Graduate
Degree Requirements for the PhD in Linguistics With Specialization in Applied Linguistics
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 (see that entry), those courses must first be completed. The following course requirements seek to present an organized program with flexibility.
Beyond the courses already required at the MA level, the following courses in core areas of linguistics are required:
- one in advanced phonology
- one in advanced syntax
- one other course in either phonetics, phonology, morphology, or syntax, at the student's discretion
Introduction to Morphology also must be taken if it was not part of the student's MA program.
In the area of specialization, the following courses are required, if they were not yet part of the MA program:
- 2945 Psycholinguistics
- 2267 Sociolinguistics
- one course in first language development
- one course in cognitive studies in instruction and learning
- two courses in statistics
- one course in qualitative research methodology
- two seminars in applied linguistics, such as:
2147 Current Issues in Second Language Learning
2149 Special Topics in Applied Linguistics
By the end of the third term of doctoral study, the student is expected to have established his or her eligibility to continue toward the PhD degree by passing the required preliminary screening examination. The preliminary examination can normally be taken only once; a student who fails the examination will normally be dismissed from the doctoral program.
For the PhD degree, reading proficiency in two foreign languages is required and oral proficiency in one (which may be one of the previous two). This requirement is satisfied by examination. Ordinarily one of these two languages will be French, German, Spanish, or Russian. In addition to the basic foreign language requirement, the department requires one term of study with a grade of B or better in a non-Indo-European language. This latter requirement is waived if one of the languages chosen for the basic two-language requirement is non-Indo-European. For applied linguists, however, this requirement must be fulfilled by classroom study.
A comprehensive examination precedes admission to candidacy and dissertation research. When the student has successfully completed the PhD comprehensive examination, she or he must prepare a dissertation proposal and present it in a formal dissertation overview meeting. Upon approval of the proposal, the student will be admitted to candidacy for the PhD. Up to nine units can be earned as dissertation credits. The student must then prepare and submit a dissertation that is a contribution to linguistic knowledge. A four-person doctoral committee will direct the dissertation and administer the required oral defense after the dissertation has been submitted. The student chooses the chair of the doctoral committee, and together they select the remaining committee members, subject to the approval of the departmental chair. One of the committee members must be from outside the Department of Linguistics. The dissertation defense is open to all members of the University community, and all graduate faculty members who attend have the right to pose questions to the candidate.
Ph.D. Linguistics Specialization in Applied Linguistics Requirements Checklist