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Graduate Program in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics

PhD Degree Requirements

Courses
Six three-credit courses, chosen in consultation with the Graduate Program Director and the student’s academic advisor. Students must take at least one course designated as being outside of their field of concentration.

Qualifying examination
The qualifying examination (comprehensives) ensures that students have sufficient grounding in their area of concentration before they proceed to doctoral research, as well as in the field more generally. Qualifying examinations will normally be held in December at the end of the fall term of the candidate’s second year. It is possible that in some cases, and with sufficient advance notice to all parties, the exams may be held earlier (or later) if deemed appropriate for a particular candidate’s progress through the program.

The completion of the required course work at the end of the second (winter) term of the first year means the student will have two terms of study (summer and fall) to prepare for the qualifying exams. The examinations will be coordinated by a committee established to oversee the development and administration of the qualifying examinations. There will be one examination, although candidates may re-write the examination once, with the approval of the Qualifying Examination Coordinating Committee (QECC).

At the start of the preparation period, candidates will be given a reading list and direction on how to approach the preparation process. For the examination itself, candidates will be given a series of six questions, designed to explore both their knowledge in their area of concentration as well as their understanding of broader issues in linguistics. The questions will be designed by the QECC, with input, as deemed appropriate, from the candidate’s supervisor and any other member of the program faculty whose experience and expertise, in the judgment of the QECC, may be helpful to the formulation of appropriate questions. The questions will also be designed to ascertain the candidates’ understanding of research principles and their ability to present complex issues in a clear and understandable way that shows scholarly thought and reflection.

At the time of the examination, the exam questions will be made available to candidates. Students will choose four questions from the assigned list. The examination will be structured in such a way that students will have to select two that relate specifically to their area of concentration, and two that explore broader issues in linguistics. Students will have two days to complete the exam and return it at a specified time.

Dissertation Proposal
Average length: 10 pages – maximum 3500 words. It is expected that the dissertation proposal will be submitted at the end of the winter term of the student’s second year of study, that is, at the end of the student’s fifth enrolled term.

Dissertation
Average length: 200 pages. Evaluated by a doctoral committee and an oral examination. The dissertation reflects both a substantial contribution to the existing literature and, at the same time, original research. It is expected that the dissertation will be sufficiently high quality to warrant publication either as a monograph or as several articles in scholarly journals.