminar 3 Credit(s)

Dissertation Research Course (12 Credits)

• APLING 899 - Dissertation Research 1-12 Credit(s)

Graduation Criteria

Complete 55 credits from 16 courses including three core courses, three seminars, one colloquium, three to five research methods courses, one to three electives, two inquiry courses, and one dissertation research course.

Students with a master’s degree in a relevant field earned no more than seven years before matriculation may be eligible for advanced standing awarding them up to twelve credits toward the degree.

Doctoral candidacy:   Acceptance of a qualifying paper and dissertation proposal. Dissertation:   Compose and defend a dissertation based on original research.

Statute of limitations:   Seven years.

Graduate Program Director Professor Avary Carhill-Poza [email protected]

Applied Linguistics Department

UMass Boston's Department of Applied Linguistics in the College of Liberal Arts offers a diverse range of programs and research opportunities aimed at exploring theoretical linguistics, applied linguistics, and interdisciplinary areas of psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics.

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Students who enter the Ph.D. program in linguistics with an M.A. in linguistics from Gallaudet University are required to earn an additional 33 credits to complete the Ph.D. in linguistics, followed by dissertation proposal development and dissertation research among other program requirements.

Students who have earned an M.A. degree from another program or university are also eligible for admission to the Ph.D. program in linguistics. These students are required to earn 59 credits to complete the LIN Ph.D., followed by dissertation proposal development and dissertation research among other program requirements. Although these students are not typically awarded an incidental M.A. on the way to the Ph.D. degree, this option is available upon successful completion of the entire MA in linguistics program of study, which includes 5 additional (3-credit) elective courses.

Program of Study

Students who enter the LIN Ph.D. program with a Gallaudet LIN M.A. are required to have a minimum of 36 credits to complete the LIN Ph.D. followed by dissertation research. For these students, the doctoral curriculum consists of a total of 77 credits of coursework plus dissertation research. This means that those who have taken the 41 credits required by the M.A. curriculum must complete another 36 credits of advanced linguistics courses.

Students who enter the LIN Ph.D. program without a Gallaudet LIN M.A. are required to have a minimum of 62 credits to complete the LIN Ph.D., followed by dissertation research. This includes 22 credits of core courses to be taken in the first year, plus 4 credits to be taken in the second year. These students must also successfully complete the Qualifying Exam and Compendium, in addition to other Ph.D. program requirements.

All students must complete the following advanced courses, totaling 24 credit hours: Sociolinguistics in Deaf Communities (LIN 741), Guided Research Project (LIN 880, taken twice), Phonology III (LIN 801), Generative Linguistics III (LIN 802), Cognitive Linguistics III (LIN 827), Concept Paper (LIN 883) and Dissertation Proposal Development (LIN 890). An additional 12 credits of elective courses must also be completed, to be chosen by the student in consultation with the student’s advisor. These courses should focus on aspects of linguistic theory, application, or research related to the student’s professional or academic goals. Some electives may also be taken through the Consortium of Colleges and Universities.

Guided Research Project (LIN 883) and GRP Presentation

Guided Research Project (GRP) LIN 880, 2 semesters. Students design and conduct an independent research project under the guidance of their dissertation advisor. Course requirements include a final paper and the following components, as applicable: development of an appropriate research plan, completion of the IRB human subjects review, and collection and analysis of data. The GRP typically is related to the student’s dissertation topic, but is not required to be. The work done in the GRP is intended to lead to the independence necessary to complete dissertation research. Successful completion of LIN 880 is a prerequisite for LIN 883: Concept Paper. LIN 880 is typically taken during the first and second semesters of the first year.

Students are required to give a presentation on their GRP research. This is a formal presentation, similar to what would be given at a professional conference. It is to be 20 minutes in length with 10 minutes for discussion and/or Q/A. Faculty evaluate the presentation in areas of content, presentation, and language use. Students will receive feedback from the faculty. This is one of three presentations required. Successful completion of the GRP presentation is required to continue in the Ph.D. program.

Concept Paper (LIN 883), Field Exam, and Concept Paper Presentation

LIN 883: Concept Paper serves as a transition from students’ preparatory coursework to their dissertation proposal. Students will complete a concept paper on their proposed dissertation topic. This paper will include a statement of the research question(s) and a review of relevant literature, while it will focus primarily on (a) defining the key concepts relevant to the student’s anticipated research plans and (b) making explicit any underlying theoretical assumptions.

LIN 883 is typically taken during the first semester of the second year. The concept paper must be completed in the first 10 weeks of the semester in order to provide time for the Field Exam and Concept Paper Presentation to occur. Students may register for a second semester of LIN 883 at the discretion of the Linguistics faculty (e.g. in cases where the student has selected a particularly complex topic and is making steady progress, or scores an Unsatisfactory on their Field Exam and is required to revisit and strengthen their Concept Paper).

The Field Exam is administered after the first 10 weeks of LIN 883 and prior to the end of the semester. Content of the exam will be determined by the student’s Concept Paper. Three examiners (the LIN dissertation advisor who led the student’s Concept Paper, a second LIN faculty member with expertise in some area relevant to the student’s Concept Paper, and a third LIN faculty member who does not work in the area of the student’s Concept Paper) will conduct in-depth questioning in areas pertinent to the student’s Concept Paper topic. Student responses will be evaluated by all three examiners together as a Pass with Distinction, Pass, Unsatisfactory or Fail. Students who receive an Unsatisfactory score on the Field Exam will be required to retake the exam; students who Fail the Field Exam will be terminated from the program. Students who retake the Field Exam and receive either a score of Unsatisfactory or Fail will be terminated from the program.

