Graduate
Doctor of Philosophy Degree
Admission
We only accept PhD students with specialization in areas in which the core faculty have expertise. These areas include phonetics/phonology, first and second language acquisition, sociolinguistics, American Indian languages, Hispanic linguistics, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), and descriptive linguistics. Because PhD students follow highly individualized programs and work closely with their professors, only a limited number of applicants can be admitted to the doctoral program at a time.
Besides previous training in linguistics, the major substantive criteria for admission are evidence of excellent potential for doctoral-level study in linguistics and a good fit between the applicant's scholarly interests and those of relevant faculty members. Applicants for the PhD program must submit GRE scores as well as samples of their best written work in linguistics in support of their application. Without such supporting evidence, admission is very unlikely.
Information about international student admission
Courses
The School of Arts and Sciences requires a minimum of 72 credits beyond the baccalaureate for a PhD degree; credits earned for the MA will of course count toward this total. Students who received their MA degree in the department can normally use all earned credits toward the PhD degree; entering students may transfer a maximum of 24 credits, provided the course work is the equivalent of that taught in the department. In the rare case of a student entering without the equivalent of the linguistics core courses for the MA in applied linguistics, those courses must first be completed.
Current MA students who wish to move to the PhD program upon completion of their MA degree need not submit a completely new application. They must, however, write a letter to the director of graduate studies requesting that they be considered for the PhD program. In this letter, they should indicate what subfield their PhD research will focus on and which faculty member(s) they would like to work with. Students must discuss the possibility of doing the PhD with the faculty member(s) before applying. If students wish to be considered for admission to the PhD program, they must submit this letter before February 1 of the academic year before they intend to enter the PhD program. The students should clearly state whether financial aid is being requested.
Foreign Language Proficiency
Proficiency in two foreign languages is required for the PhD degree. This requirement is satisfied by examination. Ordinarily one of these two languages must be French, German, Spanish, or Russian.
Comprehensive Examinations
A comprehensive examination precedes admission to candidacy and dissertation research.
Dissertation
When the students have successfully completed the PhD comprehensive examination, they must prepare a dissertation prospectus and present it in a formal dissertation overview meeting. Upon approval of the prospectus, the students will be admitted to candidacy for the PhD. They must then prepare and submit a dissertation that is a contribution to linguistic knowledge.
Specific information about the requirements is available for the following: