linguistics phd us

Doctoral Program

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

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

Overview of the Program

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

Students generally complete the program in five years

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

Years 2 and 3

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

Years 4 and 5

• Devoted to dissertation and advanced research

Teaching Experience

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

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

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

In addition, the  Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS) program is designed to build a multidisciplinary community of Stanford graduate students dedicated to finding creative solutions to the world's greatest challenges. Join dozens of  Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences students  who gain valuable leadership skills in a multidisciplinary, multicultural community as  Knight-Hennessy Scholars . KHS admits up to 100 applicants each year from across Stanford’s seven graduate schools, and delivers engaging experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders ready to address complex global challenges. As a scholar, you join a distinguished cohort, participate in up to three years of KHS's leadership program, and receive full funding for up to three years of your PhD studies at Stanford. Candidates of any country may apply. KHS applicants must have earned their first undergraduate degree within the last seven years, and must apply to both a Stanford graduate program and to KHS. Stanford PhD students may also apply to KHS during their first year of PhD enrollment. If you aspire to be a leader in your field, we invite you to apply. The KHS application deadline is October 9, 2024. Learn more about  KHS admission .

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

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

Partnership Opportunities

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

Admissions Information

Ph.D. Programs

The Department of Linguistics offers four concentrations leading to the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Linguistics (see list below). No matter the concentration, our faculty work closely with students, guiding their research and supporting their passions.

• Applied Linguistics
• Computational Linguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Theoretical Linguistics

Applicants to the Ph.D. program are encouraged to identify prospective research advisors, at least one of whom should be in the concentration to which they apply.

After entering the program, Ph.D. students may elect to add a minor in a second one of these concentrations [new policy effective Spring 2023].

An interdisciplinary (second) concentration in Cognitive Science is also available to Ph.D. students.

Master’s in Passing

If, in their course of the Ph.D. program, a doctoral student meets all of the requirements of a M.S. degree in Linguistics, he or she may apply to receive a “Master’s in Passing.” Please consult section IV.D.3 of the Graduate School Bulletin for full details about the “in passing” or “terminal” Master’s degree.

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Ph.D. in Linguistics

Ph.d. in linguistics (general linguistics track) .

Note that the required courses and language requirement differ between the curriculum instituted Sept. 2018 and the prior curriculum. All other requirements are the same.

1A. Required courses (30 credits): Curriculum instituted Sept. 2018 

One graduate-level course in each of the following sub-disciplines:

• Syntax: LING 507 “Syntactic Theory I”
• Sociolinguistics: LING 532 “Sociolinguistics I”
• Language Processing and Development: LING 541 or 542 (“Language Processing and development I or II”)
• Phonology LING 552 (“Phonology II”)
• Phonetics LING 550 (“Introduction to Linguistic Phonetics”)
• Semantics LING 479 or 579 ("Semantic Theory I or II")

1B. Required courses (35 credits): Prior to Sept. 2018 

• LING 507 ("Syntax I")
• LING 508 ("Syntax II")
• LING 532 ("Sociolinguistics I")
• LING 551 ("Phonology I")
• LING 552 ("Phonology II")
• LING 550 or 553 ("Phonetics I or II")
• LING 578 or 579 ("Semantics I or II")

If a student has taken an equivalent course elsewhere, the requirement to take this course can be waived. The waiver needs to approved by the faculty in the relevant area and the GPC. Such waivers do not change the total number of credits required by the Graduate School for graduation.

2. Credits of study:

Additional courses for a minimum of 90 credits (27 of which are LING 800) to be determined by specialization and consultation with the advisory committee.

3A. Language knowledge requirement: Curriculum instituted Sept. 2018

General Linguistics Track students must satisfy one natural language requirement for the PhD. The choice of the language needs to be approved by the student’s advisory committee. The language requirement may be satisfied in one of the following three ways:

• One year of study at the university or community college level. Students who are language instructors in other UW departments can use their language teaching experience to satisfy one language requirement.
• A major research project that involves significant primary data collection that includes substantial structural analysis and results in a major paper such as a generals paper.

3B. Language knowledge requirement: Prior to   Sept. 2018

General Linguistics Track students must satisfy two natural language requirements for the PhD. Those may be satisfied in the following ways:

• Translation exam to demonstrate the ability to read linguistic literature in a foreign language; only one of the two language requirements for the PhD can be satisfied through the translation exam.

4. Colloquium conference talks:

Two papers delivered at a colloquium or conference.

5. Constitution of PhD committee:

By the end of the second year of study.