After successful completion of the Field Exam the student will give a presentation on their Concept Paper. This is a formal presentation, similar to what would be given at a professional conference. It is to be 20 minutes in length with 10 minutes for discussion and/or Q/A. Faculty evaluate the presentation in areas of content, presentation, and language use. Students will receive feedback from the faculty. This is one of three presentations required. Successful completion of the Concept Paper Presentation is required to continue in the Ph.D. program. Students must successfully complete the Field Exam and Concept Paper Presentation before taking in LIN 890 Dissertation Proposal Development.

Dissertation Proposal Development (LIN 890) and Proposal Defense

Each student seeking a Ph.D. will be required to complete a research-based dissertation on a topic acceptable to his or her doctoral committee. Students are expected to complete their dissertation proposal in one semester (LIN 890 Dissertation Proposal Development). However, those who fail to do so will be permitted to register for additional semesters of LIN 890 Dissertation Proposal Development, provided they maintain a passing grade each semester.

LIN 890 is the course in which students will develop their dissertation proposal, producing a research plan for answering the research questions posed in their Concept Paper. Emphasis will be on defining a project of appropriate scope, extending the literature review and selecting an appropriate research design and methodology. Students will meet regularly with their dissertation advisor for guidance and discussion, but are expected to pursue the bulk of the work independently. They may receive input from doctoral committee members. Once the full committee deems the proposal defendable, a defense date is set. The dissertation proposal defense is expected to happen at the end of the semester in which LIN 890 is taken. Students may not register for LIN 900: Dissertation Research until the proposal is successfully defended. All Ph.D. coursework must be completed or be on track to be completed by the semester the proposal defense occurs.

Successful defense of one’s dissertation proposal is the candidacy examination for the LIN PhD program.

Dissertation (LIN 900) and Dissertation Defense

Once students have successfully completed and defended their dissertation proposal, they advance to LIN 900 Dissertation Research. LIN 900 may be taken multiple times, provided students earn a passing grade each semester.

Each Ph.D. student is required to prepare a research-based dissertation in an area acceptable to their Doctoral Committee. The dissertation is based on the proposal accepted by the committee, typically in the spring of the second year of Ph.D. study, and work on the dissertation proper typically begins in the fall of the third year. The dissertation is expected to be a research project designed to provide new understanding of the topic, and must include a thorough and thoughtful review of the relevant literature, description of methodology, analysis, and discussion and conclusion elucidating the significance of the findings. The dissertation process is discussed in detail in the Gallaudet University Dissertation and Thesis Handbook (on the intranet GU website and the LIN website). Students will also receive this handbook when they take LIN 890 Dissertation Proposal Development. The maximum time allowed for completion of the dissertation is seven years from the start of the LIN M.A. degree or six years from entrance into the Ph.D. program for those without a LIN M.A. degree. Any extension beyond this deadline will require the approval of the doctoral committee, the Graduate Program Coordinator, the Department Chair, and the Dean of the Graduate School.

Courses & Requirements

Summary of Requirements

For students who completed the Gallaudet M.A. in Linguistics

An examination of the theories and principles of sociolinguistics with specific reference to sign languages and Deaf communities around the world. Topics include multilingualism, bilingualism, and language contact, variation, discourse analysis, language policy and planning and language attitudes.

All first year Linguistics MA courses or by permission of instructor.

This course is an advanced seminar focusing on phonological theory, building on foundational material presented in Phonology I and Phonology II. Topics will vary depending upon current developments in phonological theory, focusing on both spoken and signed languages.

This course is an advanced seminar focusing on generative approaches to syntactic theory, building on foundational material presented in Generative Syntax I and Generative Syntax II. Topics will vary depending upon current developments in syntactic theory, focusing on both spoken and signed languages.

This seminar is the third course in the Cognitive Linguistic sequence of courses in the graduate linguistics program (the first two being LIN 721 and LIN 732). Possible major topics include cognitive grammar, cognitive semantics, conceptual blending, constructional grammar, embodiment, depiction, mental spaces, metaphor, metonymy, and the usage-based approach to language.

This course is required to be taken twice, typically beginning in the fall semester of students' first year in the Ph.D. program and continuing into the following spring semester. Students will design and conduct a research project under the supervision of a faculty member. Course requirements include a final paper by the end of the second semester with the following components, as applicable: development of an appropriate research plan, completion of the IRB human subjects review, and collection and analysis of data. LIN 880 may be repeated a third semester at the discretion of the instructor if requirements cannot be successfully completed in the usual two semesters.

Acceptance to LIN Ph.D. program and successful completion of the LIN Qualifying Exam.

This course serves as a transition from students' preparatory coursework to their dissertation proposal. Under supervision of a faculty member, students will complete a Concept Paper that identifies their research question(s) and defines key concepts that underlie those research questions. The Concept Paper also specifies the theoretical framework(s) to be adopted for research and discusses previous literature assumed as background information. Upon approval of a student's completed Concept Paper by the instructor, the student will then give a Concept Paper Presentation to the full faculty and take the field exam, both of which are developed on the basis of the student's completed Concept Paper. LIN 883 may be repeated one time.

Successful completion of LIN 880 Guided Research Project and LIN Faculty approval of the GRP presentation.

In this course, students will develop their dissertation proposal, producing a research plan for answering the research questions posed in their Concept Paper. Emphasis will be on defining a project of appropriate scope for a dissertation, extending the literature review and selecting an appropriate research design and methodology. Students will meet regularly with their dissertation advisor for guidance and discussion, but are expected to pursue the bulk of the work independently. LIN 890 may be repeated one time.

LIN 883, Field Exam, Concept Paper Presentation, and approval of the GRP paper as having achieved publication quality, as evaluated by an outside reader from the LIN faculty.

Elective Courses in Linguistics (selected sample)

Core Courses in Statistics: Ph.D.

Core Courses in Statistics: These courses are required for students whose Ph.D. specialization requires statistical work. If taken, they replace two elective courses.

This introductory course sequence develops the primary statistical concepts and techniques needed to conduct research. This course presumes no previous statistical background other than college-level algebra or its equivalent. The course goal is to develop many of the basic conceptual theories underlying statistical applications, while also developing a critical perspective toward statistics. Students will develop skills in descriptive statistical analysis, simple correlation procedures, and hypothesis testing. Computer-assisted analysis will complement course work.

College-level algebra

The purpose of this second course in statistics is to develop specific concepts and techniques to conduct basic inferential statistical analysis. The course emphasizes application skills, i.e., the ability to fit the appropriate analysis to a particular data set. Students will learn to conduct and interpret the most often used inferential tests for research and evaluation projects. Computer software will be used to complement course work and analysis.

EDU 720 or equivalent and EDU 801 or equivalent

This course introduces students to the acquisition of a native language by young children (L1 acquisition) and acquisition of a second language after childhood (L2 acquisition), with a focus on sign languages. The first part of the course covers the important milestones of normal L1 development in phonology, morphology, syntax and pragmatics for both spoken and signed languages. The course also explores how delays in exposure affect the acquisition process, related to the main topics of the second part of the course: critical period effects and L2 acquisition. Readings and discussion throughout the course will reflect the perspective that acquisition studies on a broad variety of languages, both signed and spoken, are crucial for developing accurate theories of language structure and use. Application of concepts from lectures and discussion is developed through student analysis of L1 and L2 data.

For UG students: LIN 301, 302; for MASLED GRAD students: B or above in ASL 724 or permission of the instructor and MASLED program coordinator; for other GRAD students, permission of the instructor.

Students are introduced to a descriptive framework with which to identify and analyze iconicity and depiction in ASL and other signed languages and spoken languages as well. The course focuses on depiction typology, examining the structure of role-shifting, constructed action and dialogue, classifier constructions/depicting verbs, aspectual constructions, abstract/metaphorical depictions, and other imagistic uses of space, including different types of gesture.

LIN 101, graduate student status, or permission of the instructor.

This course explores bilingualism, with a special emphasis on bilingualism in the Gallaudet community. We will examine the place of bilingualism and multilingualism in the world, both historically and currently; the linguistic structure and features of bilingualism; social constructions of bilingualism; the acquisition of bilinguality, from the perspectives of both first- and second language acquisition; and we will explore the functions and meanings of bilingualism in communities. For each topic, we will examine the current state of the field, first from the perspective of spoken language bilingualism and then from the perspective of signed language (mixed modality) bilingualism, with special emphasis on the situation at Gallaudet University.

For UG students: LIN 101, 263, 301, 302; for Grad students: Permission of Instructor

This course introduces students to the theories and methods of analyzing prosody in signed and spoken languages. These prosodic features play a critical role in human communication and have a wide range of functions, including expression at linguistic, attitudinal, affective and personal levels.

This course explores the relationships between language and culture from an anthropological and sociolinguistic point of view. Students are introduced to various approaches to qualitative analysis as research tools for understanding the interplay between language and culture in the Deaf community in which they participate.

This course examines general issues in first language acquisition, focusing on the period from birth to five years. It includes critical review of literature on phonological, lexical, morphological and syntactic development for both signed and spoken first languages, from both nativist and usage-based theoretical perspectives.

All first year Linguistics MA courses plus LIN 741, or permission of instructor.

This course will review current theory and research in second language acquisition (SLA) from linguistic and psychological perspectives, focusing on the influences of various theoretical models. Students will be introduced to the principal areas of SLA research and the major methodologies available for their study. Course material will focus on acquisition of a spoken second language, but also discuss recent studies and analyze data related to second language acquisition of a sign language.

The focus of this course is a comparison among six dominant approaches to the analysis of discourse: pragmatics, speech act theory, conversational analysis, interactional sociolinguistics, ethnography of communication, and variation analysis, with close examination of different kinds of sign language discourse.

All first year Linguistics MA courses, or permission of instructor

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to theories and methods of discourse analysis. This is a companion course, not a sequel, to Discourse Analysis: Narrative. Whereas Discourse Analysis: Narrative is concerned with discourse produced primarily by one speaker. Discourse Analysis: Conversation is concerned with dialogic or multi-party discourse.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to theories and methods of discourse analysis. Narrative is chosen for study because it is primarily monologic (at least in U.S. culture) as distinct from dialogic or multi-party discourse which is covered in Discourse Analysis: Conversation. This course will focus on the analysis of ASL narratives.

