applied linguistics phd usa

Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics

Dietrich college of humanities and social sciences, discover the applied linguistics & second language acquisition ph.d. program, the primary goal of this program is to educate and prepare future researchers and leaders in the field of applied linguistics & second language acquisition (alsla)..

Program graduates will have developed a strong interdisciplinary approach to the investigation of the development, use, and maintenance of second languages, along with the knowledge and skills needed to conduct high-quality empirical investigations. They will learn to critically integrate old and new knowledge to produce real-world applications in the areas of language teaching, language learning, language policy, and language maintenance.

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"In this Ph.D. program, I not only learned how to answer, but also ask questions of significance to researchers from a broad range of backgrounds and disciplines. CMU truly prepared me for a life in academia where my knowledge and research skills would be valued, no matter where I ended up." — Daniel Walter (DC 2015)

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Learn more about the Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition at an upcoming info session. Coming soon!

About the Program

Program faculty.

Current Students

Program Requirements

The Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition follows a four-year timeline. 

Learn More About the Ph.D. Requirements

Characteristics of the Program

Commitment to cross-linguistic and cross-cultural factors in second  language learning . Students carry out research in the context of multiple languages. Admission to the program requires advanced proficiency in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, or English as a second language.

Interdisciplinary focus linking cognitive sciences, linguistics, social  sciences, cultural studies, and education . Students work with faculty in Modern Languages, English, Philosophy, and Psychology in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences; faculty in the Language Technologies Institute of the School of Computer Science; and faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in the departments of Linguistics and Instruction & Learning, and the Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC).

Active apprenticeship within a community of researchers . Beginning in the first year, students engage in hands-on research training and mentoring through collaboration with faculty.

Individualized course of study that builds on the student's prior  knowledge and experience . Students gradually assume greater control and responsibility over their research activities and course work, culminating in the dissertation.

Featured ALSLA News

Alumnus dan walter pursues interdisciplinary research in second language acquisition, alumna tianyu qin supports intercultural growth, modern languages and dietrich college alumna joins faculty, modern languages alumna promotes inclusivity through culturally responsive teaching, collaborations and connections in second language acquisition, duolingo’s alina von davier joins the department of modern languages, contact information, senior departmental administrator.

Vera Lampley Department of Modern Languages Carnegie Mellon University 5000 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Director of Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition Ph.D. Program

Seth Wiener Department of Modern Languages Carnegie Mellon University 5000 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213

View a full list of our  Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) .

If you cannot find the answer to your question on our website, please contact [email protected] .

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UMass Boston

• Applied Linguistics PhD

Join a cohort of scholars, researchers, and activists dedicated to linguistic diversity.

UMass Boston's PhD program in Applied Linguistics is a critically-oriented community of scholars, researchers, and activists dedicated to understanding linguistic diversity in everyday life. Our unique program emphasizes learning-by-doing through mentorship, coursework, and community-engagement. The Applied Linguistics PhD prepares candidates for teaching, research, and public advocacy careers in higher education, government, community, nonprofits, and private organizations.

Our apprenticeship model combines intensive faculty mentoring from the department’s internationally recognized faculty with structured support from a diverse and active doctoral student community . We also draw on the interdisciplinary expertise of our colleagues across Greater Boston and around the world to provide opportunities for community-engaged scholarship . Applied Linguistics doctoral students are involved in a range of local and global projects and initiatives related to our areas of inquiry : bilingual/multilingual education, multilingual language policy, critical applied linguistics, social resources and social contexts in language learning, and sociocultural theory.

Our curriculum is designed to engage future researchers in critical study of language in society. Through the exploration of cutting-edge research methods, students will develop a comprehensive and deep understanding of the theoretical, empirical, and practical dimensions of language use, language teaching and learning, and language policy in local and transnational contexts; and how they interrogate systems of power that produce marginalization, exploitation, and discrimination. Simultaneously, students cultivate their own scholarly identity, develop their inquiries, and generate knowledge to improve life in our schools, communities, and society. Students and faculty collaborate on research projects, manuscripts, advocacy work, and conference presentations throughout the doctoral program. 

Our PhD program requires three years of residency. During the first two years, a typical course load is three courses per semester (fall and spring) plus department events including the Colloquium, Roundtables, working groups, and talks; classes are offered between 4 and 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Funding, including tuition, living stipend, and health insurance, is available for up to three years on a competitive basis.

