phd in linguistics admission

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.

• College of Arts & Sciences
• Graduate Division
• College of Liberal and Professional Studies

• Ph.D. Program Application
• Graduate Program

This page provides details about the procedure for applying to the graduate Linguistics program at the University of Pennsylvania. Please read it thoroughly before submitting an application. If any questions remain unanswered, contact [email protected] .

Degree Program

Deadlines and fees, required materials, evaluation criteria, financial aid, campus visits, contact information.

Note that the term "graduate group" at Penn refers to an entity that administers graduate study, and may or may not be tightly connected to a specific academic "department". The Graduate Group in Linguistics includes all the faculty of the Linguistics Department as well as many faculty who conduct linguistic research but are affiliated with other departments (such as psychology and computer science).

The Graduate Group in Linguistics normally admits only students intending to complete the requirements for the Ph.D. Strong applicants seeking an M.A. will be considered if they bring outside funding for their studies and are a good match to the interests of the faculty. We do not admit students for part-time or online study. Students are encouraged to complete the Ph.D. program in five years; for recent graduates, the time to completion is typically five or six years.

If your main research interest lies in applied linguistics, second language acquisition, or language teaching, contact the School of Education , especially under the category educational linguistics or TESOL ; the Graduate Group in Linguistics at Penn does not consider applications from students with a primary focus in these areas.

Note that we do not offer any kind of "conditional acceptance", which some applicants ask about, and that the application process and financial aid offers are the same for domestic and international applicants.  All applications are considered as a group after December 1st, mainly during January and early February.

The application deadline is December 1st , for matriculation in the fall semester of the following year; you may begin an application after October 1st. Ph.D. applications are considered only on this schedule. We do not have admissions for the spring semester. 

Applicants must ensure that their complete materials — including transcripts, test scores, letters of recommendation, personal statement, and supporting documents — are submitted by this date in order to be considered for financial aid from or through the university. Please do not email or telephone the Graduate Division or the Linguistics Department to confirm that your application is complete; we will contact you if any materials are missing.

The application fee is $90.00. Payments must be made by credit card.

The University is uses  ApplyWeb  for online applications, and all materials are handled electronically. Instructions, forms, and a link to the online application are located at  https://www.sas.upenn.edu/graduate-division/prospective-students/application-information

The Graduate Group in Linguistics requires the following materials as part of the applications. Each is discussed in more detail below.

• Academic transcripts of undergraduate courses and grades, and any previous graduate work.
• TOEFL score for non-native speakers of English.
• A personal statement of your academic goals.
• Recommendations from at least three professors or others familiar with your academic abilities.
• A writing sample and other supporting materials.

You will be notified in early January if there are any materials missing from your application.

The same application is used by applicants from either the U.S. or abroad. An admissions committee within the Graduate Group makes decisions regarding admission and financial aid, with the approval of the Graduate Dean. The Office of the Graduate Division of Arts and Sciences generates the official acceptance letter.

The application and all materials submitted to the Admissions Office become the property of the University of Pennsylvania.

Your application must include an unofficial transcript from the institution(s) where you did previous academic work at the undergraduate or graduate level. The transcripts should be scanned and submitted electronically with your application. If you are admitted to the program, you will be required to confirm the information by sending an official copy of the transcript before matriculating.

After a year in the program, students may be eligible to transfer up to eight course credits completed prior to admission. Approval will be at the discretion of the Graduate Group.

The GRE (Graduate Record Exam) is no longer considered for admission to our program, so students should not send them as part of their applications.

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required for non-native speakers of English. For details, see http://www.toefl.org . Anyone who has received a bachelor's degree or higher from an English-speaking university or who will receive their degree before starting graduate school is exempt from this requirement.

This year we are accepting four tests of English-language proficiency:

• TOEFL iBT Test (in person)
• TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition
• TOEFL ITP Plus for China
• Duolingo English Test [ site ]

The TOEFL is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) , telephone 609-921-9000. All scores must be officially submitted to the Graduate Division by the testing agency. The codes that you will need to know are University of Pennsylvania: 2926 and Linguistics: 2903 (or, in the two-digit iBT system, 04). We do not accept scores older than two years.

Applicants are expected to have a score of at least 100 on the internet-based test (iBT). The ITP Plus China test must have a score of at least 627. For the Duolingo exam, the minimum is 125.

We also accept the IELTS , but the University is not set up to receive the scores electronically. A score of 7.0 or better is expected. Include a copy of your official scores as an upload in your application. Please do not send hard-copies to the department.

Personal Statement

In the personal statement, all Ph.D. applications within the Graduate Division of Arts & Sciences should address the following:

• Please describe how your background and academic experiences have influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree and led you to apply to Penn. Your essay should detail your specific research interests and intellectual goals within your chosen field. Please provide information about your educational trajectory, intellectual curiosity and academic ambitions. If you have overcome adversity and/or experienced limited access to resources or opportunities in your field of study, please feel free to share how that has affected the course of your education. We are interested in your lived experiences and how your particular perspective might contribute to the inclusive and dynamic learning community that Penn values and strives to create.

The personal statement prompt just given is standardized across the Graduate Division of Arts & Sciences. Here is some additional guidance from our specific graduate program. Your personal statement is an important part of your application. The admissions committee looks not only at the general background and qualifications of the applicants, but also at the fit between your specific goals and interests, and the kind of research conducted by the members of the graduate group. A length of two or three pages is usually appropriate.

The most successful statement will demonstrate that you understand the kinds of work conducted by members of the faculty with interests related to yours, and why Penn is a particularly appropriate place for you to study. You should be clear about your goals; it is acceptable to have wide interests or not to be entirely focused yet, but you should show that you understand what it means to pursue advanced study in the areas of interest that you identify. Personal anecdotes about how you became interested in linguistics, or childhood experiences with language, do not generally contribute to the effectiveness of the statement.

The personal statement is the place to describe your past training in linguistics or in related areas. We welcome applications from those with limited formal training in the field, but in such cases it is especially important to demonstrate your understanding of what graduate work in linguistics will entail, and to emphasize aspects of your educational background that will contribute to your success. We do not normally expect a resume or CV, but if your work or educational history is complex or multifaceted, you might wish to include one.

When you are asked to specify your area of concentration, please choose from among these categories: syntax, morphology, semantics, pragmatics, phonology, phonetics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, historical linguistics, evolution. If you are interested in computational linguistics, you can specify that in your personal statement, but here you should indicate the field in which you would apply computational analysis.

In our program, applicants are not expected to work out arrangements with individual faculty members before applying. The application is made to the graduate group as a whole, and students who matriculate in the program are assigned appropriate advisors after they arrive. Nevertheless, it is entirely sensible to identify how your research interests relate to those of specific faculty at Penn.

Recommendations

You will need letters of recommendation from three professors or others who are qualified to comment on your academic ability and background. The most effective letters come from those who have worked with you closely, especially on independent research, and who are familiar enough with the field of linguistics to understand what abilities are most relevant.

When you include the email addresses of your recommenders in the online application, each will automatically receive an email with an attached recommendation form. This email will allow the recommender to submit a letter electronically. Once the recommender submits the letter, it will be attached to the online application.

Writing Sample

A writing sample, such as a substantial term paper or thesis from previous undergraduate or graduate work, is necessary for the faculty to assess your research experience. If you only have work from another field, please select a paper that shows the sort of research skills relevant to linguistics. The document should be converted to pdf format and uploaded to the CollegeNet site.

That site limits the size of the files to 500 KB, so if necessary include an excerpt from a longer document. You may, in addition, provide in your personal statement a link to the full document (in pdf form) that you have posted elsewhere on the web.

We evaluate applicants holistically , taking into careful consideration the full picture of how each applicant’s unique experiences have prepared them for success in graduate school. Here are some skills and traits that we look for in highly competitive applications to our program:

Academic preparedness . The applicant demonstrates academic preparation and skills, including strong writing skills, that equip them well for graduate coursework and research in linguistics. Their academic work so far suggests potential for innovation and original thinking. 

Research experience . The applicant has taken advantage of relevant research opportunities available to them, given their background and previous opportunities. They have a realistic perspective on how to conduct a research project, along with a strong ability to work independently and problem-solve.

Fit with our department. The applicant understands what linguistics is and what kinds of research areas our department specializes in. The applicant's interests overlap with the interests of at least one, and ideally multiple, faculty members. Their research statement articulates why they are excited to join our unique intellectual community.

Commitment and adaptability . The applicant demonstrates resilience in overcoming obstacles and adapting creatively to new information and events. They demonstrate the ability and willingness to work hard and steadily towards long-term goals.

Contributions to inclusive community . The applicant stands to contribute to a diverse learning environment in linguistics through their life experiences, educational background (e.g. non-traditional paths) and/or the ability to articulate the barriers facing a variety of different groups in linguistics. They value making our department community inclusive and making linguistics accessible both within and outside the university.

Collaboration and organizational experience . The applicant demonstrates maturity through clear communication, ability to work collaboratively as part of a team, strong organizational skills, and ability to multitask. They will make positive contributions to the department’s community and activities.

Under normal circumstances – when a student does not have outside funding – all students who are offered admission to the Ph.D. program are also offered a five-year Benjamin Franklin fellowship. The annual stipend for the 12-month period starting Fall 2023 is $40,500. Please see the Graduate Division for more details.

As noted above, the deadline for applications is December 1st. Students to whom the graduate group decides to offer admission will be invited to visit the University, usually on a day in late February; notifications of admission therefore can be expected by the middle of that month. Due to processing time, unsuccessful applicants may not receive official notice until late February or early March.

The Linguistics Ph.D. program begins in the Fall semester, which starts in late August (see the academic calendar ). There is no provision for students to begin in the Spring semester.

The School of Arts and Sciences allows candidates to defer admission for up to one year. Fellowship awards may not, however, be deferred; the application must be reactivated the next year for new consideration for a fellowship.

If you would like to come and sit in on classes or meet Linguistics graduate students or faculty, please contact [email protected] . Visitors are encouraged to reach out directly to those faculty with whom they would like to meet.

See also the online map and directions .

The Graduate Division oversees the application process:

Graduate Division School of Arts and Sciences University of Pennsylvania 3401 Walnut Street, Suite 322A Philadelphia, PA 19104-6228

Telephone: 215-898-7444

The Linguistics Department administers the affairs of the Graduate Group in Linguistics:

Linguistics Department University of Pennsylvania 3401-C Walnut Street, suite 300 Philadelphia, PA 19104-6228

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 215-898-6046

Graduate Admissions

The department welcomes applications from those seeking a graduate program that allows students to craft individualized programs of study within broad guidelines and provides them with considerable flexibility in developing their research directions.