All first year Linguistics MA courses plus LIN 741, or permission of the instructor

An examination of analytical methods used in the study of variation and change in language structure and use, with a focus on sign language variation. Practice in the exploratory analysis and interpretation of sociolinguistics and discourse data, and introduction to quantitative tools, including the Varbrul program.

For students who did not complete the Gallaudet M.A. in Linguistics

This course will provide students with experience in gathering and analyzing data from a sign language other than ASL. The particular language selected will vary from year to year, with preference given to under-investigated sign languages. Students will study the lexicon, phonology, morphology, and syntax of this language; each student will focus on one topic for an in-depth research project.

Pre- or co-requisites: For UG students: LIN 301, 302; or Permission of Instructor; for Grad students: Permission of Instructor.

An introduction to the principles of linguistic study, with a concentrated focus on phonology and phonological theory as applied to English and ASL. Topics will include: phonetics, phonemics, phonological processes, syllables and syllabification, distinctive features, phonological rules, and an overview of current phonological theory.

This course provides an introduction to generative linguistics and principles of syntactic argumentation within the generative tradition. Topics include Parts of Speech, Phrase Structure rules, X-bar rules, the role of the Lexicon, and various types of syntactic movement related to verbal morphology, questions and passive constructions. The course focuses initially on English and other spoken languages, but also includes application to ASL towards the end of the course.

This course will introduce students to the profession of linguistics, its history and subfields, as well as the research specializations of department faculty. Students will also receive general training in a variety of skills relevant to graduate studies in linguistics, such as technical writing, using library resources to locate literature, using computer and editing techniques needed for carrying out sign linguistics projects, and applying for research grants and IRB approval for student research projects.

This is the first of a three-course sequence focusing on a cognitive linguistics approach to ASL. Examination of semiotic diversity in ASL from the perspective of Cognitive Grammar, with an emphasis on analysis of data. The primary focus of the course is on depiction, establishing a typology of depiction that includes many imagistic phenomena in ASL and other spoken and signed languages, such as enactments, manual depictive forms, and ideophones. Notions in Cognitive Grammar benefiting depiction analysis, such as constructions and construal, are also introduced.

This course builds on foundational material presented in Phonology I. Students will investigate the phonological structure of signs in American Sign Language. Part one (I) presents a comparison of notation systems for signs and provides extensive training in sign notation. Part two (II) deals with phonological contrast. Part three (III) is concerned with the phonotactic properties of lexical signs. Part four (IV) deals with phonological processes and historical change.

LIN 701 or permission of instructor.

This course is a continuation of LIN 721, with discussion of the tenets of cognitive linguistics, particularly the view that lexicon and grammar are a continuum of form-meaning pairings with varying degrees of abstraction and complexity. This discussion provides the theoretical background with which to investigate grammatical structures in ASL, English, and other languages, including metaphor, grammatical classes (e.g., noun and verb categories), and complex expressions (e.g., morphology, compounding, grammatical relations, and grammatical constructions).

LIN 721 or permission of instructor

This course builds on foundational material presented in Generative Linguistics I and extends them to the study of ASL and other sign languages. Lectures include continued opportunity for hands-on practice in deriving various syntactic structures, and also develop students' abilities to independently read and understand articles in generative linguistics.

LIN 702 or permission of instructor

Year III - Fall

Year III - Spring

Present Guided Research Project:Pre-requisite to LIN 883

Complete Qualifying Paper and Present Qualifying Paper:may occur earlier or later; pre-requisite to LIN 890

Year IV - Fall

Field Exam andConcept Paper Presentation:pre-requisite to LIN 890

Year IV - Spring

Year V - Fall

This course is for ABD students conducting any aspect of their dissertation research and writing.

Successful completion of LIN 890 and dissertation proposal defense, LIN 741, LIN 801, LIN 802, and LIN 827, and all four electives required for the doctoral program.

Year V - Spring (and onward)

Year I - Fall

Year I - Spring

Year II - Fall

Year II - Spring

Present Guided Research Project: Pre-requisite to LIN 883

Complete Qualifying Paper and Present Qualifying Paper: may occur earlier or later; pre-requisite to LIN 890

Field Exam and Concept Paper Presentation: pre-requisite to LIN 890

Year IV - Spring (and onward)

Information

Ph.d. in linguistics requirements.

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Home > HFA > Linguistics > LINGUIST_DISS

Linguistics Department Dissertations Collection

Current students, please follow this link to submit your dissertation.

Dissertations from 2023 2023

Long(er) Object Movement in Turkish , Duygu Göksu, Linguistics

'You' Will Always Have 'Me': A Compositional Theory of Person , Kaden T. Holladay, Linguistics

Associative Plurals , Sherry Hucklebridge, Linguistics

Counterdirectionality in the Grammar: Reversals and Restitutions , Jyoti Iyer, Linguistics

The Online Processing of Even's Likelihood Presupposition , Erika Mayer, Linguistics

Dissertations from 2022 2022

On the Semantics of Verbal and Nominal Tense in Mvskoke (Creek) , Kimberly C. Johnson, Linguistics

Restrictive Tier Induction , Seoyoung Kim, Linguistics

DIRECTIONAL HARMONIC SERIALISM , Andrew Lamont, Linguistics

TENSE IN CONDITIONALS: INS AND OUTS , Zahra Mirrazi, Linguistics

Phonotactic Learning with Distributional Representations , Max A. Nelson, Linguistics