Please contact Graduate Program Director Professor Avary Carhill-Poza for information about the program, application process, or connection to current students: [email protected] .

Start Your Application

Plan Your Education

How to apply.

The Department of Applied Linguistics at UMass Boston is committed to cultivating diversity in scholarship and scholar identity and to providing intellectual, social, emotional, and financial support to students from groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education. As such, we strongly encourage students with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, including first generation students, international students, students of color, and linguistically diverse students to apply.

The deadline to submit all materials is January 1 for fall admission. Applicants are responsible for confirming with Graduate Admissions that their application is complete (including all documents and transcripts) well before January 1. Applicants to the PhD Program in Applied Linguistics should submit the following admissions materials:

• UMass Boston Graduate Application
• Official transcript from each college and university attended (including evidence of a master’s degree in applied linguistics or related field, with a minimum graduate GPA of 3.0)
• A current Curriculum Vitae
• Three letters of recommendation, at least two of which should come from individuals who can assess the applicant’s academic preparation for advanced graduate work
• One well-written sample of academic work (e.g. MA thesis, course paper, research project, published article, etc.)
• Statement of purpose [1500 words maximum] that addresses the following questions:
• How do your research interests map onto the areas of inquiry supported by the PhD Program in Applied Linguistics (bilingual/multilingual education, multilingual language policy, critical applied linguistics, social resources and social contexts in language learning, and sociocultural theory)?
• What practical or real-world changes do you hope to see as a result of your research, scholarship, and/or activism?
• What professional, personal, and academic experiences have especially equipped you to bring a critical perspective to your research, scholarship, and/or activism? And, how do your experiences as a multilingual language learner, language teacher, or language user inform your goals? (For applicants who are not multilingual, please explain your plans for developing fluency in another language while completing the PhD program.)

For international students who have not completed at least two academic years of full-time study (excluding ESL or test-prep) at an approved English-speaking college, proof of English language proficiency is required.

Deadlines & Cost

Deadlines: January 1 for fall

Cost: For additional information regarding tuition and fees, please visit the Bursar’s Office or send an email to [email protected] . Please refer to Graduate Student Financial Aid for more information on financial aid.

Application Fee Waivers: Fee waivers are automatic for all UMass Boston alumni, veterans, and McNair Scholars. Additionally, fee waivers for financial hardship are granted to applicants on a first-come-first-serve basis. To request a fee waiver, applicants should first complete their application (but not submit it), then send an email to the Program Director with the subject line: PhD Fee Waiver Request. State your reasons for requesting the fee waiver in your email and attach a letter from your academic advisor attesting to the financial need to waive the application fee. Applications must be complete in order to receive a fee waiver.

Support: Funding for doctoral students—including tuition, living stipend, and health insurance—is available for up to three years on a competitive basis. Applicants to the PhD program in Applied Linguistics are considered for Graduate Assistantships during the application review process in January.

Coursework is the primary way for students to develop their scholarly identity, knowledge, and research skills as they refine a dissertation topic for study. During the first two years of the PhD program, students are encouraged to explore a range of topics and get to know faculty before they choose an advisor for their dissertation project. In their third year, students move on to candidacy by passing associated benchmarks supported by their inquiry courses. The following courses are offered in the Applied Linguistics PhD Program:

Core Courses (9 Credits)

• APLING 700 - Issues in Applied Linguistics 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 701 - Issues in Second Language Acquisition 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 702 - Issues in Sociolinguistics 3 Credit(s)

Seminars (9 Credits)

• APLING 707 - Current Research on Language and Pedagogy 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 708 - Corpus Linguistics 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 709 - Language Policy 3 Credit(s)

Colloquium (1 Credit)

• APLING 890 - Graduate Colloquium in Applied Linguistics 1 Credit(s)

Research Methods Courses (9 to 15 Credits)

Complete at least three courses from below.

• APLING 703 - Applied Linguistics Research Methods 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 704 - Advanced Discourse Analysis 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 705 - Advanced Ethnography 3 Credit(s)
• PPOL-G 604L - Statistical Methods in the analysis of Social Problems I 3 Credit(s)
• PPOL-G 605L - Statistical Methods in the Analysis of Social Problems II 3 Credit(s)

Electives (3 to 9 Credits)

Complete no more than three from below.