Through course work, dedicated faculty advising, and collaborative projects, our students learn how to approach significant theoretical questions using diverse empirical methodologies and detailed linguistic description. They are encouraged to undertake original research that spans subfields of linguistics or makes contact with neighboring disciplines.

The department receives approximately 150 applications for the Ph.D. program each year, from which, on average, 7 students are admitted. The department does not admit external applicants to the M.A. program.

The Stanford Department of Linguistics considers graduate admissions applications once a year.  The online application opens in late September and the deadline to apply to the Ph.D. program is November 30, 2023 for study beginning in the 2024-25 academic year.  

Start Your Application

The Ph.D. Application

Find important details on the process of applying for graduate study in linguistics at Maryland below. 

Important Dates

Application deadline.

Application materials for the Ph.D. Program in Linguistics should be received by the second Friday in December. In 2023 this will be  Friday December 8, 2023. The Admissions Committee may be unable to consider materials received after this date, and even when a late application can be considered, the applicant may have fewer opportunities for financial support.   (If you have been assuming the inaccurate Graduate School target date of February 1 and discover this after our department deadline of the second Friday of December, please contact the graduate admissions director by email.)

Timely submission of online application

Applicants are encouraged to submit the initial online application in advance of the application deadline, preferably at least one week before the target date. This form requires minimal information but is important for enabling the rest of the application process. After the initial application has been submitted, an applicant may submit additional information and upload files via the Application Supplemental Form (ASF). The ASF is also used to submit names of recommenders, who are then invited to submit electronic letters of recommendation.

Electronic Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation may, in principle, be submitted either electronically or via mail. However, the department has a strong preference to receive electronic letters, as all files are reviewed electronically. Letters submitted by mail should be submitted at least two weeks before the target date, in order to ensure that they are processed by the Graduate School in time for the early January target date. If the ASF is submitted shortly before the target date then recommenders will have little time to submit their letters—applicants are responsible for keeping their referees informed about the application timetable and for providing advance notice of when letters will be required.

Admissions Timetable

Initial offers of admission and financial aid for the fall semester are normally made in late February-March. Times vary depending on the confirmation of the department's budget. The department will hold an open house for invited prospective students in late February or early March. (Participation in the open house is recommended, although it is neither necessary for admission nor a guarantee of admission.) Further offers of admission and financial aid are sometimes made at a later date, if additional funds become available. In recent years, five-10 new students have started the Ph.D. program each year. Students who receive financial aid offers are required to accept or decline the offer by April 15.   Note that the Graduate School's website allows applicants to check on the status of their application automatically. Applicants should not rely on this status check for reliable information. Applications are often marked as incomplete when they are, in fact, complete, because some electronically transmitted files are not reflected in the status check. The department has access to more accurate records on what materials are missing and contacts applicants when critical materials fail to arrive. The only time to contact the department with a concern is if no ASF invitation is received. Note also that admitted candidates are contacted by the department long before this is reflected in the online status check, so there is little value in regularly checking the online application status.

An applicant who is considering a late application and who considers themself to be a strong candidate for admission should contact Professor Bill Idsardi to inquire about whether financial aid is likely to become available. Students with external sources of funding (e.g. government fellowships) are also encouraged to apply early.

The Department of Linguistics only accepts students for fall semester admission. The department does not accept students for January admission, due to course scheduling constraints.

Requirements for Admission

Online application.

The Department of Linguistics strongly encourages all applicants to submit an online application. It is now possible to submit most application documents online, including writing samples and letters of recommendation. All application materials are distributed and reviewed electronically, including documents submitted as hard copies, which are scanned. The admissions committee will not directly access hard copy documents. Here is the university's step-by-step guide to applying .

Format of electronic documents (important!)

Wherever possible, all uploaded files (writing samples, personal statements, CVs, etc.) should be submitted in PDF format. This allows for more reliable distribution of materials to reviewers and saves many hours of work for the graduate admissions director. Free tools for converting word processor files to PDF format are available for most operating systems. Also, please use transparent file names that begin with the applicant's last name. For example, Mary Smith's personal statement, CV and writing samples would be called smith_statement.pdf, smith_cv.pdf, smith_sample1.pdf, and smith_sample2.pdf. Use of PDF format and consistent naming is extremely useful for reviewers, who must consult hundreds of files.

Contents of application

A complete graduate application has these 10 parts:

• Application Form: The Graduate School strongly prefers that this form be submitted online. Here is t he university's step-by-step guide to applying . The Linguistics Department encourages applicants to submit this form at least one week before the target date, in order to make it easier to submit other files electronically.
• Application Fee:  See the Graduate School website for information on current fees. The fee may be submitted online. The Linguistics Department and the university are committed to reducing barriers to applying to the doctoral program for Black, Indigenous and People of Color, as well as those facing financial hardship. In order to request a fee waiver, please follow the instructions on the Graduate School website,  https://gradschool.umd.edu/feewaiverinformation .
• Transcripts:  Admission and enrollment require one complete set of official transcripts for completed and in-progress undergraduate and graduate degrees. Unofficial transcripts may be submitted during the process of application solely for the purposes of review. But official admission, and also enrollment, cannot be completed without transcripts that are official. Transcripts should be submitted in hard-copy form and sent to the Enrollment Services Office at the following address: University of Maryland College Park, ESO - Application for Graduate Admission, 0130 Mitchell Building, College Park MD 20742, USA.

Applicants can upload scans of their transcripts during the application process, but if admitted then they need to provide official transcripts in order to enroll in the program.  

• Letters of Recommendation Applicants should solicit letters of recommendation from at least three people who are familiar with the applicant's work and who can offer a detailed, honest assessment of the applicant's abilities, experience and suitability for an advanced degree in linguistics. These letters should be confidential. Non-confidential letters generally carry much less weight. These letters may be submitted online by the recommender following submission of the initial online application form and receipt of the ASF (see below). Alternatively, hard copies may be mailed directly to the Enrollment Services Office (address listed above). However, hard copies are not preferred and may lead to a delay in the processing of an application. Letters that are submitted online are immediately accessible to the admissions committee, whereas letters that are submitted in hard copy are often delayed by two weeks or longer.
• Statement of Goals, Experiences and Research Interests This should provide a clear explanation of the applicant's objectives in pursuing an advanced degree in linguistics and at Maryland in particular. Specific interests or relevant experience should be mentioned where applicable. The Statement of Goals is not a literary contest or an invitation to flatter the department or its faculty, and there is no “recipe” for a strong statement. The statement allows the department to better understand an applicant's goals, interests and how well the applicant will be served by the department's strengths and emphases. The statement should be submitted online via the ASF. Note that the department does not have a length limit for the statement (contrary to statements on the Graduate School site).
• Writing Sample(s) Applicants should submit one or more pieces of written work with their application. This should preferably represent work done in linguistics, but work in other fields showing evidence of careful analysis and independent thought is also acceptable. The writing sample may be mailed directly to the Department of Linguistics, but it is strongly preferred that applicants submit writing samples online as part of the ASF. Any hard copy documents will be scanned and reviewed in electronic form. Any bound hard copy documents may be ignored, since they are very difficult to scan. Applicants who submit writing samples online should bear in mind that the file(s) will be made available to multiple readers who may use different computer platforms. Files should be kept to a reasonable size (< 1Mb wherever possible), and care should be taken to ensure that any embedded graphical objects are no larger than necessary. Please send PDF format files, following the naming conventions above.
• CV/Resume An up-to-date curriculum vitae (CV, or resume) is preferred. This may be submitted as part of the ASF.
• GRE General Test   The Linguistics Department does not use GRE scores in the application process, even if an applicant includes a GRE score in their application. 
• English language proficiency for international students The English language proficiency requirements are set by the Graduate School, not the department, and can be found at  https://gradschool.umd.edu/admissions/english-language-proficiency-requirements . Questions about the requirements should be directed to the International Education Services (IES) office. International students who have a degree from a university in an English-speaking country are not required to submit a TOEFL score. Applicants from francophone Canada who have questions about this requirement should contact the graduate admissions director.
• Application Supplemental Form (ASF) The online application involves a two-step process. In the initial online application students are asked to provide basic personal and academic information. After the initial online application has been processed applicants are invited to submit additional information and electronic documents via the Application Supplemental Form (ASF). At this stage students may submit a personal statement, writing samples, CV and contact information for individuals who can submit online letters of recommendation. Electronic documents (in PDF format) are strongly preferred.

Financial Aid and Support

Financial support information form (international students).

The University of Maryland Graduate School application forms seek information about an applicant's ability to pay for graduate studies. This is a requirement for securing a U.S. student visa. Please do not be alarmed by these questions. Almost all Ph.D. students in the Department of Linguistics receive full financial aid for five years, covering tuition and stipend, from one or more of the following: (i) Teaching Assistantships, (ii) Research Assistantships, (iii) University Fellowships, (iv) external fellowships (e.g. Rotary, Fulbright, NSF, SHHRC, etc.).

The Department of Linguistics encourages students to seek external fellowships, but does not expect students to fund their Ph.D. from personal funds. For this reason, it is not necessary for applicants to provide a detailed justification for why financial aid is needed. It is sufficient to write: "Personal funds are insufficient; financial aid is required.” Applicants who are supported in full or in part for their studies should explain this in the personal statement.   International students who receive a form requesting information about sources of financial support may enter in the table row labeled "University of Maryland Assistantship" $36,000 for the first year, with the increases specified in the form for subsequent years. If funding is provided by a full or partial fellowship from external sources, then the University of Maryland total may be reduced accordingly, and the amount of the external fellowship should be entered in the relevant row of the form.

Sources of Financial Aid

Financial aid (tuition + stipend) is available on a competitive basis. The department funds Ph.D. students for up to five years, provided that the student makes satisfactory academic progress. Graduate funding comes from a number of sources, including:

• Graduate Assistantships (GAs) These typically involve teaching service in undergraduate linguistics courses such as LING 200 and LING 240, or teaching more advanced undergraduate courses and seminars.
• Research Assistantships (RAs) These typically involve research associated with a grant-supported faculty research project.
• University Fellowships The university offers a number of these fellowships to outstanding applicants, releasing the student from GA or RA responsibilities for up to two years of study.
• Other sources of funding are occasionally available through the department or university, including dissertation fellowships.
• A number of graduate students in the department are supported in whole or in part by fellowships from external organizations.

What Not To Do

Each year the department receives many email inquiries from applicants that are transparently “form letters” sent to many different programs, listing very general questions that are already answered in this document. Such inquiries are rarely an effective route to admission to the Ph.D. program. Also, please do not send an email inquiry that says "I am interested in your graduate program - please send me more information.” Such inquiries do not convey the impression that the prospective applicant has done their homework.  