The Linearization of V(P)-doubling Constructions , Rong Yin, Linguistics

Dissertations from 2021 2021

Shifting the Perspectival Landscape: Methods for Encoding, Identifying, and Selecting Perspectives , Carolyn Jane Anderson, Linguistics

There and Gone Again: Syntactic Structure In Memory , Caroline Andrews, Linguistics

The Event Structure of Attitudes , Deniz Özyıldız, Linguistics

LEARNING PHONOLOGY WITH SEQUENCE-TO-SEQUENCE NEURAL NETWORKS , Brandon Prickett, Linguistics

The Syntactic and Semantic Atoms of the Spray/load Alternation , Michael A. Wilson, Linguistics

Dissertations from 2020 2020

Representing Context: Presupposition Triggers and Focus-sensitivity , Alexander Goebel, Linguistics

Person-based Prominence in Ojibwe , Christopher Hammerly, Linguistics

Emergent Typological Effects of Agent-Based Learning Models in Maximum Entropy Grammar , Coral Hughto, Linguistics

TALKING ABOUT HER(SELF): AMBIGUITY AVOIDANCE AND PRINCIPLE B. A Theoretical and Psycholinguistic Investigation of Romanian Pronouns , Rudmila-Rodica Ivan, Linguistics

THE EMPTINESS OF THE PRESENT: FRONTING CONSTRUCTIONS AS A WINDOW TO THE SEMANTICS OF TENSE , Petr Kusliy, Linguistics

Optimal Linearization: Prosodic displacement in Khoekhoegowab and Beyond , Leland Kusmer, Linguistics

Dissertations from 2019 2019

Computing Agreement in a Mixed System , Sakshi Bhatia, Linguistics

Binding and Coreference in Vietnamese , Thuy Bui, Linguistics

Divorce Licensing: Separate Criteria for Predicate and Clausal Ellipsis , Tracy Conner, Linguistics

Effects of Phonological Contrast on Within-Category Phonetic Variation , Ivy Hauser, Linguistics

Phrasal and Clausal Exceptive-Additive Constructions Crosslinguistically , Ekaterina Vostrikova, Linguistics

Dissertations from 2018 2018

Typology of bizarre ellipsis varieties , David Erschler, Linguistics

The Head-Quarters of Mandarin Arguments , Hsin-Lun Huang, Linguistics

ATTITUDES DE SE AND LOGOPHORICITY , Yangsook Park, Linguistics

Responding to questions and assertions: embedded Polar Response Particles, ellipsis, and contrast , Jeremy Pasquereau, Linguistics

Dissertations from 2017 2017

The Form and Acquisition of Free Relatives , Michael Clauss, Linguistics

Amount Relatives Redux , Jon Ander Mendia, Linguistics

Movement and the Semantic Type of Traces , Ethan Poole, Linguistics

Preferential early attribution in segmental parsing , Amanda Rysling, Linguistics

When errors aren't: How comprehenders selectively violate Binding Theory , Shayne Sloggett, Linguistics

Dissertations from 2016 2016

Building Meaning in Navajo , Elizabeth A. Bogal-Allbritten, Linguistics

Probes and their Horizons , Stefan Keine, Linguistics

Anaphora, Inversion, and Focus , Nicholas J. LaCara, Linguistics

The Representation of Probabilistic Phonological Patterns: Neurological, Behavioral, and Computational Evidence from the English Stress System , Claire Moore-Cantwell, Linguistics

Extending Hidden Structure Learning: Features, Opacity, and Exceptions , Aleksei I. Nazarov, Linguistics

Dissertations from 2015 2015

Experiencing in Japanese: The Experiencer Restriction across Clausal Types , Masashi Hashimoto, Linguistics

Rightward Movement: A Study in Locality , Jason Overfelt, Linguistics

Investigating Properties of Phonotactic Knowledge Through Web-Based Experimentation , Presley Pizzo, Linguistics

Phonologically Conditioned Allomorphy and UR Constraints , Brian W. Smith, Linguistics

Dissertations from 2014 2014

Contrastive Topic: Meanings and Realizations , Noah Constant, Linguistics

The Grammar of Individuation and Counting , Suzi Lima, Linguistics

Comprehending Each Other: Weak Reciprocity and Processing , Helen Majewski, Linguistics

Computational Modeling of Learning Biases in Stress Typology , Robert D. Staubs, Linguistics

Fragments and Clausal Ellipsis , Andrew Weir, Linguistics

Dissertations from 2013 2013

Gapping in Farsi: A Crosslinguistic Investigation , Annahita Farudi, Linguistics

The Parsing and Interpretation of Comparatives: More than Meets the Eye , Margaret Ann Grant, Linguistics

Dissertations from 2012 2012

Syntax-Prosody Interactions in Irish , Emily Elfner, Linguistics

Processing Perspectives , Jesse Aron Harris, Linguistics

Exhaustivity In Questions & Clefts; And The Quantifier Connection: A Study In German And English , Tanja Heizmann, Linguistics

Phonological And Phonetic Biases In Speech Perception , Michael Parrish Key, Linguistics

The Role of Contextual Restriction in Reference-Tracking , Andrew Robert McKenzie, Linguistics