6. Generals Papers:

Two generals papers in different areas (normally 10cr LING 600). What counts as a different area is determined and needs to be approved by the student's committee.

7. General Examination:

An oral examination, in which the candidate is questioned on the two papers. The oral examination may not be scheduled until the committee has read the two papers and approved them as passing.

8. Dissertation Prospectus:

Within 6 months of the oral examination, the student will present a formal dissertation proposal to the subset of PhD committee members who constitute the reading committee, along with a proposed calendar for completion of the dissertation.

9. Final Exam:

A Final Exam on the dissertation attended by the candidate’s Supervisory Committee and open to others interested.

10. Dissertation:

A dissertation suitable for publication.

11. ABD (all but dissertation) requirement:

All degree requirements except for the dissertation and the two colloquia must be completed before the General Exam.

Ph.D. in Linguistics (Computational Linguistics Track)

The requirements for students on the computational linguistics track will meet all the same requirements as students in other specializations except :

1. Required courses:

• 2 syntax courses from among: LING 566, 507, 508
• 2 phonetics/phonology courses from among: LING 550, 551, 552, 553
• 1 semantics course from among: 578, 579
• 1 sociolinguistics course from among: LING 532, 533
• 3 Computational Linguistics courses from among: 567, 570, 571, 572, 573

3. Language knowledge requirement:

Students in Computational Linguistics must fulfill only one language requirement, but may not use a translation exam to do so. The language must be typologically substantially distinct from the student's native language; for example, a native English-speaking student would need to select a non-Indo-European language. Please refer to Language Requirements for details.

6. Generals papers:

Same as for the General Linguistics program except a Master’s thesis completed as part of the CLMS program may count as one of the two generals papers.

How to make the CLMS to PhD transition

M.A. in Linguistics

The M.A. is not required as a prerequisite to Ph.D. study.  Students enrolled in the PhD program may get an MA degree when they pass the general exam and file a request for an MA degree with the graduate school.  Students who have taken all the required courses for the PhD CompLing track may analogously file a request for an MS degree with the Graduate School, under either model A or B below. Students who would like to get an MS degree have to get their advisor's approval before filing an official request with the Graduate School.

A. Non-thesis model:

The Generals papers and Exam constitute the capstone project necessary for a master’s degree (or the student may complete the thesis model below).

B. Thesis model: 

• Required courses: Same as the required courses in PhD General Linguistics Track. 
• Language requirement: Same as the language requirement in PhD General Linguistics Track. 
• Thesis:  A thesis, written under the supervision of a Linguistics faculty member, and accepted by a second faculty reader. Normally the work is completed in 10 credits of LING 700.

Remarks on Graduate School Requirements

Students are advised to become familiar with Graduate School requirements, as well as those described on this website. If there are any questions, the student should contact the Graduate School, the Graduate Program Coordinator or the chair of the Supervisory Committee. Once admitted to the program, students should make it a regular practice to see the Graduate Program Coordinator about their progress at least once a year. All graduate students must be either registered or officially on leave. Failure to register or go on leave is interpreted as resignation from the Graduate School. Information on the Graduate School is available at http://www.grad.washington.edu . If you have any further questions or comments please contact us at [email protected]

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Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, PHD

On this page:.

At a Glance: program details

• Location: Tempe campus
• Additional Program Fee: No
• Second Language Requirement: Yes

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.

Matthew Prior , Director

Kira Assad , Program Manager

Faculty in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics

Degree Requirements

Curriculum plan options.

• 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
• statement of teaching philosophy (teaching assistantship only)
• 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.

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]
• 480/965-3168

• 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 Shai Wiesel, our 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 Shai Wiesel: 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.

- 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

Defending the prospectus (P Exam), results reported to Field

Completing and defending dissertation (B Exam), results reported to Grad School

Brief Ph.D Progress Checklist (For details on the requirements, see below.)