Who to Contact

William idsardi.

Professor, Linguistics

1401 A Marie Mount Hall College Park MD, 20742

Director of Administrative Services, Linguistics

1401 Marie Mount Hall College Park MD, 20742

Related Information

• Graduate Program FAQs
• Graduate Funding
• Living Here
• About the Department

Ph.D. Admission Requirements

Application Available for Fall 2024

The Department of Linguistics accepts applications for admissions to graduate study for only the fall term each year. We do not offer a Terminal Masters in Theoretical Linguistics. The application becomes available in September through the  Graduate College website . The application deadline for International and Domestic applicants is December 15.

If prospective applicants have any questions, please contact Joshua Carlin at  [email protected]

Application

Applications to the Ph.D., NAMA, MS, and joint Ph.D. programs in Linguistics are submitted through the University of Arizona  Graduate College . Paper applications will not be accepted.

GPA Requirement

Prospective applicants must have a 3.0 or higher GPA in order to qualify for admission.

Statement of Purpose

Applicants must submit a concise statement focusing on any previous research activities, the kind of research activities they would like to pursue at the University of Arizona, and their long-term career goals.

Writing Sample

Applicants must provide a writing sample to demonstrate their level and proficiency in writing.

Transcripts

Please upload an unofficial copy of your transcripts to the Graduate College application. Upon admission, the Graduate College will require official transcripts from all universities attended.

Standardized Tests

The GRE is optional and not required for application to the Ph.D., MS, and joint Ph.D. Programs. 

English Proficiency

English proficiency is one of the requirements for admission for all applicants whose native language is not English. Applicants must submit a minimum TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 550 on the paper-based test (PB), 79 on the internet-based test (iBT), or an IELTS (International English Language Testing System) composite score of 7 (no subject area below a score of 6). International students seeking graduate teaching assistantships must attain the minimum TOEFL or IELTS score listed above and in addition, must attain a score of 26 or higher on the speak portion of the TOEFL IBT.

Letters of Recommendation

Applicants must submit three letters of recommendation from letter writers who know the student’s work, specifically assessing the student’s ability to carry out graduate work in linguistics. Applicants are encouraged to submit letters of recommendation from professors familiar with the applicant's recent academic work.

Linguistics

Share this page.

You will experience a unique range and depth of Harvard’s offerings in related fields, especially ancient and modern languages and the growing Mind Brain Behavior Initiative.

You will have the flexibility to customize your program to prepare you for post-graduate success in an academic or non-academic role. You can access a wide range of Harvard resources including the Widener Library, which contains a matchless linguistic and philological collection supplemented by a special non-circulating collection accessible only to linguistics students and faculty.

Examples of theses and dissertations by graduates include “An Experimental Pragmatic Investigation of Depictive Co-Speech Gestures,” “Interpreting Questions with Non-Exhaustive Answers,” “Nominal Arguments and Language Variation,” and “Phrasing is Key: The Syntax and Prosody of Focus in Georgian.”

Graduates of the program have secured academic positions at Rutgers University; University of California, Berkeley; University of Vienna; and the University of Hawaii. Others hold jobs with companies such as Amazon, Google, and Grammarly.

Additional information on the graduate program is available from the Department of Linguistics and requirements for the degree are detailed in Policies .

Areas of Study

Historical Linguistics | Linguistic Theory | Unspecified

Admissions Requirements

Please review admissions requirements and other information before applying. You can find degree program-specific admissions requirements below and access additional guidance on applying from the Department of Linguistics .

Academic Background

Applicants typically have a previous background in linguistics, a mature interest in the field, and a strong language background.

Writing Sample

A writing sample is required as part of the application and should be no more than 100 pages.

Standardized Tests

GRE General: Optional

Theses & Dissertations

Theses & Dissertations for Linguistics

See list of Linguistics faculty

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Questions about the program.

• Utility Menu

Department of Linguistics

**The GRE is optional in applying for the Ph.D. degree program in the Department of Linguistics.

The Linguistics Department is firmly committed to fostering diversity amongst its graduate students. We are proud to provide an atmosphere that is nurturing and supportive of all backgrounds. For further information on the guidelines that inspire our teaching mission, see:  Perspectives

Who can apply

Requirements for admission are flexible. While preference is given to candidates with a previous background in linguistics, students with a mature interest in the field and a strong language background are encouraged to apply as well. ** GRE scores are optional for all applicants, and are valid if taken within the last 5 years.

English Proficiency

Applicants whose native language is other than English and who do not hold the equivalent of a US Bachelor degree from an institution at which English is the language of instruction must submit scores from the Internet based test (IBT) of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

Also see: GSAS English Language Proficiency Requirement

How to apply

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences website provides comprehensive information on the application process, including how to apply, enrolling without being part of a degree program, financial aid information, and much more. We require online submission of the GSAS application . Also see:

• Application Instructions  
• Admissions Checklist

Application Deadline: January 5, 2024 at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time

• Courses 2023-24 AND Fall 2024
• Undergraduate
• Ph.D. Program
• Secondary Fields
• Recent Dissertation Titles
• Financial Aid

Course Descriptions

Full course descriptions, fall 2024 courses are subject to change, fall 2024 courses, fall 2024 course schedule, fall 2024 asl course schedule, fall 2023 courses, fall 2023 course schedule, spring 2024 courses, spring 2024 course schedule, american sign language (asl) at harvard.

Online Application

GSAS Admissions Overview

Enroll in a course without being part of a degree program

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

The Department of Linguistics

Graduate admissions, graduate admissions information, the ucla linguistics department welcomes applications from students interested in pursuing the ph.d. degree . the department currently has approximately 45 graduate students. the admissions process is highly competitive; those offered admission are provided with full financial support, with commitments up to five years. support packages include tuition, fees, and salary or stipend, and normally involve a mixture of fellowship, research assistantship, and teaching assistantship., admission to the graduate program .

The admissions application is prepared and submitted online, through the website of UCLA’s Graduate Division . General information about applying to UCLA for graduate study (such as the University’s requirements for admission) is also available at this link.

Although the department offers both the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees, it normally admits only those students who plan to ultimately pursue a Ph.D. Students are admitted to begin residence in the Fall quarter only.

We assume a background roughly equivalent to a B.A. in Linguistics. This does not mean that the department will not accept applicants with little Linguistics background. Students lacking sufficient background may, however, need to complete preparatory or supplemental courses in their first year.

The typical class size of entering graduate students per year is about seven to ten. We make admissions offers to about 13-15 applicants per year, from an applicant pool of approximately 180.

Admissions decisions are made by an Admissions Committee composed of department faculty. It will be helpful if applicants include on their Statement of Purpose the names of particular faculty they hope to work with, since the Admissions Committee may solicit the opinions of those faculty in making their decision. You may find our list of active ladder faculty on our Faculty Profiles page.

We recommend you review our Graduate Program Overview page , which includes information about our Graduate Student Support packages .

The deadline for submission of applications for the Fall quarter is December 10 of the previous year.

The online application consists of the following:

• A statement of purpose , explaining their background for graduate study in linguistics and their immediate and long-range goals in the field. Statements of purpose should primarily focus on intellectual interests and research plans, though autobiographical material can be useful where it is clearly relevant. You can find guiding questions for the statement on the UCLA Graduate Division website here , under “Statement of Purpose”; 1,500 word limit for our application.
• Three letters of recommendation , ideally from scholars who can attest to the applicant’s potential in linguistics and general intellectual qualifications. Letters from employers can also be useful where they supplement the letters from teachers.
• Transcripts from each academic institution attended.  Transcripts are to be uploaded to the online admissions application by the deadline, December 10th. Official hard copy transcripts must be mailed to the Department of Linguistics by January 31st.  Official transcripts must bear the signature of the Registrar or seal of the issuing institution. If the transcript is in a language other than English, then a certified translated copy must also accompany the original official transcript.
• A research paper in linguistics (or a related field). This part of the dossier is very important, and is often given more weight in admissions decisions about admissibility than anything else, since it (potentially) provides evidence of the ability to pursue original research in the field.  Please note that a literature review is less useful than an original research paper. If no paper in linguistics or a related field is available, it is better to include a paper in some non-related field, rather than no paper at all.
• International applicants whose first language is not English must certify their proficiency in English, via the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). More information, including minimum score requirements, UCLA’s institution code, and eligibility for a test waiver, is available on the Graduate Division’s website .
• UCLA’s fellowship application, found in online admissions application. It is useful to inspect the list of UCLA fellowships carefully, to see what you might be qualified for. Applicants are also encouraged to apply for as many extramural fellowships and scholarships as they are eligible . As part of the fellowship application, they require you to submit a Personal Statement: You can find guiding questions for the statement on the UCLA Graduate Division website here , under “Personal Statement.” To a limited extent, the Admissions Committee uses the criterion of what students can be supported with available resources.
• Although not required, it also would be useful to include with your application an informal list of the courses you have taken in your desired field . Add any information you think would clarify the kind of work you did, especially if the title of a given course does not reflect the actual course content.
• Please note that the GRE is NOT required for admission to our program . Please do not submit GRE score reports to us, as they will not be considered.

We are not the only linguists at UCLA.  There are graduate programs in  English ,  Indo-European Studies , and specific foreign languages , each with separate admission processes. Please contact these departments directly for information about applying to their graduate programs.

Admissions Materials

Virtually all admissions materials (writing sample, statement of purpose, etc.) are to be uploaded to the online application.

However, official transcripts (one hard official copy from each institution attended) are still required and should be mailed to:

UCLA Department of Linguistics c/o Graduate Admissions 335 Portola Plaza 3125 Campbell Hall Los Angeles, CA 90095-1543 (USA)

We can accept electronic official transcripts, as long as they are sent directly from the institution to the department. Please address electronic official transcripts to the Graduate Student Affairs Officer.

Please contact Graduate Student Affairs Officer if you have any questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How many years is the Linguistics Graduate Program?

The normative time to complete the program is 5 years. The department offers both the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees, and all students are expected to complete program requirements at both levels. You may review our Current Graduate Students page to review the normative timeline and requirements for our program.

2. What if I’m an international applicant, and do not meet the eligibility criteria to be exempt from UCLA’s English Language Requirement?

UCLA does not currently accept exception requests to waive the English Language Requirement outside of the exemption criteria listed on UCLA’s Graduate Division website . You will need to take and submit test scores for the TOEFL/IELTS with your graduate program application.

3. Where can I find more information on the graduate application fee waiver?

Please see the UCLA Graduate Division website here , under “Fee Waivers,” to review the eligibility criteria for the application fee waiver.