Stress in Harmonic Serialism , Kathryn Ringler Pruitt, Linguistics

Roots of Modality , Aynat Rubinstein, Linguistics

Goals, Big and Small , Martin Walkow, Linguistics

Dissertations from 2011 2011

Quantification, misc. , Jan Anderssen, Linguistics

Anchoring Pragmatics In Syntax And Semantics , Maria Biezma, Linguistics

Constraining Interpretation: Sentence Final Particles in Japanese , Christopher M. Davis, Linguistics

Cumulative constraint interaction in phonological acquisition and typology , Karen Christine Jesney

Cumulative Constraint Interaction In Phonological Acquisition And Typology , Karen Christine Jesney, Linguistics

Competing Triggers: Transparency And Opacity In Vowel Harmony , Wendell A Kimper, Linguistics

Dissertations from 2010 2010

Topics In The Nez Perce Verb , Amy Rose Deal, Linguistics

Concealed Questions. In Search Of Answers , Ilaria Frana, Linguistics

Dissertations from 2009 2009

Phonological Trends In The Lexicon: The Role Of Constraints , Michael Becker, Linguistics

Natural Selection and the Syntax of Clausal Complementation , Keir Moulton, Linguistics

Two Types of Definites in Natural Language , Florian Schwarz, Linguistics

The Role Of Lexical Contrast In The Perception Of Intonational Prominence In Japanese , Takahito Shinya, Linguistics

The Emergence of DP in the Partitive Structure , Helen Stickney, Linguistics

Optionality and Variability: Syntactic Licensing Meets Morphological Spell-Out , Cherlon Ussery, Linguistics

Word, Phrase, And Clitic Prosody In Bosnian, Serbian, And Croatian , Adam Werle, Linguistics

Dissertations from 2008 2008

Optimal interleaving: Serial phonology -morphology interaction in a constraint-based model , Matthew Adam Wolf

Dissertations from 2007 2007

The sources of phonological markedness , Kathryn Gilbert Flack

The emergence of phonetic naturalness , Shigeto Kawahara

Biases and stages in phonological acquisition , Anne-Michelle Tessier

Acquisition of scalar implicatures , Anna VerBuk

Dissertations from 2006 2006

Disjunction in alternative semantics , Luis Alonso-Ovalle

Acquisition of a natural versus an unnatural stress system , Angela C Carpenter

Asymmetries in the acquisition of consonant clusters , Della Chambless

Telicity and the syntax-semantics of the *object and *subject , Miren J Hodgson

Variables in Natural Language , Meredith Landman, Linguistics

Dissertations from 2005 2005

On the Accessiblity of Possible Worlds: The Role of Tense and Aspect , Ana Cristina Arregui

Perception of foreignness , Ben Gelbart

Prosody and LF interpretation: Processing Japanese wh -questions , Masako Hirotani

The grammar of choice , Paula Menendez-Benito

Mediated *modification: Functional structure and the interpretation of modifier position , Marcin Morzycki

Dissertations from 2004 2004

What it means to be a loser: Non -optimal candidates in optimality theory , Andries W Coetzee

Scope: The View from Indefinites , Ji-Yung Kim

Event-structure and the internally headed relative clause construction in Korean and Japanese , Min-Joo Kim

Spain or bust? Assessment and student perceptions of out-of-class contact and oral proficiency in a study abroad context , Vija Glazer Mendelson

On the articulation of aspectual meaning in African -American English , Jules Michael Eugene Terry

Dissertations from 2003 2003

Deriving Economy: Syncope in Optimality Theory , Maria Gouskova

Gestures and segments: Vowel intrusion as overlap , Nancy Elizabeth Hall

The development of phonological categories in children's perception of final voicing in dialects of English , Caroline Jones

Argument structure and the lexicon /syntax interface , Eva Juarros

Contrast preservation in phonological mappings , Anna Lubowicz

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Linguistics and English Language PhD

Awards: PhD

Funding opportunities

Programme website: Linguistics and English Language

The transformative supervision meetings, labs, professional training and departmental research seminars are all conducive to a thriving linguistics training. I am exposed to cutting-edge training and research. This inspiring environment allows me to conduct world-leading research in bilingualism. Katerina Pantoula Current PhD student in Linguistics & English Language

Discovery Day

Join us online on 18th April to learn more about postgraduate study at Edinburgh

View sessions and register

Research profile

We have an outstanding international reputation in many areas of Linguistics and English Language research.

Linguistics & English Language is rated 3rd in the UK by Times Higher Education for the quality and breadth of the research using the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021).

We can offer expert supervision across a wide range of topics, including:

• Applied Linguistics
• Developmental linguistics, including first and second language acquisition
• Discourse and conversation analysis
• Historical English linguistics, including the syntax, morphology, and phonology from the earliest periods to the present day
• Language evolution
• Linguistic fieldwork
• Morphology, including word formation
• Multilingualism
• Phonetics and phonology, including diachronic phonology and the phonology of varieties of English, Scots and their history
• Sociolinguistics
• Speech technology
• Syntax and semantics, including theoretical syntax, descriptive syntax of English, diachronic syntax and both lexical and formal semantics
• Varieties of English, both British and international

Research groups

Our expertise clusters in a number of research groups and research centres:

• Developmental Linguistics
• English Language
• Language Evolution & Computation (LEC)
• Language in Context
• Language Variation and Change (LVC)
• Meaning and Grammar
• Phonetics and Phonology
• Centre for Language Evolution
• Bilingualism Matters

Research in speech technology is carried out at the Centre for Speech Technology Research, a collaboration between the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences and Informatics:

• Centre for Speech Technology Research

Training and support

You will receive supervision by at least two members of academic staff, who will meet regularly with you to discuss your progress and wider issues in your field of study.