• Make significant inroads on completing the core courses.
• Have at least two meetings (one per semester) with your Advisory Committee.
• Apply for an NSF or other national fellowship in the Fall semester, if eligible (usually only US citizens and resident aliens are eligible).
• Summer funding is contingent on filing a summer academic plan with the Graduate School describing anticipated summer academic activities and outcomes. This is due May 1st and required every subsequent year for funding.
• Select a chair and 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 and seminars.
• Complete any ancillary skills courses your committee requires (if any).
• Take Research Workshop (LING 6603) in Spring.
• 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 unless approved by the DGS.
• File academic plan with Graduate School describing anticipated summer academic activities and outcomes (due May 1st, required for summer funding).
• Select a Special Committee for your A Paper by September 1st.
• Register for Directed Research in the Fall semester.
• Submit an A Paper proposal to your Special Committee by December 1st.
• Take Research Workshop (LING 6604) in Spring semester.
• Take seminars to further research goals.
• Schedule A Exam.
• Eligibility for 3rd summer funding is contingent on passing A Exam or filing a scheduling form by May 1st indicating an intention to take the exam by the start of the 7th semester.
• Select Special Committee for your dissertation by September 1st.
• Write your dissertation proposal (prospectus) and schedule P Exam (defense of prospectus) to be completed by December 15th. Your committee reports results to GFA. All future funding is contingent of completion of the P exam.
• Apply for dissertation year fellowships (usually done in Fall) and other dissertation research funding (such as East/Southeast Asia Program fellowships, NSF, and/or Fulbright).

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.)

• Apply for jobs, postdocs, etc.
• Finish dissertation.
• Schedule B Exam.
• Take B exam (defense of dissertation).
• Report results.
• File Thesis, using ProQuest and following Graduate School template.

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

• Ph.D. Student Handbook
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PhD in Linguistics

Educating the next generation of scholars in theoretical linguistics..

One of the world’s top PhD programs in theoretical linguistics, UMass linguistics prepares a small number of students to become high-quality researchers and teachers.

The program normally lasts five years, and students may concentrate their work in any of the following areas: syntax, semantics, phonology, phonetics, psycholinguistics, language acquisition, morphology, and optimality theory. Additionally, students often work with other UMass programs offering courses related to the study of natural language, such as philosophy, computer science, communication disorders, psychology, foreign languages, and mathematics.

Our students conduct individual creative research early in their graduate careers, working very closely with faculty. They must successfully write and defend two general papers and a “breadth” paper before beginning dissertation work. Additionally, every student must acquire some teaching experience, either through faculty/student team teaching or by being responsible for teaching a section of one of our introductory courses.

Upon graduation, our students are well-prepared to become professors in theoretical linguistics at universities around the world.

Related offerings

Students interested in our PhD in Linguistics may also be interested in these other offerings.

• Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics
• Minor in Linguistics
• Certificate in American English Linguistics
• Certificate in Cognitive Science
• Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Featured faculty

Joe Pater is the department chair and a professor of linguistics.

Linguistics

Explore the many complex facets of human language at one of the world’s top linguistics programs.

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PhD in Linguistics

These are the new requirements implemented beginning in August 2019; for the old requirements, please click here .

A Brief Description of the PhD Program

The PhD program in Linguistics allows a high degree of flexibility and specialization, and is designed to encourage students to advance quickly to producing original research. Students may choose any of several standard areas of specialization, or design their own specialization with the help of their faculty advisor.

The PhD program in Linguistics consists of three stages, which correspond to the three Graduate College doctoral degree stages (see chapter 6 in the Graduate College Handbook ). The entire PhD program in Linguistics is intended to take 5 or 6 years: 2 years for Stage 1, and 3 or 4 years for Stages 2 and 3.

Stage 1 , which should be completed in two years, consists of 40 hours of graduate coursework, and the Stage 1 qualifying examination ; at the completion of Stage 1, students are eligible to receive a MA in Linguistics.

Stage 2 consists of 64 hours of graduate coursework, the Stage 2 qualifying examination , and the preliminary examination .

Stage 3 consists of the final defense and dissertation deposit.

Entry Requirements for the PhD Program

Students may be admitted to the PhD program in Linguistics with or without a prior master’s degree in linguistics or a related field. Depending on the student’s prior preparation, they may be admitted either into Stage 1 of the PhD or into Stage 2 of the PhD. Students who have completed a master’s degree in linguistics or a closely related field may be considered for admission to Stage 2 of the PhD program. Students without an approved prior master’s degree will only be considered for admission to Stage 1 of the PhD program. For admission to Stage 1 of the PhD program, undergraduate preparation should include the study of at least one foreign language; a course equivalent to LING 400 (Introduction to Linguistic Structure); and a broad background in the humanities, social sciences, and/or mathematics. 

Students admitted to Stage 1 must complete 40 credit hours in the areas listed below, maintain a GPA of 3.5 or better in all core courses, maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better overall, and earn a grade of High Pass on the Stage 1 qualifying examination in order to advance to Stage 2. Students who complete Stage 1 with a GPA of 3.0 or better overall, and who earn a grade of either Pass or High Pass on the Stage 1 qualifying examination, are eligible t o receive an MA in Linguistics.