4. If I do not meet the criteria for a fee waiver, can I submit an exception to the department?

Unfortunately, the university does not accept exceptions to the criteria for fee waivers. These are set at the university level, and individual graduate programs/departments cannot waive this for you.

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

Graduate Program

The curriculum is designed to assure that Ph.D. students receive an adequate grounding in all of the fundamental areas of linguistics, while leaving them the freedom they need to become independent researchers. The first year is devoted to coursework, which gives students a strong foundation and enables them to quickly begin contributing to the research life of the department. Beyond the core, students are relatively free to design their own program of study both within the discipline and across disciplines, within a framework of requirements set by the field and the Graduate School.

This program is organized in consultation with a Special Committee of the student’s own choosing. Committee members represent the student's major and minor subjects. Minors may be chosen from disciplines other than linguistics, so that it is possible, for example, for a Ph.D. student to major in General Linguistics and minor in such areas as Computer Science, Latin American Studies or Cognitive Science. The Special Committee system makes the Ph.D. program maximally flexible and allows students to avail themselves of the entire university's resources. 

Note on M.A. Program:

We do not offer a Master's program. The exception is through the Employee Degree Program (a benefit for Cornell employees). Contact the Graduate Field Assistant for more information ( [email protected]  or 607-255-1105)

ADMISSIONS REVIEW CONSIDERING COVID-19 DISRUPTIONS

APPLICATION DEADLINE: December 15 (of each year - fall admission only)

Application Requirements

Applicants must have a B.A., B.S. or M.A. degree.

Submitted online:

• Online application found at www.gradschool.cornell.edu/admissions
• Academic statement of purpose
• Personal statement
• One research paper as a writing sample
• Three letters of recommendation
• Application fee: $105
• TOEFL or ILETS scores also required.  For exact details of how to satisfy the English Language Proficiency, please see   https://gradschool.cornell.edu/admissions/prepare/english-language-proficiency-requirement/ .

*The GRE is not required for admission to the Field of Linguistics.

All materials must be uploaded to CollegeNet (see application link above). No hard copy application materials are accepted.

Requests for further information should be addressed to: E-mail :  [email protected] Phone : (607) 255-1105 Notification of Application Status: If any material is missing from your application, you will be notified by email.  Check the status of your application and select "review your activity".

Application and Admission Timeline

December 15 – All application materials are due.

Early February - Applicants are informed of admissions decisions and financial awards by this time. 

April 15 – Admitted students are required to accept or decline their offers by this date.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions 

- What are the strengths of your program? At Cornell, linguistic theory is applied to a broad range of linguistic evidence and tools, augmenting traditional linguistic intuitions. These include experimental/instrumental approaches, corpora, computational methods, and language documentation.

- What are the research interests and theoretical orientation of your faculty? Take a look at our  faculty webpages ! Our faculty cover a wide range of interests within the field of linguistics.

- How long does it take to complete the Ph.D. in Linguistics? Most students take five years. Finishing in this amount of time is contingent on timely completion of the required coursework and the A-exam.

- Can I do a Master's in Linguistics at Cornell University? No. Our program is designed to train students for the Ph.D.

- Can I start the program in the Winter or Spring semester? No. Our program's coursework is designed to start in the fall semester.

- What kinds of jobs do students who receive the Ph.D. in Linguistics have? Our students are successful in obtaining various academic and non-academic positions . See our " MA/PhD Alumni " page for information on the placement of our Ph.D graduates.

- What if I cannot afford the application fee? Please refer to this information from the Cornell University Graduate School: Application fee waivers: Check fee waiver eligibility requirements online before applying . If you are eligible, you can find a link to our fee waiver request form on the payment page of the online application form. You must submit your application and the fee waiver request at the same time. We review fee waiver requests every business day.

- What are the tuition costs? The tuition cost set for the 2023-24 academic year is $24,800. More detailed information on tuition & stipend rates and other fees (student activity fee and health insurance).

- What financial aid is available? Are international students eligible for financial aid? Two types of financial support are available through Cornell: merit-based (fellowships, assistantships, and tuition awards) and need-based (loans). Please visit our " Financial Support " section below for more information. Unless you choose otherwise, students are considered for merit-based aid, regardless of citizenship, as part of the admissions process—no special application is required. Applicants are notified of merit-based awards at the same time admissions offers are made. You must notify the Graduate School by April 15 if you plan to accept the offer.

- What does the admissions committee look for when reviewing applications? Simply stated, we are looking for talented students who are a good match for our program.

- How many students are accepted to the program per admission cycle? Our target class size is six. 

- What do my GRE scores and GPA have to be? We do not set specific minimums for GRE scores and GPA. GREs and GPA are only one consideration in evaluating applications for admission. Note that for the 2022-23 admissions cycle, the GRE test has been waived due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

- Who should my letters of recommendation come from? Generally, academic references are from professors you have worked with during your undergraduate or master’s program. If you are not coming straight out of an academic program, these may also include references from your employers. Simply put, we are looking for letters from people who know both the applicant and our program and can tell us that the applicant will do well in our program.

- What should I include in my statement of purpose? A statement of purpose should be a well-written statement (of about 2 pages in length) that tells us why you have chosen to pursue linguistics as a field of study and why you have chosen to apply to Cornell. It should include your reasons for undertaking graduate work and an explanation of your academic interests, including their relation to your undergraduate study and professional goals. If possible, include the names of the Cornell faculty members whose research seems to match your own interests, and briefly discuss the connections you see. Also describe your relevant research experience, and note any publications you have authored or co-authored

Ph.D. Requirements

Progress towards the degree is attained by

• Completing the core course requirements
• Passing the Qualifying Exam (Q-exam), results reported to Field
• Passing the Admission to Candidacy Exam (A-exam), results reported to Grad School (form A4)
• Defending the prospectus (P-exam), results reported to Field
• Completing and defending dissertation (B-exam), results reported to Grad School (form A4)

Brief Ph.D Progress Checklist (For details on the requirements, see below. Italicized items are new Graduate School policies that apply to students beginning with those admitted for Fall 2014.)

1st year: 

• Apply for an NSF or other national fellowship in the fall semester, if eligible (usually only US citizens and resident aliens are eligible). 
• Make significant inroads on completing the core courses 
• Have two meetings (one per semester) with your Advisory Committee
• File academic plan with Graduate School describing anticipated summer activities and outcomes (due May 1, required for summer funding)

Select a Special Committee for your Q-paper by September 1st

• Submit a Q-paper proposal to your Special Committee by December 1st

Continue taking core courses, seminars

Complete any ancillary skills courses your committee requires (if any)

• Take Research Workshop (LING 6603) in spring

Take Q-Exam, committee reports results to GFA

The Q-Exam should be attempted before the end of the 4th semester. Summer funding for the second summer will be contingent on having attempted the Q-Exam by this deadline. To qualify for summer funding at the end of the fourth semester, it is essential that you schedule your Q-Exam no later than May 1st, and that the date of the exam be no later than May 14th.

• File academic plan with Graduate School describing anticipated summer activities and outcomes (due May 1, required for summer funding)​
• Select a Special Committee for your A-paper by September 1st
• Submit an A-paper proposal to your Special Committee by December 1st

Take Research Workshop (LING 6604) in fall semester

Take seminars to further research goals

Schedule A-Exam (form A3)

Take A-exam (report results with form A4, eligibility for 3rd summer funding is contingent on passing A-exam or filing a scheduling form indicating an intention to take the exam for the start of the 7th semester)

N.B. The dissertation-year fellowship will be available only to students who attempted their A-exam prior to the seventh semester of enrollment (a requirement of the Code of Legislation) and have passed the A-exam. In addition, students seeking the dissertation-year fellowship must have written and submitted an external fellowship or grant proposal within their first four years of enrollment, to encourage all students to pursue external funding. (In exceptional cases for which there may be no logical external funding organization to which it would be appropriate to write a proposal, the student may write a proposal for an internal Cornell award such as a Graduate School or Einaudi travel grant or may petition for permission to complete an alternative professionalization activity.)

• A-exam should be done by the beginning of the 7th semester!
• Select Special Committee for your dissertation by September 1st
• Write your dissertation proposal
• Take P-Exam (defense of prospectus) by end of fall semester, committee reports results to GFA
• Work on dissertation
• Apply for dissertation year fellowships (usually done in fall) and other post-A-exam funding
• 4th year summer funding is available by application only; students who have not passed their A-exam are not eligible. Applications for summer funding are due May 1 at the Graduate School.

 5th year:

• Apply for jobs, postdocs, etc.
• Finish dissertation
• Schedule B-Exam (form A3)
• Take B-exam (defense of dissertation, report results with form A4)
• File Thesis, using Graduation Manager

Course Requirements

A. core courses.

To assure that Ph.D. students receive an adequate grounding in all of the fundamental areas of linguistics, the field has defined a set of core requirements in the areas of Syntax, Phonology, Semantics and Historical Linguistics. The general expectation is that all students will take all core courses. If a student requests an exemption on the basis of comparable graduate-level coursework at another institution, this exemption can only be granted after consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies and the instructor of the relevant course. Beyond the core courses, Ph.D. students are expected to attend advanced linguistics courses (topics courses and seminars) not only in the areas in which they write their research papers and thesis but in areas that will provide sufficient breadth as advised by the Special Committee.  

Students are required to complete courses equivalent to the following: 

• Historical Linguistics (LING 6314)
• Phonology I and II (LING 6401/6402)
• Syntax I and II  (LING 6403/6404)
• Semantics I (LING 6421)
• Research Workshops (LING 6603/6604): This course provides students with an opportunity to develop an original research paper through a number of revisions, some of which are presented to an audience of fellow students. The final version is presented at a semester-end conference.  Offered both fall and spring.
• At least one course from the following subfields:  computational linguistics, historical linguistics (beyond Ling 6314), morphology, phonetics, semantics and pragmatics.
• Advanced courses: all students are required to take at least four (4) seminars or topics courses for credit. These are courses at the 6600-level or higher. 

B. Ancillary skill sets

In the course of research a student may need to master one or more ancillary skill sets. These might be familiarity with languages of scholarship or training in statistics, logic, field methods or programming. The student, in consultation with his/her committee, is expected to determine which skills need to be acquired and how and when this should be done.

