General Linguistics Graduate Degree Requirements
For students entering the M.A. program with a B.A. in
linguistics:
The requirements will normally be the same as those for any
other M.A. students. However, since they will typically be able to start
at the higher-level courses, they will have the ability to take more
advanced courses earlier (and thus have the opportunity to improve their
breadth and/or get through the program more rapidly).
Please see http://www.grad.washington.edu/stsv/mastersinfo.htm for important
details
about minimun Graduate School degree requirements. No student
may register for more than 10 credits of Linguistics 700 (M.A. thesis
credit) per quarter. For other University requirements, please consult
the Bulletin.
Departmental requirements are as follows:
- 2 syntax courses
- 2 phonetics/phonology courses
- 1 semantics course, 1 sociolinguistics course
- 3 more courses at the 400 or 500 level. At least two of these
must be 500-level classes for which papers or projects are
required. The specific courses that can satisfy the above requirements
are listed separately in the Grad FAQs.
- Demonstrated ability to read the linguistic literature in some
language other than English. This can be satisfied at any time
during the program by arrangement with the Graduate
Program Coordinator. An MA student is required to take the language exam
before (the beginning of) the quarter in which s/he intends to obtain the
degree.
- An M.A. exam in areas in which the grade point average (for
the required course work in that area) is below 3.3.
- A short M.A. thesis (from about 30 to no more than 50 pages),
which will typically be an expansion of a term paper. Students
must register for 9 credits (total) of Ling 700 (M.A. Thesis).
Admission to PhD program
Students with an M.A. in linguistics are encouraged to apply directly
to the doctoral program. The M.A. is a minimum requirement for admission
to the Ph.D. program. For those holding an MA in Linguistics or a closely
related field with overlapping coursework, admission to the Ph.D. program
may be granted unconditionally or with the stipulation that one or more
M.A.-level deficiencies be made up.
Admission of students receiving an M.A. from our department to our
Ph.D. program is not automatic. Students who have completed their M.A.
must see the Graduate Program Coordinator and submit a letter requesting
admission to the Ph.D. program. The letter should contain the name of the
faculty member who has agreed to chair the Ph.D. Supervisory Committee.
The faculty will then consider the student for the Ph.D. program. We
recommend that s/he apply during the quarter in which s/he attempts to
obtain an MA degree. At the latest, s/he is required to apply to the PhD
program by the end of the following quarter (not counting the summer
quarter). For example, if you obtained an MA degree in Spring, you are
required to apply to the PhD program by the end of Autumn (if you wish to
continue, that is).
This means that a post-MA student is considered to be "in the program"
during the quarter immediately after s/he obtained the MA degree as long
as s/he is registered. After that, s/he is no longer considered to be "in
the program" unless s/he has officially applied to the PhD program and has
been accepted. Note also that the student is ineligible for financial aid
after the one quarter grace period.
Students applying to the PhD program from a different institution or
after obtaining an MA from our CLMA program may be asked to take
additional courses.
See http://www.grad.washington.edu/stsv/quickref.htm
for general Graduate School requirements. Requirements for the
Ph.D. are an M.A. degree (in the usual case) plus the following:
For students holding the MA degree, it is expected that they will have
a foundation comparable to the one described above; total (i.e. MA + PhD)
departmental requirements for the PhD are as follows:
- 3 syntax courses, 3 phonetics/phonology courses,
2 semantics courses, 1 sociolinguistics course. The Graduate School
requires a minimum of 90 credits total for the
Ph.D.
- Additional courses at the 400 or 500 level for a total
of 30 credits to be taken before the general exams. A minimum of 5 courses
must be 500-level courses with a paper.
- There is also a major requirement and a minor requirement as
follows:
MAJOR: 6 courses in the student's primary area of specialization.
MINOR: 4 courses in a second area. (The major and minor together
should form a coherent research area.)
- A breadth language requirement, as follows: a
language (not the one used to satisfy the MA language requirement)
that is not English and is not in the same language family as the
student's native language(s). The requirement may be fulfilled by
one year's study or a major research project. Field work on a
language that would otherwise meet the requirement can be used to
satisfy it if it represents at least 200 hours of data collection
and results in a substantial document such as an MA thesis.
- Two linguistics papers delivered at a colloquium or conference.
Each will be evaluated by a member of the student's Ph.D. committee with
expertise in the area of the paper. The evaluation may be either of the
oral presentation or of the paper in written form. The student should
request evaluation by a faculty member for any paper to be considered for
this requirement.
- By the end of the first quarter after admission to the Ph.D.
program, the student will constitute a Ph.D. committee, in accord with
Graduate School requirements. As part of this process, the student will
work out with the committee members (by e-mail or in person) a strategy
for degree completion. The student's Ph.D. committee will administer a
General Examination, which involves 2 parts:
i. Two generals papers in different areas, at least one in grammatical
theory.
ii. 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.
- Within six months of the oral examination, the student will
present a formal dissertation proposal to the subset of Ph.D. committee
members who constitute the Reading Committee along with a proposed
calendar for completion of the dissertation.
- A Final Exam on the dissertation attended by the candidate's
Supervisory Committee and open to others interested.
- A dissertation suitable for publication.
- All degree requirements except for the dissertation and the two
colloquia or conference papers must be completed before the General Exam.
Remarks on Graduate School Requirements
Students are advised to become familiar with Graduate
School requirements,
as well as those described on the Linguistics Department's
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 through the World
Wide Web at http://www.grad.washington.edu.
If you have any further questions or comments please contact us
at phoneme@u.washington.edu
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