Students who are admitted directly to Stage 2, but lack any of the core courses required for Stage 1, must complete Stage 1 requirements immediately on entry into the program; the courses will not count toward the 64 hours required for Stage 2 of the PhD.

How to Apply

Follow this link to information about applying to the PhD program; click here to start your graduate application.

Academic Advising

All students should choose a faculty member to serve as their academic advisor. New students are advised by the Director of Graduate Studies until a different advisor is chosen. Consult often with your advisor about course selection, research projects, publications, conference presentations, and any other academic issue. You may change advisors at any time. Once you reach the stage of writing your dissertation, your academic advisor serves as your Director of Dissertation Research. Typically (though not necessarily), your advisor also serves as chair of your Prelim Examination and Final Examination Committees. To select or change an advisor, fill out the electronic advisor agreement form . Your advisor should be a tenure-track or tenured faculty member at the University of Illinois.

PhD Program Requirements: Stage 1

40 graduate credit hours are required for Stage 1 of the PhD in Linguistics. Credit hours which have already been applied to another degree do not count toward this total; nor do preparatory courses taken as a condition on admission. It is normally possible to complete Stage 1 in two years. Note: core courses for Stage 1 are under bullets A and B below; all other courses are non-core courses.

A. The following courses are required (12 hours):

• LING 501: Syntax I
• LING 502: Phonology I
• LING 507: Formal Semantics I

B. Choose at least one course each from two of the following four areas (8 hours):

• LING 450: Sociolinguistics I
• LING 406: Intro to Computational Linguistics Note: LING 402 (Tools & Technology in Speech and Language Processing) needs to be taken as a pre-requisite to LING 406 for students without a computational background
• LING 425: Introduction to Psycholinguistics
• LING 426: Child and Adult Language Acquisition
• LING 489: Theoretical Foundations of SLA

C. Choose at least one course  in quantitative and/or qualitative research methods (4 hours):

• LING 403: Introduction to Field Methods
• LING 413: Corpus Linguistics
• LING 514: Design and Methodology in Linguistic Research
• LING 516: Field Methods
• A section of LING 490 on statistics or methodology for language research (subject to SEEC approval)
• A section of LING 591 on statistics or methodology for language research (subject to SEEC approval)
• A relevant course from another unit, such as Educational Psychology, Psychology, Anthropology, or Communications, with approval from the Student Examination and Evaluation Committee (SEEC); please click here to see a list of methods courses from other units that can satisfy the methods requirement.

D. Practicum and independent study are required (4 hours):

• LING 504: Practicum (2 hours)
• LING 590: Special Topics in Linguistics (2 hours)

E. Three elective courses are required (12 hours):

• These may be any LING courses at the 400-level or above, or non-LING courses approved by the student's advisor.

F. Language Requirement:

• For students who are native speakers of a language other than English, English satisfies this requirement.
• For students who are native speakers of English, demonstrated 4 th -level proficiency is required, which can be achieved by (a) completion of four semesters of college study (or four years of high school study), or equivalent, within 5 years of matriculation; or (b) corresponding placement on an Illinois foreign language placement test.
• Language courses can be taken Credit-No Credit (CR/NC) here at UIUC to satisfy the requirement. 

G. Stage 1 Qualifying Examination:

• Students first work closely with a faculty member to prepare an original research paper. The paper must be submitted to the department during the Spring semester of the student's second year (the deadline is set by the Student Examination and Evaluation Committee, and is usually the first day of the Spring semester), and the oral exam must take place before the end of the Spring semester.
• Qualifying papers must be supervised by a tenure-line faculty member with a non-zero appointment in Linguistics. For any questions about qualifying paper supervision, students should contact the Director of Graduate Studies.
• The examination itself consists of an oral presentation of the research paper before a committee of faculty members, who may ask questions concerning the research, the written paper, and the presentation.
• High Pass : the student is eligible to proceed to Stage 2 of the PhD, as well as to earn a MA in Linguistics , provided all other requirements are met.
• Pass: the student is NOT eligible to proceed to Stage 2 of the PhD, but the student IS eligible to earn a MA in Linguistics , provided all other requirements are met. The student has to leave the program with a terminal MA.
• Fail : the student is NOT eligible to proceed to Stage 2 of the PhD, and NOT eligible to earn a MA; the student is dismissed from the program with no degree.