• APLING 601 - Linguistics 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 603 - Language, Culture and Identity 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 605 - Theories and Principles of Language Teaching 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 611 - Methods and Materials in Foreign Language Instruction 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 612 - Integrating Culture into the Language Curriculum 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 614 - Foundations of Bilingual/Multicultural Education 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 615 - Dual Language Pedagogy 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 618 - Teaching ESL: Methods and Approaches 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 621 - Psycholinguistics 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 623 - Sociolinguistics 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 627 - Phonetics and Phonemics 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 629 - The Structure of the English Language 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 633 - Discourse Analysis in ESL 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 635 - Literacy & Culture 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 637 - Ethnography of Education: Culture, Language, & Literacy 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 670 - Testing in the Bilingual/ESL Classroom 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 673 - Reading in the Bilingual/English as a Second Language (ESL) Classroom 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 696 - Independent Study 1-6 Credit(s)
• APLING 697 - Special Topics in Applied Linguistics 1-6 Credit(s)

Inquiry Courses (6 Credits)

• APLING 891 - Qualifying Paper Seminar 3 Credit(s)
• APLING 892 - Dissertation Proposal Writing Seminar 3 Credit(s)

Dissertation Research Course (12 Credits)

• APLING 899 - Dissertation Research 1-12 Credit(s)

Graduation Criteria

Complete 55 credits from 16 courses including three core courses, three seminars, one colloquium, three to five research methods courses, one to three electives, two inquiry courses, and one dissertation research course.

Students with a master’s degree in a relevant field earned no more than seven years before matriculation may be eligible for advanced standing awarding them up to twelve credits toward the degree.

Doctoral candidacy:   Acceptance of a qualifying paper and dissertation proposal. Dissertation:   Compose and defend a dissertation based on original research.

Statute of limitations:   Seven years.

Graduate Program Director Professor Avary Carhill-Poza [email protected]

Applied Linguistics Department

UMass Boston's Department of Applied Linguistics in the College of Liberal Arts offers a diverse range of programs and research opportunities aimed at exploring theoretical linguistics, applied linguistics, and interdisciplinary areas of psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics.

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College of Liberal Arts

Learn more about the faculty, research, and programs that make up our College of Liberal Arts.

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.

Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, PHD

On this page:.

At a Glance: program details

• Location: Tempe campus
• Second Language Requirement: No

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.

The doctoral program in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics focuses on the study of human language and the application of that study to the human condition.  Students in this program will choose a research specialization which can be formal linguistics, applied linguistics, or some combination of these areas.  The curriculum will provide training in linguistics and applied linguistics with focused research in several areas such as phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.  Second language acquisition and second language teaching and learning, TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages), language contact and change, including World Englishes, are also research possibilities in addition to sociolinguistics, language planning, discourse analysis, language and cognition.

Matthew Prior , Director

Sheila Luna , Program Manager

Faculty in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics

Doctoral Examinations

Doctoral Procedures and Timeline

Teaching Assistantships

Degree Requirements

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
• 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.

Courses and Electives

The Doctor of Philosophy is a total of 84 hours. In general, a student with an appropriate master's degree must complete a minimum of 54 credit hours of approved graduate work, which includes 12 hours of dissertation. A student without an appropriate master's degree usually must complete 84 hours of work at ASU. At the advisor’s discretion, students may include up to 12 hours of appropriate, graduate-level course work undertaken at another university, and not previously counted towards any other degree.

Required Core Courses for the Degree

• LIN 511 Phonetics and Phonology
• LIN 514 Syntax
• LIN 515 American English or LIN 516 Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis
• APL 555 Disciplinary Discourses
• APL 601  Introduction to Applied Linguistics
• LIN 655 Disciplinary Discourses

Elective/Research Courses

• LIN 501 Approaches to Research

Research Specialization (21 hours) :  Students choose a research specialization which can be formal linguistics, applied linguistics or a combination. Students can focus their elective and research coursework, including APL/LIN 790 on a specific area. Possible specializations in Linguistics are phonology, formal syntax and semantics, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis and pragmatics.  Possible specializations in Applied Linguistics are SLA theory and pedagogy, ESOL, second language writing, bilingualism, language policy, and issues in educational research.  Students may choose to take other 500 or equivalent and advanced (600 and above or equivalent) courses in their area of specialization.  Advanced LIN 600 level courses may be repeated for credit when topics vary. All students are encouraged to develop interdisciplinary perspectives which may be done by taking courses from other related programs or units to enhance their area of specialization. For example, students with interests in second language writing would expect to take related ENG courses in addition to LIN or APL offerings, and students interested in languages taught in  SILC (School of International Letters and Cultures) could take courses in that unit. Students must consult with an advisor when selecting additional courses for their focus area as these courses provide the depth of training needed for dissertation research.