Q- and A-Exams (admission to candidacy):

Admission to candidacy in the field of Linguistics consists of writing two research papers which are evaluated in two exams, the Q-exam and the A-exam.  The Q-exam is taken by the end of the second year, and the A-exam is taken by the end of the third year.  Graduate School regulations require that all doctoral students must take the Examination for Admission to Candidacy before beginning their seventh semester of registration unless special permission is obtained from the Dean.  The format of the Q- and A-exams varies from case to case, depending on the expectations of the Special Committee.  The Field requires that the candidate submit to the committee in advance of the exam a research paper of high quality (see the deadlines above).  The papers for the two exams must be in two distinct subfields, with a distinct Special Committee devoted to each paper.  The Special Committee for each exam will normally ask the candidate to prepare written answers for one to two questions.    

P-Exam (defense of prospectus):

Following successful completion of the A-exam, a Special Committee for the dissertation is selected and the P-exam is undertaken by the fall of the fourth year.    

B-Exam (thesis defense):

The B-Exam is taken after completion of the Ph.D. dissertation.  The B-Exam includes a presentation of the highlights of the dissertation followed by questions from the committee and others in attendance. 

Financial Support

We typically offer guaranteed five-year full financial support to students we admit into the graduate program, regardless of the student's citizenship. Two of those years (SAGE Fellowship: the first-year and the "dissertation year" in which students are not expected to work as a Teaching Assistant or Research Assistant) are through fellowships, and the other three years are through other sources of support, typically teaching assistantships or research assistantships. The five year funding package covers: tuition and fees, student health insurance and a nine-month stipend for living expenses. Funding is contingent on satisfactory academic performance, and beginning with the 2014-15 academic year, the Graduate School has instituted progress requirements for continued funding.

Teaching/Research Assistantships

The studies of all graduate students are funded in part by Teaching Assistantships (TA). In the Department of Linguistics, most Teaching Assistantships involve helping a professor in an undergraduate course; responsibilities may include leading discussion sections, meeting with students, helping grade papers and exams. Every effort is made to match teaching assignments with graduate student interests and to make sure that each Teaching Assistant receives a variety of teaching experiences while at Cornell. Teaching assistants work on average 15 hours per week and do not usually exceed 20 hours in any given week.

A student holding a TA-ship may work total of 20 hours per week as a combination of the TA responsibilities and employment elsewhere, either on- or off-campus.  Students holding a University fellowship, external fellowship, or GRA may also be employed on- or off-campus for no more than 8 hours per week, as long as this does not conflict with the terms of the external funding agreement.

A research assistantship (RA) entails work on a faculty research project not necessarily related to the student's dissertation. RAs work 15 to 20 hours per week. If the research project directly relates to the student's dissertation, then the appointment is a graduate research assistantship, in which case the time spent on research connected with the project is expected to be significant.

The  John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines  allots the Linguistics department TA-ships for our graduate students to teach a First-Year Writing Seminar. This program emphasizes the humanities and social sciences and provides graduate students in all fields the opportunity to lead small undergraduate writing seminars and even to develop their own unique course syllabi. All graduate student instructors of First-Year Writing Seminars are required to take Writing 7100: Teaching Writing, a summer or fall semester one-credit course that provides a thorough pedagogical and experiential grounding in teaching. The department of Linguistics has approved courses that are offered as a writing seminar. If you would like to propose a new writing seminar, you will need to fill out the pre-EPC form.

Students may serve as language instructors for their TA-ship.  These also involve 15-20 hours a week.  Students with appropriate language background who are given such assignments are required to fulfill the respective department's training requirements.

Fellowships

The Graduate Field now requires all graduate students to apply for external funding at some point in their first four years. Students in the field of Linguistics are encouraged to apply for a variety of fellowships such as the National Science Foundation and the Social Science Research Council Fellowships. Also, the area programs at Cornell (East Asian, Southeast Asia, South Asia and European Studies) offer federally supported Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships to students whose research focuses on any of these areas.

Many of these non-Cornell sourced external fellowships are intended for students who are U.S. citizens or nationals or permanent residents of the United States. Applicants from foreign countries should seek aid from their own governments, universities, corporations or from a U.S. agency operating abroad, such as the Institute for International Education or the Fulbright-Hays Program.

Under certain conditions, external funds can be used to extend the package of guaranteed support from the Field or used in place of the teaching assistantship or research apprenticeship to allow the recipient to focus on research. The Graduate School and Field policies on modifying the initial package are available from the Director of Graduate Studies. Currently, students who are awarded these fellowships receive the two "free" years of SAGE funding (i.e., the first year and the dissertation year), but not the University-funded RA or TA stipends in the years that are covered by the external fellowship. 

The East Asian Program offers the following fellowships that have no citizenship restrictions. These three typically provide tuition and stipend for one semester. 

Einaudi Center Funding-East Asia Program Fellowships

• Robert J. Smith Fellowships in Japanese Studies
• Starr Fellowships
• Lee Teng-hui Fellowships in World Affairs

Einaudi Center grants: http://einaudi.cornell.edu/student-funding Cornell's Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS), Fulbright-Hayes Awards, Fulbright Program, International Research Travel Grants: The Mario Einaudi Center and its associated Programs offer a wide range of support and assistance to graduate students in search of funding for their international research, study and scholarship. See web site for deadlines, usually late January.

Graduate School Fellowship Database: http://gradschool.cornell.edu/fellowships/ A searchable database of fellowships of all kinds - well worth a look!

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSFGRFP):   http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=6201 The National Science Foundation funds research and education in most fields of science and engineering. For U.S. citizens and permanent residents, these are very competitive, but they provide a multi-year package of fellowship funding. College seniors, first- and second-year students with no more than 12 months of graduate study (i.e. no MA/MS degree) are eligible. It is most advisable to apply in your first year, if you are eligible. Even if you feel you do not have much linguistics research experience, the experience of writing the proposal is worthwhile. You will also get feedback from the NSF Fellowship Panel, which you can incorporate into an improved application the following year, if you do not succeed the first time. If you wait until your final year of eligibility to apply, you cannot take a second chance.

Social Science Research Council fellowships:  https://www.ssrc.org/fellowships-and-opportunities/ Most support from the Council goes to predissertation, dissertation and postdoctoral fellowships, offered through annual, peer-reviewed competitions.

NSF dissertation improvement grants (DDRIG):  http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505033&org=SBE&sel_org=SBE&from=fund These are for post-A-exam dissertation writers. There is no U.S. citizenship requirement. The grants supply up to $12,000 for research-related expenses. Deadlines are July 15th and January 15th of each year. The Principal Investigator should be the student's dissertation advisor, and the student should be the Co-Principal Investigator. It is expected that the student (Co-PI) will author the proposal, which will then be submitted through the university by the dissertation advisor (PI).

Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowships: http://www.acls.org/programs/dcf

Recently Offered Seminars

The department of linguistics offers a wide variety of graduate-level seminars. Seminar topics vary each semester based on the research interests of the graduate students and faculty.

• Finite State Methods
• Optimality Theory
• Neuro-linguistics
• Old Iranian
• Sanskrit Historical Grammar
• Phonetics in the Lexicon
• Timing and Weight in Phonology and Phonetics
• Information Structure
• Modality, Negative Polarity
• Polarity, Alternatives, Modality, Pragmatics
• Aspect of Interface between Syntax and Morpho-Phonology
• Relation Based Syntax
• Peripheries

Research Facilities

The Computational Linguistics Lab focuses on the statistical parsing of large data samples, including grammar development, parameter estimation, and acquisition of lexical information from corpora.

The Language Documentation Lab provides resources and laboratory space for research involving language documentation, description, and analysis, with an emphasis on understudied languages.

The Phonetics Lab offers state-of-the-art facilities for research in articulatory movement tracking, ultrasound, electroglottography, and speech aerodynamics. The phonetics lab is part of the Cornell Speech Imaging Group (SIG), a cross-disciplinary team of researchers using real-time magnetic resonance imaging to study the dynamics of speech articulation. 

Faculty and students in the Computational Psycholinguistic Discussions research group (C.Psyd) are interested in the intersection of computational linguistics and psycholinguistics. By building computational models to predict human language processing behavior (e.g., reading times), we can study the linguistic features that impact human processing decisions. Relatedly, C.Psyd members use psycholinguistic techniques to study the strategies used by neural networks to produce high accuracy in different language contexts, which gives us insights as to when different strategies might be employed by humans.

At the Linguistic Meaning (LiMe) Lab we investigate the complex process by which humans assign meaning to utterances. To do so, we combine insights from linguistic theory and cognitive science more broadly with experimental and computational methods. Contact: [email protected]

Cornell Linguistics Circle

The Cornell Linguistics Circle (CLC) is the graduate student group of the Cornell Department of Linguistics.  Students from linguistics and related fields are welcome to attend CLC meetings and participate in planned activities. The CLC serves to promote exchange of ideas among graduate students in the field and to advocate for the graduate student body within the department. Throughout the course of the academic year the CLC invites a series of outside speakers from linguistics departments around the country and the world.  Speakers deliver talks attended by faculty and graduate students (followed by a CLC-sponsored reception, of course!) and are often available for one-on-one meetings with interested students. The CLC also publishes The Proceedings of SALT, which contains articles developed from work presented at the annual Semantics and Linguistic Theory conference. All volumes of the Proceedings of SALT are available online through the LSA.

CLC Officers 2023-24

Course Catalog

• Linguistics, PhD

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other requirements, (entering the phd program with an approved master's degree).

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

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics  

Graduate Degree Programs in Linguistics

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

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

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

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

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences College of Liberal Arts & Sciences website

Admissions Graduate College Admissions & Requirements

Print Options

Send Page to Printer

Print this page.

Download Page (PDF)

The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

2023-2024 Catalog (PDF)

A copy of the full 2023-2024 catalog.

You are using an outdated browser. This website is best viewed in IE 9 and above. You may continue using the site in this browser. However, the site may not display properly and some features may not be supported. For a better experience using this site, we recommend upgrading your version of Internet Explorer or using another browser to view this website.

- Download the latest Internet Explorer - No thanks (close this window)

• Penn GSE Environmental Justice Statement
• Philadelphia Impact
• Global Initiatives
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Catalyst @ Penn GSE
• Penn GSE Leadership
• Program Finder
• Academic Divisions & Programs
• Professional Development & Continuing Education
• Teacher Programs & Certifications
• Undergraduates
• Dual and Joint Degrees
• Faculty Directory
• Research Centers, Projects & Initiatives
• Lectures & Colloquia
• Books & Publications
• Academic Journals
• Application Requirements & Deadlines
• Tuition & Financial Aid
• Campus Visits & Events
• International Students
• Options for Undergraduates
• Non-Degree Studies
• Contact Admissions / Request Information
• Life at Penn GSE
• Penn GSE Career Paths
• Living in Philadelphia
• DE&I Resources for Students
• Student Organizations
• Career & Professional Development
• News Archive
• Events Calendar
• The Educator's Playbook
• Find an Expert
• Race, Equity & Inclusion
• Counseling & Psychology
• Education Innovation & Entrepreneurship
• Education Policy & Analysis
• Higher Education
• Language, Literacy & Culture
• Teaching & Learning
• Support Penn GSE
• Contact Development & Alumni Relations
• Find a Program
• Request Info
• Make a Gift
• Current Students
• Staff & Faculty

Search form

Educational linguistics, doctor of philosophy (ph.d.), you are here, a pioneering doctoral program with an enduring legacy of research in applied linguistics, language learning, and teaching..