H. Minimum GPA requirements

• Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA across all courses, and a minimum 3.5 GPA across all core courses (listed under Point A and Point B above) in order to be eligible to proceed to Stage 2.
• Students who maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA across all courses are eligible to earn a MA in Linguistics , provided all other MA requirements are satisfied.

PhD Program Requirements: Stage 2

64 graduate credit hours are required for Stage 2 of the PhD in Linguistics. For students admitted directly to Stage 2 of the PhD, credit hours which have already been applied to another degree do not count toward this total; nor do preparatory courses taken as a condition on admission. The requirements below are in effect for all students entering the program in Fall Semester 2019 or later.

A. Choose at least one upper-level course in one of the following areas (4 hours):

• LING 541: Syntax II
• LING 581: Topics in Syntactic Theory
• relevant section of an advanced seminar or other course, with SEEC approval
• LING 542: Phonology II
• LING 520: Acoustic Phonetics
• LING 522: Articulatory Phonetics
• LING 582: Topics in Phonological Theory
• LING 547: Formal Semantics II
• LING 551: Pragmatics

B. Choose at least one upper-level course in one of the following areas (4 hours):

• LING 550 (Sociolinguistics II)
• LING 587 (Topics in Sociolinguistics)
• LING 506 (Topics in Computational Linguistics)
• LING 525 (Psycholinguistics)
• LING 529 (Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism)
• relevant section of LING 588 (Seminar in Second Language Learning)
• relevant section of LING 560 (Seminar in Bilingualism)
• LING 584 (Theories in Second Language Acquisition)
• relevant section of Ling 588 (Seminar in Second Language Learning)

C. Elective courses (12 hours)

• Students must complete at least 12 hours of graduate courses (400-level or higher) in Linguistics or related fields. These courses should reflect the student’s interests and professional goals, and should be selected in consultation with the advisor.

D. Research/Project/Independent Study Hours (12 hours)

• Students must complete at least 12 credit hours of LING 590: Special Topics in Linguistics, or of another independent research course approved by the advisor.

E. Language Requirement:

• Students must demonstrate knowledge of the structure of a language that is not their native tongue nor the same language that satisfied the foreign language requirement for Stage 1 of the PhD, or (in the case of students admitted directly to Stage 2) of the prior approved master's degree.
• This requirement may be satisfied through (a) 2 nd -level proficiency in the language, obtained through two semesters of college-level study, or equivalent; (b) 2 nd -level placement on an Illinois foreign language placement test; (c) completion of a course on the structure of the language; (d) completion of LING 516: Field Methods; or (e) a demonstration that the language is the focus of the student’s doctoral research.
• One of the languages with which the student is familiar (this may be the student’s native language, or the language used to satisfy one of the language requirements) must be a non-European or a non-Indo-European language.

F. Stage 2 Qualifying Examination:

• Students first work closely with a faculty member to prepare an original research paper. The paper may be in the same or a different area than the paper submitted for the Stage 1 qualifying examination , and it may be supervised by the same or a different faculty member. The Stage 2 paper must differ from the Stage 1 paper in terms of research topic, research questions, and/or research methods.
• For students who proceeded to Stage 2 from Stage 1, the Stage 2 paper must be submitted to the department during the Spring semester of the student's third year (the deadline is set by the Student Examination and Evaluation Committee, and is usually the first day of the Spring semester), and the oral exam must take place before the end of the Spring semester.
• For students who entered the program at Stage 2, the Stage 2 paper must be submitted to the department during the Spring semester of the student's second year (the deadline is set by the Student Examination and Evaluation Committee, and is usually the first day of the Spring semester), and the oral exam must take place before the end of the Spring semester.
• Pass : the student is eligible to proceed to the thesis proposal stage.
• Rewrite : the student is given a timeline to rewrite and resubmit the paper. Only one rewrite is permitted. The possible grades for a rewritten qualifying paper are Pass (proceed to the thesis proposal stage) or Fail (dismissal from the program).

G. Minimum GPA requirements

• Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA in all courses in order to be eligible to proceed to Stage 3.

H. Thesis Hours Required (32 hours)

Students must complete at least 32 credit hours of LING 599: Thesis Research. Enrollment in LING 599 is not normally allowed before the semester in which the student expects to complete the Preliminary Examination.

I. Preliminary Examination

All students must pass the Preliminary Examination, normally in the fourth year of the PhD program for students who entered at Stage 1, or in the third year of the PhD program for students who entered directly into Stage 2.