This may include:

• discussion of relevant literature (for example, journal articles and book chapters)
• Firming up of research proposal
• Preparation for fieldwork and data collection
• discussion of draft chapters of your thesis
• preparation for conference presentations

Research students are assigned to research groups, each of which hosts regular research activities.

The department also has a visiting speaker series (the Linguistic Circle), and you are encouraged to participate in the School’s Language at Edinburgh research network.

The unrivalled holdings of the University and National Libraries and the National Archives of Scotland make study of this subject at Edinburgh especially attractive.

Our students become part of one of the biggest communities of linguists in the United Kingdom.

We have state-of-the art technical and laboratory facilities:

• School resources
• Find out more about our community

The School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences is home to a large, supportive and active student community, hosting events and activities throughout the year which you can join. As a postgraduate student, you will have access to a range of research resources, state-of-the-art facilities research seminars and reading groups.

Career opportunities

While many of our PhD graduates choose to remain in academia as lecturers and researchers, going onto post-doctoral opportunities or progressing into faculty positions, some pursue employment and careers in other sectors.

Important application information

Find a research opportunity that matches your interests.

• View our main research areas

Write a research proposal

Your research proposal will be used to consider whether the proposed research is feasible and can be supervised by our staff members, so it is important that your theoretical and methodological preparation for it are clear.

We understand that it can be difficult to formulate research plans well in advance of carrying out the work, but we encourage you to articulate your ideas as clearly as possible. You should draft your proposal several times and, ideally, seek comments on it from other people (perhaps from your referees or former lecturers) before submitting it.

It is recommended that you contact your planned supervisor(s) well in advance of the deadline to identify a suitable topic for your research proposal.

You should then draft the research proposal independently and then discuss it with your planned supervisor(s), revising it based on their comments and suggestions.

Each PhD thesis contains several theoretical and empirical chapters. Your proposal should focus on the empirical work, laying out plans for at least two empirical studies (further plans can be worked out as you progress). Ideally, each of the studies should be a publishable journal article; students are strongly encouraged to publish their work in collaboration with their supervisors.

Your proposal must not exceed 1000 words; the panel may not read the part of your proposal exceeding the limit. This does not include references.

Your proposal should include:

• A title for the project
• A brief background for the planned research question(s)
• A compelling, brief rationale for the studies, including the specific research questions/hypotheses
• A description of the methodology for addressing these questions/hypotheses, which generally includes:
• Sufficiently large sample(s) of participants (allowing for appropriate statistical power) and measurement/experimental procedures
• If using existing data (e.g., data from large cohort studies or biobanks, imaging data sets, etc.), describe the data sets
• Your data analytical approach (e.g., suitable statistical models)
• If using qualitative data such as interviews, describe your methods and analytical approach
• Note that the methodology should be realistic, within the resources and time-scales available to you and your supervisor(s), and also allowing for necessary time for writing the thesis
• An indication of how your proposed work fits with and contributes to the research programme of your planned supervisor(s).

A PhD thesis typically means teamwork, involving the student and one or two supervisors, and often also other members of the research group(s) of the supervisor(s); a student receives training and help form the team, but can also contribute to the team with their research. Applicants who can show a good fit with a supervising team have an advantage.

We may ask for a brief (Zoom or MS Teams) interview with you if we have further questions.

If your application is successful, we expect that your research will develop. It is likely that your supervisor(s) or those reviewing the work will suggest changes or developments to your research as your studies progress.

Therefore, you will not be held to the ideas that you explain in your proposal during the course of your research.

• How to write a good PG research proposal

Contact potential supervisors prior to making an application

We strongly encourage you to get in touch with a potential supervisor, and to include their name in your application.

When contacting a potential supervisor, please include a draft proposal and CV as this will provide the starting point for discussion. You can introduce yourself by explaining why their work interests you.

Please note that our academic staff are very busy and it may take time for them to respond to your enquiry.

• View our staff profiles and contact details

Get ready to apply

In order to ensure full consideration of your application, we ask that you submit your complete application including all supporting documentation.

You will be asked to add contact details for your referees. We will email them with information on how to upload their reference directly to your online application. Please allow plenty of time as we can only consider your application once we have received your full application, including your references.

• Find out more about the application process

Consider your funding options

There are a number of funding opportunities both within the University and externally. Funding is highly competitive at PhD level.

• More information on funding

Pre-application Checklist

To receive a pre-arrival checklist to help you with your application, please email the PPLS Postgraduate Office at

• [email protected]

Please complete this checklist to keep track of your application preparations. Please submit the completed checklist as an additional document to your application.

Language Sciences at Edinburgh

Entry requirements.

These entry requirements are for the 2024/25 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2025/26 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2024.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in English language, linguistics, or a related subject.

Your academic achievements will be assessed by a panel of academics along with the research proposal submitted as part of your application.

(Revised 19 February 2024 to clarify entry requirements and assessment methods.)