The Educational Linguistics Ph.D. program focuses on language learning and teaching as well as the role of language in education. Our questions and concerns are situated squarely in educational policy and practice, informing and informed by interdisciplinary theory and research in linguistics, anthropology, psychology, sociology, history, and other fields.

What Sets Us Apart

About the program.

Our program promotes the view that language must be examined within the cultural contexts and social situations in which it occurs.

3–4 courses per semester (fall/spring semesters only)

Transfer courses 8 (electives only)

Duration of program 5–7 years

Culminating experience Candidacy examination, and dissertation

Our faculty and students are involved in generating research on language and learning in areas such as:

• Linguistic, cognitive, and sociocultural aspects of (additional) language development
• Local and global perspectives on world language teaching policy and practice in K-12 and higher education
• The intersections of disability, language, school–parent partnerships, and education policy
• The historical and contemporary manifestation of raciolinguistic ideologies that frame the language practices of racialized communities
• How multilingual speakers use milimodal communication practices – such as gestures, laughter, actions, and learning materials – to resolve miscommunication
• How language, social interaction, institutions, and the Internet influence what students learn in schools
• The role of lanugage in all forms of learning

Our curriculum is designed to provide a solid foundation in linguistics and research methodology. Students customize their education by working with their advisor to choose electives from a wide range of course offerings from across the Penn campus. Introductory courses in language pedagogy and sociolinguistics are strongly encouraged for students with no background in these areas. 

For course descriptions and requirements, visit the  Educational Linguistics Ph.D. program in the University Catalog .

For a full list of courses offered at GSE, visit  Penn’s University Course Catalog .

Sample courses

• Linguistics in Education                                                                              
• Sociolinguistics in Education                                                                      
• Language Diversity and Education                                                             
• Second Language Development    
• Genealogies of Race and Language in Educational Research 
• Issues in Second Language Acquisition                                        
• Phonology I
• Citizen Sociolinguistics
• Classroom Discourse and Interaction
• Approaches to Teaching English and Other Modern Languages
• Anthropology & Education
• Theories of Reading
• Language in Culture & Society

Our Faculty

"I got to work with inspiring scholars doing cutting-edge work. I saw firsthand the process of writing, submitting, and publishing a journal article. I had so many experiences that shaped me as a scholar and that I continue to draw on in my research and academic writing."

Our Graduates

The Educational Linguistics Ph.D. program prepares candidates for teaching and research careers in colleges and universities worldwide, as well as careers in government, community, and private organizations.

Alumni Careers

• Associate Professor, Columbia Teachers College
• Assistant Professor, Indiana University
• Associate Professor, Malmö University
• Associate Professor, University of Iowa
• Associate Professor and Chair, Adelphi University
• Director of Educational Programming and Research, Center for Cultural, Art, Training and Education (CCATE)
• Senior International Baccalaureate World Schools Manager
• Assistant Professor of TESOL and Applied Linguistics in the English Department, Illinois State University
• Research and Evaluation Supervisor, William Penn School District
• Lecturer in Language Studies, Brown University
• Founder/CEO, Brilliant Bilingual
• Associate Professor of Language Education and Urban Social Justice Learning & Teaching, Rutgers University
• Associate Professor of Teaching and Learning, The Ohio State University
• Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Linguistics, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne
• Assistant Professor of International Students, College of Charleston
• Assistant Professor of Linguistics, University of Louisville
• Assistant Professor, Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Education, University of Colorado, Denver
• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow

Admissions & Financial Aid

Please visit our Admissions and Financial Aid pages for specific information on the application requirements , as well as information on tuition, fees, financial aid, scholarships, and fellowships.

Contact us if you have any questions about the program.

Graduate School of Education University of Pennsylvania 3700 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19104 (215) 898-6415 [email protected] [email protected]

Erica Poinsett Program Assistant [email protected]

Please view information from our Admissions and Financial Aid Office for specific information on the cost of this program.

All Ph.D. students are guaranteed a full scholarship for their first four years of study, as well as a stipend and student health insurance. Penn GSE is committed to making your graduate education affordable, and we offer generous scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships.

Related News & Research

Penn GSE affordability expert offers takeaways on the new FAFSA

Zimmerman discusses divergent laws creating different curriculum in red and blue states in “Washington Post”

With Project SHARPE, Penn GSE’s Daché documents reparations in higher ed

Robert zemsky gives his vision for three-year college programs.

Working Papers in Educational Linguistics

Working Papers in Educational Linguistics  is a student-managed journal focused on the many areas of research within educational linguistics.

You May Be Interested In

Related programs.

• Educational Linguistics Ed.D.
• Intercultural Communication M.S.Ed.
• Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) M.S.Ed.

Related Topics

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Department of Linguistics

• Financial Aid
• Undergraduate Admission
• Career Paths
• Visiting Scholar Program

Graduate Admission

• Department Spotlights
• Undergraduate Program
• Graduate Program
• Course Listing
• Online Courses
• English Placement Test
• Less Commonly Taught Languages
• Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language
• English as a Second Language
• Summer Institutes
• Publications Spotlight
• Conferences
• Upcoming Student Presentations
• Studies in the Linguistics Sciences
• Laboratories and Research Groups
• Reading and Discussion Groups
• Department Seminars
• PhD Dissertations
• MATESL Theses
• English Placement Test (EPT)
• Oral English Assessment Interview (OEAI)
• Department News
• Academic Journals
• Libraries and Reading Rooms
• Professional Organizations
• Related Units
• Linguistics Student Organizations
• New Student and Faculty Resources
• Leveraging your Linguistics training
• Wellness Resources
• Faculty and Staff Resources
• Administration & Staff
• Graduate Students
• Undergraduate Students
• About the Department
• In Memoriam
• Diversity & Inclusivity
• Stay Connected
• Illinois Alumni Association
• Alumni Spotlights
• Giving Opportunities
• Alumni Newsletter

Applicants must have completed a bachelor's degree for

• MA program in Teaching of English as a Second Language (MATESL)
• PhD program in Linguistics  

For the MATESL program, an undergraduate major in linguistics, English, a foreign language, or education is generally recommended, though other majors are also acceptable. Applicants must present a grade point average of at least 3.0 (A = 4.0) for the last 60 hours of undergraduate work. Two years of coursework in a foreign language or the equivalent are also required. TOEFL score of 103 or above is required for full-status admission; students with TOEFL scores below 103 may be considered for limited-status admission, please see the  requirements page . GRE scores are optional. For further guidance on applying to the MATESL program, see MATESL Program Application .

For the PhD program in Linguistics, undergraduate preparation should include the study of at least one foreign language; a course equivalent to LING 400 (Introduction to Linguistic Structure) on this campus; and a broad background in the humanities, social sciences, and/or mathematics. Please note that applicants for a graduate degree in Linguistics are considered only for admission to the PhD; beginning in August 2019, there is no admission to the MA in Linguistics. Students in the PhD program in Linguistics may obtain the MA in Linguistics upon completing the requirements for Stage 1 of the PhD.

The graduate admission process to the MATESL program and the PhD program in Linguistics is handled jointly by the Graduate College, the Department of Linguistics, and the SLCL Graduate Student Services office.  Applications are accepted for fall admission only. Please go to this link to start your graduate application .

The Graduate College web site contains links to information for applicants as well as application instructions and the link to the application itself.  The application fee ($70 domestic applicant/$90 international applicant) can be paid online by credit card (Visa or Mastercard) and the application will then be made available to the department.

The online application will accept uploads of the following required application materials for all graduate degrees in the Department of Linguistics.  Please do not send them to the department or Graduate College:

• Academic statement of purpose:  Please use the Academic Statement of Purpose to describe (within 1000 words): (1) the substantive scholarly questions you are interested in exploring in graduate study, (2) your academic background, intellectual interests, and any training, research, or other experiences that have prepared you for graduate study, (3) how our program would help you achieve your intellectual goals, (4) any specific faculty members, if applicable, whose research interests align with your own interests, and (5) your professional goals. 
• Personal statement:  Please use the Personal Statement to describe (within 500 words) how your personal background and experiences influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree. Provide insight on your potential to contribute to a community of inclusion, belonging, and respect in which scholars with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn and collaborate productively and positively together. 
• Resume or CV
• Academic documents:  Provide scanned copies of your transcripts (a complete list of all courses taken and grades received) as well as any certificates of degree completion or diplomas for all the post-secondary schools you have attended (undergraduate and graduate programs). English translations should be provided when applicable, preferably from the school attended. We will accept translations done by the applicant. They should follow the same format, line-by-line, as the original document. Official documents (original or “attested” copies) will be required if you are admitted .
• Writing Sample :  Approximately 10-20 pages of writing from one or two sources are required (e.g. term papers or research papers). The sample should showcase the applicant's academic ability.  Please upload to the online application in the Program Specific section.
• Letters of Recommendation:  Three (3) letters are required, preferably from professors familiar with your work. When you fill out the online application, you will need to include email addresses for all of your references. They will automatically receive an email from the online application with instructions on how to upload their letters of reference to your online application. If they don’t receive this email or have trouble uploading their letters, they should email SLCL Student Services : [email protected] .

The information you submit online, as well as the application fee ($70 for domestic applicants, $90 for international ), goes directly to the Graduate Admissions office . The online application materials will then be made available to the SLCL Student Services office, which will prepare your application file for the department’s admission committee to review.

Standardized tests:

1) English Proficiency Exams:

All applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit a TOEFL iBT or Academic IELTS score report. The test must have been taken no more than 2 years prior to the start of your first semester at UIUC. Minimum score requirements for full-status admission to Linguistics are 103 total on the TOEFL iBT or 7.5 total on the IELTS . The English Duolingo test is being temporarily accepted for admission purposes, please see  https://grad.illinois.edu/admissions/instructions/04c  for more information.

This English proficiency requirement may be waived if you have completed at least 2 academic years of full-time study or have completed a graduate degree at an English-language university in an English-speaking country within 5 years of your first semester at UIUC. The requirement may also be waived if you were raised in and/or went to school in one of the countries on this list  (scroll down to where it says "Approved countries with English as the primary language").