Other Requirements

PhD Examinations :  Essay, oral exam, colloquy on the dissertation prospectus.

Dissertation : Students must take 12 credit hours of ENG 799.

Language Requirement : PhD students must demonstrate evidence of a competent knowledge of a natural language other than modern English, to be selected by the student, 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 exams. This requirement may be met by

• Earning a “B” (3.00) or higher 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” (3.00) or higher in both ENG 530 Old English and ENG 531 Old English Literature or their equivalent.
• Holding a bachelor’s degree in an approved foreign language.
• Having fulfilled a foreign language requirement towards a previously awarded master’s degree that has been completed within five years of the semester for which the student has been admitted to the doctoral program. This foreign language must be in a language approved by the student’s doctoral supervisory committee.
• For languages which the School of International Letters and Cultures does not offer or does not offer above the 200 level, two years (4 semesters) of successfully completed college level coursework at least at the 100 and 200 level with a C or better would fulfill the requirement. The coursework must have been successfully completed no more than six years prior to admission to the degree program.

Miscellaneous : Students may take research (ENG 792) for the purpose of working independently in preparation for the doctoral examination. This is an alternative to be elected by the student at the discretion and with the approval of the advisor and supervisory committee and can count towards course work. Satisfactory completion of ENG 792 is indicated by the grade of "Y." Individual interim segments of ENG 792 will be graded "Z" (course in progress), and changed to "Y" (successful completion) after the dissertation defense. No conventional letter grades are awarded for ENG 792 or 799.

The Graduate College also requires that students be enrolled every semester, excluding summer sessions, until they have completed all requirements for the degree. Continuous enrollment may be satisfied by registration for one hour of ENG 799, or, in cases where dissertation or other credit hours are not needed, Continuous Registration (ENG 595 or 795). If students wish to interrupt their programs of study for one or more semesters, they may apply for a leave of absence, not to exceed one year. Failure to enroll or obtain leave status for the semesters in which they are not enrolled will result in dismissal from the program.

Doctoral Supervisory Committee

The doctoral supervisory committee consists of a minimum of three members from the  graduate faculty  selected at the time the student files a program of study. In consultation with the director of the Ph.D. program, the student will select the committee chair, who also serves as the student's advisor. Once a graduate faculty member has agreed to serve as the student's chair, the student and chair will then consult before recommending two other members to the director of the doctoral program. Ideally another member of the supervisory committee in addition to the chair should be in the area of specialization. It is the responsibility of each student to form a supervisory committee very early in the program so that the chair and members of the committee may be involved in shaping the course of study, for example, in determining such matters as the choice of foreign language(s) and in specifying courses that will be required for the student's particular area of concentration.

Important Notice to Current International Students

In order for international students to maintain good standing for their VISAs, they must take a minimum of 9 credit hours per semester (i.e., 3 classes), 6 credits (2 classes) should be face-to-face classes.

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]
• 480/965-3194

• English Department
• PhD Applied Linguistics

Applied Linguistics, Doctor of Philosophy

If language is humanity's most useful tool, then applied linguistics, as the study of language, puts that tool to work. The focus of applied linguistics is on trying to resolve language-based issues that people encounter in the real world (Grabe 2002). This dissertation-based degree allows students to customize their coursework and research around such areas as second language studies, teaching and assessment of language skills, corpus linguistics, grammar and discourse, pragmatics, psycholinguistics, and speech perception and production.

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To receive a Doctor of Philosophy Degree (PhD) at Northern Arizona University, you must complete a planned group of courses, from one or more disciplines, ranging from at least 60 - 109 units of graduate-level courses. Most plans require research, a dissertation, and comprehensive exams. All plans have residency requirements regarding time spent on the Flagstaff campus engaged in full-time study. The full policy can be viewed here.