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country
• English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.5 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 23 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced ( CAE ) / C2 Proficiency ( CPE ): total 185 with at least 176 in each component.
• Trinity ISE : ISE III with passes in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 70 with at least 62 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS , TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE , in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old* at the beginning of your programme of study. (*Revised 05 March 2024 to extend degree validity to five years.)

Find out more about our language requirements:

• Fees and costs

Read our general information on tuition fees and studying costs:

Scholarships and funding

Only applications received by the Round 1 deadline will be considered for University of Edinburgh based funding.

You may be able to secure external funding outside of this deadline.

Featured funding

• Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities Funding
• Scottish Graduate School of Social Science Funding
• [College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Awards] ( https://www.ed.ac.uk/ppls/linguistics-and-english-language/prospective/postgraduate/funding-research-students/arts-humanities-soc-sci-research-awards )
• [Edinburgh Doctoral College Scholarships] ( https://www.ed.ac.uk/student-funding/postgraduate/international/other-funding/doctoral-college )

UK government postgraduate loans

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments.

The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

• your programme
• the duration of your studies
• your tuition fee status

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

• UK government and other external funding

Other funding opportunities

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding

Further information

• PPLS Postgraduate Office
• Phone: +44 (0)131 651 5002
• Contact: [email protected]
• Dugald Stewart Building
• 3 Charles Street
• Central Campus
• Programme: Linguistics and English Language
• School: Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences
• College: Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

This programme is not currently accepting applications. Applications for the next intake usually open in October.

Start date: September

Application deadlines

Only applications received by the Round 1 deadline will be considered for University of Edinburgh based funding. You may be able to secure external funding outside of this deadline.

We operate a gathered field approach to PhD applications.

This means that all complete applications which satisfy our minimum entry requirements will be held until the nearest deadline. The admissions panel will meet to consider all applications received together after that date.

Applications are held for processing over two deadlines:

• How to apply

Please read through the ‘Important application information’ section on this page before applying.

Find out more about the general application process for postgraduate programmes:

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55 Top-Rated Research Topics in Linguistics For an A+

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What are the Linguistics Research Topics?

To understand this better, we’d have first to define the term linguistics.

• Language in context ,
• Language form, and
• Language meaning.

The researcher will have to determine the interplay between sound and meaning when presented with this subject. A linguistics research paper will, therefore, deal with the following:

• The nature of language
• How human languages are classified
• Tools used in language identification

Language entices researchers as it draws significant and sustained attention with the reader. With the numerous languages in the world now, you cannot miss finding an area or two to write on this topic.

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History of Language Research Topics

• The contribution of Greek philosophers to language
• Significance of the over 30,000 preserved cuneiform writings to language
• Early speculations about the origin of language
• The long history of language as rooted in mythology
• Why the origin of language is an unanswerable problem
• A critical analysis of theories that explain the origin and development of language

Argumentative College Linguistic Research Topics

• Is language the only way we can use to communicate?
• Does a brain injury have an impact on language?
• Should we refer to the language as a mere system of symbols?
• Do language disorders make it a difficult subject to study?
• Does the mother tongue have an impact on efficient communication?
• Should we learn two or more languages?

Linguistics Research Topics – Tough Questions

• Why is there a similarity among many English and French words?
• What makes people speak different languages?
• Why does the mother tongue always interfere with one’s pronunciation?
• What makes it possible for language translation?
• Is sign language only a matter of making signs with the hands?
• Why are some languages difficult to learn than others?

Sociolinguistic Research Topics

• Social factors that necessitate language variation and varieties
• What are the attitudes to language among different societies?
• The relationship between language and identity
• A critical evaluation of language and ethnicity
• Analyzing language attrition among most English speakers
• Distinct functions of language among different communities

Interesting Topics in Linguistics

• Salient factors that contribute to language shift and death
• Why nobody can claim to know a certain language in its entirety
• Why is written communication more precise than spoken one?
• Problems of ambiguity during language translation
• Does language influence society, or vice versa, is it true?
• The effectiveness of language support and subject teaching

Linguistics Paper Topics on Politics

• Persuasive language strategies and techniques in political speeches
• Why politicians use culturally used languages when addressing indigenous communities?
• The place of colonial rule in African politics
• A case study of effective political communication
• Understanding the changing landscape of political communication
• The use of buzz words and tag lines in political speeches

Linguistics Research Paper Topics on Semantics

• How does meaning work in language analysis and interpretation?
• How can the meanings of words relate to each other?
• Ways in which sentences are related to one another
• What causes ambiguity to arise in language?
• How do different speakers acquire a sense of meaning?
• A critical analysis of language use and language acquisition

Linguistic Topics on Translation

• The role of the latest technologies in the translation industry
• Is the translator training and pedagogy producing efficient translators?
• Are translations the cause of misunderstanding between different languages?
• What is the effectiveness of audiovisual translation?
• Is literary translation causing more harm than good in communication?
• What is the relationship between translation and popular culture?

Interesting Linguistics Topics on Language Disorders

• Causes of receptive language disorders among children
• Mental formation of language disorders during a child’s development
• Symptoms of language disorder and how to deal with them
• What is the effectiveness of psychotherapy in dealing with language disorders?
• Why is autism spectrum disorder common among most children?
• What causes problems with the sentence and word flow?
• Why children of 1 and 2 years of age have trouble with p, b, m, h, and w sounds

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