These waivers are for admission purposes only and do not provide an exemption from the English proficiency requirement for English language learners who are teaching assistants.

In order to hold a teaching assistantship (our most widely available source of financial aid), all applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate their proficiency in spoken English. There are two ways to do this:

• pass the speaking section of the TOEFL iBT with a minimum score of 24, or the speaking section of the IELTS with a minimum score of 8 ; or
• pass the English Proficiency Interview (EPI) when you arrive on campus.

The oral English requirement for teaching assistants cannot be waived like the admissions requirement above. Any teaching assistantship award will be conditional upon proof of your proficiency in spoken English.

We would appreciate receiving your official score report by the application deadline or shortly thereafter, so please arrange to take any of these tests as early as possible in the application process. Have ETS send the TOEFL iBT score report to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, institution code #1836. If you took the Academic IELTS , please upload the score report to your online application.

Please see  http://www.grad.illinois.edu/admissions/instructions/04c  for more information, and for COVID-19 English proficiency requirement updates, which include information about at-home test options.

2) OPTIONAL:  The GRE  is not required for admission. Applicants who would like to submit the GRE score report (taken within the last five (5) years) should have it sent by ETS to institution code #1836, dept. #00.  There is no minimum score requirement.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, students are encouraged to take the at-home version of the GRE .

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 

Fellowship priority deadline: December 1, 2023 . If your application for Fall 2024 is complete (with all of the required elements on file) no later than December 1, 2023 at 11:00 PM Central Time, you will receive consideration both for admission and for nomination to the first round of college-wide recruitment fellowships.

Regular admission deadline: January 4, 2024.  Your application for Fall 2024 must be complete (with all of the required elements on file) no later than January 4, 2024 at 11:00 PM Central Time, in order for you to be considered for admission and financial aid.

A note for applicants who are currently-enrolled or previously-enrolled graduate students in another UIUC graduate program:

• Please contact  [email protected]  for information on how to submit your application.
• Please note that currently-enrolled and previously-enrolled UIUC graduate students are not eligible for college-wide recruitment fellowships; therefore, you have no need to meet the Dec. 1 fellowship priority deadline. You still need to meet the Jan. 4 deadline for admission and financial aid.

Financial aid:  All admitted applicants are considered for financial aid based on their application materials and funds available.  Financial aid may be awarded in the form of fellowships, assistantships, or a combination of the two.

There are many opportunities for financial aid at the University of Illinois other than those provided by the department.  The Graduate College Fellowship Office has a website Financial Assistance  which describes various kinds of financial assistance available for graduate students.  It also has a database, accessible for various fellowship opportunities potentially available to you.  In addition, there are fellowship opportunities available to graduate students studying specific languages through the FLAS Fellowships program.

If you are interested in second language acquisition, it is important that you know about the concentration in  SLATE (Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education) concentration program.  Another option is the Concentration in Romance Linguistics . Students enrolled in our Ph.D. program can simultaneously earn either of these concentrations. Students in both Ph.D. and MATESL programs are eligible to earn a  Graduate Certificate in Computational Linguistics . 

Alternative forms of admission are also available.  Domestic students may apply for non-degree graduate student status and previous graduate students of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign may apply for re-entry.  Please contact SLCL Graduate Student Services  for information on how to do so.

For detailed program information, please see the University’s  Programs of Study Guide.  

Contacts for Graduate Admission:

• Should you need assistance with the application process itself, please address your questions to SLCL Graduate Student Services at  [email protected]
• If you have questions about the graduate programs in Linguistics, please direct them to our Director of Graduate Admissions, Prof. Tania Ionin .

PhD in Linguistics

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

Application information & deadlines

December 20, 2023, linguistics.

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

Global footer

• ©2024 University of Massachusetts Amherst
• Site policies
• Non-discrimination notice
• Accessibility
• Terms of use

Yale Linguistics

You are here, graduate admissions.

Applications to study linguistics at Yale should be made through the Graduate School of Arts and Science. You can begin the application process there, where you will also find detailed information about the application process, including submission deadlines.

If you have questions about the general process of applying to Yale check the Graduate School Admissions FAQs . If you have specific questions about the graduate studies in Linguistics, please check our Program Requirements  and our own Linguistics Graduate Admissions FAQs . 

We encourage students who are applying to our program to be as specific as possible in describing their interests and the connection between their interests and those of the Linguistics faculty at Yale. Looking at faculty research  and the web pages of our current graduate students can be very helpful in figuring out the goodness of fit between your interests and ours.

We encourage appropriately qualified students to apply for Yale’s post-baccalaureate education programs. More information is available through Yale’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Diversity Program , or contact the Director of Graduate Studies for further information.

Director of Graduate Studies

Any questions about the graduate program can be directed to the DGS, Jim Wood, at jim.wood@yale.edu

Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, PHD

On this page:.

At a Glance: program details

• Location: Tempe campus
• Second Language Requirement: No

Program Description

Degree Awarded: PHD Linguistics and Applied Linguistics

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

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

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

The doctoral program in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics focuses on the study of human language and the application of that study to the human condition.  Students in this program will choose a research specialization which can be formal linguistics, applied linguistics, or some combination of these areas.  The curriculum will provide training in linguistics and applied linguistics with focused research in several areas such as phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.  Second language acquisition and second language teaching and learning, TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages), language contact and change, including World Englishes, are also research possibilities in addition to sociolinguistics, language planning, discourse analysis, language and cognition.

Matthew Prior , Director

Sheila Luna , Program Manager

Faculty in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics

Doctoral Examinations

Doctoral Procedures and Timeline

Teaching Assistantships

Degree Requirements

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

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

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

Specialization (21 credit hours)

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

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

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

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

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

Admission Requirements

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

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

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

All applicants must submit:

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

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

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

Courses and Electives

The Doctor of Philosophy is a total of 84 hours. In general, a student with an appropriate master's degree must complete a minimum of 54 credit hours of approved graduate work, which includes 12 hours of dissertation. A student without an appropriate master's degree usually must complete 84 hours of work at ASU. At the advisor’s discretion, students may include up to 12 hours of appropriate, graduate-level course work undertaken at another university, and not previously counted towards any other degree.

Required Core Courses for the Degree

• LIN 511 Phonetics and Phonology
• LIN 514 Syntax
• LIN 515 American English or LIN 516 Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis
• APL 555 Disciplinary Discourses
• APL 601  Introduction to Applied Linguistics
• LIN 655 Disciplinary Discourses

Elective/Research Courses

• LIN 501 Approaches to Research

Research Specialization (21 hours) :  Students choose a research specialization which can be formal linguistics, applied linguistics or a combination. Students can focus their elective and research coursework, including APL/LIN 790 on a specific area. Possible specializations in Linguistics are phonology, formal syntax and semantics, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis and pragmatics.  Possible specializations in Applied Linguistics are SLA theory and pedagogy, ESOL, second language writing, bilingualism, language policy, and issues in educational research.  Students may choose to take other 500 or equivalent and advanced (600 and above or equivalent) courses in their area of specialization.  Advanced LIN 600 level courses may be repeated for credit when topics vary. All students are encouraged to develop interdisciplinary perspectives which may be done by taking courses from other related programs or units to enhance their area of specialization. For example, students with interests in second language writing would expect to take related ENG courses in addition to LIN or APL offerings, and students interested in languages taught in  SILC (School of International Letters and Cultures) could take courses in that unit. Students must consult with an advisor when selecting additional courses for their focus area as these courses provide the depth of training needed for dissertation research.

Other Requirements

PhD Examinations :  Essay, oral exam, colloquy on the dissertation prospectus.

Dissertation : Students must take 12 credit hours of ENG 799.

Language Requirement : PhD students must demonstrate evidence of a competent knowledge of a natural language other than modern English, to be selected by the student, subject to the approval of the chair of the dissertation committee. The language requirement must be completed before the student is eligible to take the doctoral exams. This requirement may be met by

• Earning a “B” (3.00) or higher in a 400- or 500-level course in an appropriate (approved) language.
• Demonstrating comparable proficiency by taking a language examination, administered by the School of International Letters and Cultures, in a language approved by the student’s supervisory committee.
• Demonstrating native-speaker proficiency, as determined by the School of International Letters and Cultures, in a language approved by the student’s supervisory committee.
• Earning a “B” (3.00) or higher in both ENG 530 Old English and ENG 531 Old English Literature or their equivalent.
• Holding a bachelor’s degree in an approved foreign language.
• Having fulfilled a foreign language requirement towards a previously awarded master’s degree that has been completed within five years of the semester for which the student has been admitted to the doctoral program. This foreign language must be in a language approved by the student’s doctoral supervisory committee.
• For languages which the School of International Letters and Cultures does not offer or does not offer above the 200 level, two years (4 semesters) of successfully completed college level coursework at least at the 100 and 200 level with a C or better would fulfill the requirement. The coursework must have been successfully completed no more than six years prior to admission to the degree program.

Miscellaneous : Students may take research (ENG 792) for the purpose of working independently in preparation for the doctoral examination. This is an alternative to be elected by the student at the discretion and with the approval of the advisor and supervisory committee and can count towards course work. Satisfactory completion of ENG 792 is indicated by the grade of "Y." Individual interim segments of ENG 792 will be graded "Z" (course in progress), and changed to "Y" (successful completion) after the dissertation defense. No conventional letter grades are awarded for ENG 792 or 799.

The Graduate College also requires that students be enrolled every semester, excluding summer sessions, until they have completed all requirements for the degree. Continuous enrollment may be satisfied by registration for one hour of ENG 799, or, in cases where dissertation or other credit hours are not needed, Continuous Registration (ENG 595 or 795). If students wish to interrupt their programs of study for one or more semesters, they may apply for a leave of absence, not to exceed one year. Failure to enroll or obtain leave status for the semesters in which they are not enrolled will result in dismissal from the program.

Doctoral Supervisory Committee

The doctoral supervisory committee consists of a minimum of three members from the  graduate faculty  selected at the time the student files a program of study. In consultation with the director of the Ph.D. program, the student will select the committee chair, who also serves as the student's advisor. Once a graduate faculty member has agreed to serve as the student's chair, the student and chair will then consult before recommending two other members to the director of the doctoral program. Ideally another member of the supervisory committee in addition to the chair should be in the area of specialization. It is the responsibility of each student to form a supervisory committee very early in the program so that the chair and members of the committee may be involved in shaping the course of study, for example, in determining such matters as the choice of foreign language(s) and in specifying courses that will be required for the student's particular area of concentration.