• To take the Preliminary Examination, first finish all your course requirements. Work closely with your advisor to prepare a written dissertation proposal. Assemble your examination committee, bearing in mind the policies on committee membership set by the Graduate College (see https://grad.illinois.edu/thesis/submitting-doctoral-committee-requests for more information). Submit your written proposal to your committee at least two weeks before the oral examination, which may be scheduled through the  Graduate Student Services Office  of the School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics (please fill out the scheduling form at  https://slcl.illinois.edu/resources/graduate-student-services/graduate-student-exams ). You will also need to file a petition to form your prelim exam committee through the Graduate College Petition Portal .
• The examination consists of an oral presentation of the dissertation proposal before the committee. The committee may ask questions about the proposed research, the written proposal, or the presentation.

PhD Program Requirements: Stage 3

Students complete all Stage 2 program requirements before proceedings to Stage 3.

A. Final Examination/Dissertation Defense

All students must write a dissertation and successfully defend its thesis in an oral examination. Familiarize yourself early in the process with the  Graduate College policies and procedures regarding dissertations .

• The Final Examination committee is normally (but not necessarily) identical to the Preliminary Examination committee. If it is different, please bear in mind the policies on committee membership set by the Graduate College (see https://grad.illinois.edu/thesis/submitting-doctoral-committee-requests for more information).  Work closely with your advisor and other committee members to be sure the dissertation is satisfactory before arranging for the Final Examination. The completed dissertation must be submitted to the committee at least two weeks prior to the examination, which may be scheduled through the  Graduate Student Services Office  of the School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics (please fill out the scheduling form found at https://slcl.illinois.edu/resources/graduate-student-services/graduate-student-exams ). You will also need to file a petition to form your prelim exam committee through the Graduate College Petition Portal .
• The Final Examination consists of an oral presentation of the dissertation and defense of its thesis before the committee. The committee may ask questions about the research, the written dissertation, or the presentation.

B. Dissertation Deposit

Following successful completion the defense, make any revisions requested to the dissertation by the committee, and secure the approval of your advisor. Make sure the dissertation conforms to the  Graduate College formatting policies . Deposit the dissertation according to  the procedure set by the Graduate College .

Applying credit from other institutions

Students who enter the program with previous graduate work in Linguistics from another institution may petition to transfer course credit to the University of Illinois. Transfer of credit is not possible if the courses have already been counted towards a degree at any other institution. Transfer must be requested through the  SLCL Graduate Student Services office .

Ph.D. Requirements

The uc davis ph.d. program in linguistics is administered by an interdisciplinary graduate group that includes a diverse array of faculty and encompasses numerous research areas, including language acquisition and development, sociolingistic inquiry, auditory neuroscience, and language structure and theory..

• Ph.D. students must complete 49–50 units of coursework (exclusive of LIN 299, LIN 396, and prerequisite units): 14 units in core courses, 19–20 units in one of four subject-matter areas, and 16 units in elective graduate-level or upper-division courses, to be approved by the graduate advisor. Students must be enrolled in at least 12 units per quarter.    The abbreviation "LIN" designates courses in the Department of Linguistics.
• Preparation for the Program
• The Ph.D. program course load is designed for students who have a background in linguistics or an allied field. Students entering without sufficient undergraduate work in linguistics must take the prerequisites required for students in the M.A. program, concurrently with other courses. Each entering student will work with the graduate advisor to determine the adequacy of the student's background in linguistics and to assist in designing a course of study.
• Language Requirements
• -- being a native speaker of a language other than English  
• -- attending a school, for at least two years, in which English is not the language of instruction  
• -- satisfying (prior to enrollment in the program) the equivalent of the foreign language requirement of the undergraduate major in linguistics at UC Davis  
• -- passing either a reading exam or a speaking exam administered by a member of the Graduate Group in Linguistics or a proxy designated by the graduate advisor.  
• -- a bachelor’s or master’s degree in a discipline relevant to linguistics  
• -- three letters of recommendation  
• -- submission of a Statement of Purpose and Personal History Statement (part of the Graduate Studies online application)  
• -- a writing sample (such as a term paper or an academic essay)  
• Prerequisites
• The equivalent of at least one course from each of the following subject areas: Syntax (e.g., LIN 103B, LIN 131) Phonology (e.g., LIN 103A, LIN 111) and the equivalent of at least two other language structure courses in one or more other areas, such as Phonetics (e.g., LIN 112), Morphology (e.g., LIN 121), Semantics (e.g., LIN 141) or Comparative/Historical Linguistics (e.g., LIN 150, LIN 151, LIN 152).