Overview Accordion Closed

In addition to University Requirements:

• Complete individual plan requirements.

Purpose Statement

PhD students pursue a diverse range of applied linguistic issues in preparation for their careers as researchers, teacher trainers, or leaders in fields related to teaching and learning second languages, including:

• computer-assisted language learning (CALL)
• corpus linguistics
• grammar and discourse
• language planning and policy
• language testing and program evaluation
• language variation
• literacy       
• register analysis
• second language acquisition
• second language teaching and learning
• speech perception and production

Our faculty work closely with individual students, helping them to develop as colleagues in applied linguistics. As a result, our PhD students have outstanding records of publication and participation in major conferences such as TESOL and AAAL. Graduates of our program have also been highly successful at obtaining tenure-track faculty positions at major universities. Student Learning Outcomes Upon completion of the PhD in Applied Linguistics, students will have:

• Advanced critical and analytical knowledge of the structure and uses of the English language, English language discourse processes and genres, the development of second language learning processes in their diverse cultural contexts, and the assessment of both language program effectiveness and individual language proficiency.
• Ability to address issues of language learning in real world settings
• Ability to address both language program effectiveness and individual language proficiency.
• Ability to contribute to innovative and effective English language teaching practices in the State of Arizona and elsewhere.
• Ability to integrate use of technology into language instruction and research.
• Ability to synthesize information and approaches across a range of core topics in Applied Linguistics, such as language acquisition, language in society, English grammar, and the development of language curricula and programs.
• Understanding of the many issues relevant to cross-cultural communication.
• Comprehensive preparation and professional orientation for advanced research in PhD programs.
• Ability to design, conduct, analyze, and interpret original and important empirical research.
• Ability to contribute as active professionals in Applied Linguistics and related fields.
• Expertise and qualifications to contribute significantly in professorial positions to the growth and development of Applied Linguistics.

Details Accordion Closed

Graduate admission information.

The NAU graduate online application is required for all programs. Admission to many graduate programs is on a competitive basis, and programs may have higher standards than those established by the Graduate College. Admission requirements include the following:

• Transcripts.
• Undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution with a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale ("A" = 4.0), or the equivalent.

Visit the NAU Graduate Admissions website for additional information about graduate school application deadlines, eligibility for study, and admissions policies. Ready to apply? Begin your application now.

International applicants have additional admission requirements. Please see the International Graduate Admissions Policy .

Additional Admission Requirements

Individual program admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.

• GRE® revised General Test
• Two letters of recommendation
• Writing Sample
• Personal statement or essay
• Resume or curriculum vitae

Official TOEFL iBT/IELTS scores taken within the last 2 years are required for international applicants. Please see department website for information regarding minimum score requirements.

Doctoral Requirements

This Doctoral degree requires 81 units distributed as follows:

• Master's-level work relevant to your research interests: 36 units
• Statistics Coursework: 9 units
• Seminars: 9 units
• Graduate electives: 12 units
• Dissertation: 15 units

Take the following 81 units:

• Master's-level work relevant to your research interests (36 units)
• Statistics, such as: ENG 668 , ENG 768 and approved Ph.D. seminars (9 units)
• Seminars (9 units)
• Graduate electives, chosen in consultation with your dissertation committee (12 units)
• ENG 799 , for the research, writing, and oral defense of an approved dissertation (15 units)

Please note that you may end up taking more units of dissertation credit than the 15 units you can count toward your degree, because you must register for ENG 799 each semester while you work on your dissertation.

In addition, you must:

• Complete a screening process
• Complete a qualifying exam
• Fulfill Northern Arizona University's residency requirements (For more information about residency and other requirements that pertain to this degree, see the policy on Requirements for the Doctoral Degree, Ph.D.  
• Pass an oral exam on your dissertation (Dissertation Defense)

Additional Information

Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also successfully complete. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.

Availability Accordion Closed

• Corpus linguistics
• English linguistics
• Linguistics skills
• Curriculum & program evaluation
• Grammar and vocabulary
• Grammatical variation
• Language testing and assessment
• Psycholinguistics
• Research methods
• Register and discourse analysis
• Second language acquisition
• Second language listening and speaking
• Second language reading and writing
• Speech perception and production
• Spoken discourse
• World Englishes

Why pursue an Applied Linguistics doctorate at NAU?