Important Notice to Current International Students

In order for international students to maintain good standing for their VISAs, they must take a minimum of 9 credit hours per semester (i.e., 3 classes), 6 credits (2 classes) should be face-to-face classes.

Next Steps to attend ASU

Learn about our programs, apply to a program, visit our campus, application deadlines, learning outcomes.

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

Career Opportunities

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

Career examples include:

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

Global Opportunities

Global experience.

With over 250 programs in more than 65 countries (ranging from one week to one year), study abroad is possible for all ASU students wishing to gain global skills and knowledge in preparation for a 21st-century career. Students earn ASU credit for completed courses, while staying on track for graduation, and may apply financial aid and scholarships toward program costs. https://mystudyabroad.asu.edu

Program Contact Information

If you have questions related to admission, please click here to request information and an admission specialist will reach out to you directly. For questions regarding faculty or courses, please use the contact information below.

• [email protected]
• 480/965-3194

• BA Linguistics
• BA Speech Sciences
• Diploma in Linguistics
• Opportunities
• Beyond the BA
• Masters’ Programs

PhD Program

• Theses & Dissertations
• Continuing Education
• Graduate Students
• In Memoriam
• Labs & Groups
• First Nations Languages
• Research Interest Registration
• Field Methods Class
• Publications
• Recurring Events
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
• Job Opportunities

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.

Quick Links

Alternatively, use our A–Z index

Attend an open day

Discover more about this subject area

PhD Linguistics / Overview

Year of entry: 2024

• View full page
• Bachelor's (Honours) degree at 2:1 or above (or overseas equivalent); and 
• Master's degree in a relevant subject – with an overall average of 65% or above, a minimum mark of 65% in your dissertation and no mark below 55% (or overseas equivalent)

Full entry requirements

Apply online

Please ensure you include all  required supporting documents  at the time of submission, as incomplete applications may not be considered. 

Application Deadlines 

For consideration in internal funding competitions, you must submit your completed application by  12 January 2024. 

If you are applying for or have secured external funding (for example, from an employer or government) or are self–funding, you must submit your application before the below deadlines to be considered. You will not be able to apply after these dates have passed. 

• For September 2024 entry:  30 June 2024 
• For January 2025 entry:  30 September 2024

Programme options

Programme description.

Our PhD Linguistics programme enables you to carry out research in a field of linguistics that matches the interests of one of our members of staff.

The Department of Linguistics and English Language is an international centre for Linguistics, with 20 full-time members of staff and approximately 15 postgraduate research students.

We are virtually unique in the UK and beyond in the breadth of subject areas and theoretical approaches represented by our members, many of whom are internationally renowned scholars in their specialisms.

Our academics' areas of expertise include:

• phonetics and phonology
• syntax (lexical-functional grammar, role and reference grammar, construction grammar, and minimalism)
• (formal) semantics
• historical linguistics
• dialectology
• the linguistics of English
• language contact
• variationist sociolinguistics
• child language acquisition
• field linguistics and language documentation
• quantitative corpus-based approaches
• forensic linguistics.

In our research, we combine the advancement of theoretical approaches with a strong concern for their empirical and methodological foundations.

Each member of staff also has a special interest in particular languages and language families, including major European languages, as well as lesser known languages of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Australia.

WE DO NOT, HOWEVER, SUPERVISE PROJECTS WITH A FOCUS ON SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING OR LANGUAGE PEDAGOGY. PLEASE, DO NOT CONTACT STAFF MEMBERS ABOUT SUCH PROJECTS.

Joint supervision arrangements for interdisciplinary projects are available.

Find out more about our Linguistics research , staff members , and what our current postgraduate research students are working on.

Find out what it's like to study at Manchester by visiting us on one of our  open days.

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2024, the tuition fees are as follows:

• PhD (full-time) UK students (per annum): £4,786 International, including EU, students (per annum): £21,500
• PhD (part-time) UK students (per annum): £2,393

Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.

Please note for the majority of projects where experimentation requires further resource: higher fee bands (where quoted) will be charged rather than the base rate for supervision, administration and computational costs. The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive and, therefore, you will not be required to pay any additional bench fees or administration costs.

All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of the course for UK/EU students (fees are typically fixed for International students, for the course duration at the year of entry). For general fees information please visit: postgraduate fees . Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your project.

Scholarships/sponsorships

There are a range of scholarships, studentships and awards to support both UK and overseas postgraduate researchers, details of which can be found via the links below.

To apply University of Manchester funding, you must indicate in your application the competitions for which you wish to be considered. The deadline for most internal competitions, including AHRC NWCDTP and School of Arts, Languages and Cultures studentships is 12 January 2024. 

All external funding competitions have a specified deadline for submitting the funding application form and a separate (earlier) deadline for submitting the online programme application form, both of which will be stated in the funding competition details below.  

For more information about funding, visit our funding page to browse for scholarships, studentships and awards you may be eligible for.

• ESRC North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP) PhD Studentships - Competition Closed for 2024 Entry
• AHRC North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership (NWCDTP) PhD Studentships - Competition Closed for 2024 Entry
• School of Arts, Languages and Cultures PhD Studentships 2024 Entry - Competition Closed for 2024 Entry
• China Scholarship Council - The University of Manchester (CSC-UoM) Joint Scholarship Programme - Competition Closed for 2024 Entry
• Trudeau Doctoral Scholarships 2024 Entry
• Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (High Income Countries)
• Humanities Doctoral Academy Humanitarian Scholarship 2024 Entry
• Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (Least Developed Countries and Fragile States)
• School of Arts, Languages and Cultures New Generation PhD Studentships - Competition Closed for 2024 Entry
• President's Doctoral Scholar (PDS) Awards - Competition Closed for 2024 Entry

Contact details

See: About us

Programmes in related subject areas

Use the links below to view lists of programmes in related subject areas.

• Linguistics and English Language

Regulated by the Office for Students

The University of Manchester is regulated by the Office for Students (OfS). The OfS aims to help students succeed in Higher Education by ensuring they receive excellent information and guidance, get high quality education that prepares them for the future and by protecting their interests. More information can be found at the OfS website .

You can find regulations and policies relating to student life at The University of Manchester, including our Degree Regulations and Complaints Procedure, on our regulations website .

Florida State University

FSU | Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

Graduate courses summer 2024.

MLL Graduate Course Offerings Summer 2024 Program: French SUMMER A (First 6 weeks) Graduate course number: FRW 5775 Course Title: Caribbean Cultures: Adaptation Instructor: Murray-Roman Time: T/R 3:05-6:15 Language of Class Discussion: English Readings in will be available in translation Open to graduate students from other MLL programs/departments: Yes Course Description: From Aimé Césaire's rewrite of Shakespeare's The Tempest to Caribbean food cultures—with discussions of Carnival, performance poetry, and ecological change along the way—this course focuses on how theories and practices of adaptation grounded in the Caribbean region are instructive for analyzing transnational cultural encounters more globally. We will therefore read Francophone Caribbean works side by side with Hispanophone and Anglophone poetry and cultural production. As such, this is a comparative methods course where we will take a multi-lingual and multi-genre approach towards in our study of the formal practices of adaptation between languages, genres, and media. Grading will be based on discussion questions posts before each class meeting, weekly 2-page papers analyzing different adaptation techniques, and two short in-class presentations; graduate students will respond to an additional set of weekly readings focused on eco-criticism theory and Caribbean studies.

Program: Spanish SUMMER A (First 6 weeks) Graduate course number: LIN 5628 Course Title: Current Research in Bilingualism Instructor: Muntendam Time: M/W 3:05-6:20 Language of Class Discussion: English Readings in English Open to graduate students from other MLL programs/departments: Yes Course Description: This course focuses on recent issues within the field of Bilingualism. Students will read and critically evaluate recent articles from a wide range of bilingualism journals.

625 University Way P.O. Box 3061540 Tallahassee, FL 32306-1540 (850) 644-3727

Faculty and Staff Resources

Connect with the department.

Doctoral student in Hispanic Linguistics awarded research grant

María González-Ferrer has been selected as a recipient of a 2024 Sigma Delta Pi (SDP) Graduate Research Grant Award among a very competitive pool of applicants nationwide. This will be a huge help in funding María's dissertation research project on clitic doubling in the Spanish of Spain, Argentina, and Mexico. ¡Enhorabuena, María!

Personnel in this Article

María gonzález-ferrer.

We appreciate your financial support. Your gift is important to us and helps support critical opportunities for students and faculty alike, including lectures, travel support, and any number of educational events that augment the classroom experience.  Click here to learn more about giving .

Every dollar given has a direct impact upon our students and faculty.

Social Media

Ohio State nav bar

The Ohio State University

• BuckeyeLink
• Find People
• Search Ohio State

Register for the Sloan Foundation Fundamentals of Equity in Graduate Admissions

Ohio State is one of 10 universities selected to receive a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to advance systemic change in doctoral STEM education. With Sloan Foundation support, Ohio State will establish a Sloan Center for Systemic Change (SCSC). Building on the university’s long-term efforts and investments to diversify STEM education, Ohio State will seek to significantly enhance pipelines for underrepresented graduate students, with the aspiration to attract more students to STEM graduate programs while enhancing enrollment and graduation rates.

In addition to the grant award, Sloan is supporting each institution’s participation in the Equity in Graduate Education Consortium (EGE), a networked improvement community that equips participants with research, tools and change management strategies to achieve systemic change. The consortium is presenting an online workshop that will cover Fundamentals of Equity in Graduate Admissions. Grounded in compelling research, this workshop fosters insightful reflection, healthy dialogue and the development of concrete action steps to advance equity and inclusion within your programs.

This workshop is designed to be accessible and relevant to a broad audience across diverse academic disciplines. Whether you are an admissions officer, faculty member, or graduate student, this program offers valuable insights and actionable tools to contribute to a more equitable and inclusive graduate education experience.

Fundamentals of Equity in Graduate Admissions (2 hours)

Tuesday, April 30, 1-3 p.m. EDT  

Register here

If you have questions or concerns, please email Stephanie Santos ([email protected]) or Yasmin Kadir ([email protected]). 

Facilitator Bios

Dr. Linda DeAngelo is an Associate Professor of Higher Education, Center for Urban Education Faculty Fellow, and Affiliated Faculty in the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh. Currently, DeAngelo’s scholarship focuses on retention, degree completion, access to and engagement in faculty mentorship, and access for students of color into graduate education. 

Dr. Casey W. Miller is Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs in the College of Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is an experimental physicist focusing on magnetism. He earned his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in 2003, did his post-doctoral work at the University of California, San Diego, and is a recipient of the NSF-CAREER and AFOSR-Young Investigator Awards.