Personal faculty-student relationships, outstanding research labs, corpus research lab, applied linguistics speech lab (alsl), language and memory lab, program in intensive english (pie), general information, questions please contact us., department of english, mailing address.

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Linguistics, PhD

The Ph.D. program in Linguistics at Penn embraces a wide range of theoretical specializations and methodologies. What unites them is a commitment to careful and explicit formal analysis of the human capacity for learning and using language.

The core of our program is the formal generative tradition, but we encourage the cross-fertilization that results from the confrontation of empirical and theoretical perspectives on language structure. By our close collaboration with other programs (such as computer science and psychology) we promote an awareness of the broad view of language that interdisciplinary study induces. In addition to broad training, students are offered and expected to master the methods and results of their chosen areas of concentration in linguistics as a prerequisite to fruitful engagement in dialogue with others, both within and outside the program.

For more information: https://www.ling.upenn.edu/graduate/

View the University’s Academic Rules for PhD Programs .

Required Courses

The total course units required for graduation is 20. A minimum of 12 course units must be taken at the University of Pennsylvania.

The degree and major requirements displayed are intended as a guide for students entering in the Fall of 2023 and later. Students should consult with their academic program regarding final certifications and requirements for graduation.

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Ph.D. Handbook and Roadmap

The Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics provides students with a broad theoretical grounding and research experiences in examining the nature of language and language learning, how language is used to construct our sociocultural worlds, and how, in varied learning contexts, we learn to use language and learn about the world through language.

1. Coursework

The program consists of a minimum of 63 credits beyond the B.A. and 45 credits beyond the M.A. degree. Up to 8 credits can be doctoral dissertation credits.

A. Foundations (7 credits)

These courses are required for all students.

APLNG 580  – Proseminar in Applied Linguistics APLNG 582  –  Seminar in Approaches to Language in Use (or equivalent) APLNG 591 –  Seminar in Second Language Acquisition (or equivalent)

B. Research Methodologies (12 credits)

You are required to take a minimum of 12 credits, part of which included the 6-credit 2-course sequence APLNG 577 and APLNG 593:

APLNG 577  – Language Analysis (required) APLNG 578  – Computational and Statistical Methods for Corpus Analysis APLNG 581  – Discourse Analysis APLNG 586  – Analyzing Classroom Discourse APLNG 592  – Qualitative Research in Applied Linguistics APLNG 593 – Experimental Research on Language (required)

Other course with approval of your advisor (e.g. APLNG 597 Special Topics)

C. Additional Courses (18 credits)

In consultation with your academic advisor, you are required to take a minimum of 18 credits of additional courses.

APLNG 510 – Health & Aging in Multilingual Contexts APLNG 511 – Applied Linguistics & Health Sciences APLNG 512 – Language and Adult Lifespan Development APLNG 570 – Second Language Reading APLNG 571 – Usage-Based Approaches to Second Language Learning and Teaching APLNG 572 – Communication in Second Language Classrooms APLNG 574 – World Englishes: Pluralizing Policy, Pedagogy, & Proficiency APLNG 575 – Language Ideology APLNG 576 – Language Socialization across Home, School, & Community APLNG 578 – Computational and Statistical Methods for Corpus Analysis APLNG 579 – Seminar in Applied Corpus Linguistics APLNG 581 – Discourse Analysis APLNG 583 – Methods of Language Assessment APLNG 584 – Sociocultural Theory and L2 Learning APLNG 586 – Analyzing Classroom Discourse APLNG 587 – Theory & Research in L2 Teacher Education APLNG 588 – Design & Research of Technology-Mediated Language Learning APLNG 589 – Technology in Foreign Language Education: An Overview APLNG 592 – Qualitative Research in Applied Linguistics

You should register for APLNG 595 according to your GA assignment:

APLNG 595 001 – This is the tutoring internship for the MA TESL students

APLNG 595 002 – TA at IECP (Instructor of Record – Director of IECP)

APLNG 595 003 – TA in the ESL Instructional Program (ESL 015, 114G, 116G) (Instructor of Record – Director of ESL Programs)

APLNG 595 004 – TA in the ITA Program (ESL 115G, 117G, 118G) (Instructor of Record – Director of ITA Program)

APLNG 595 005 – TA in On-line or 200-level courses (APLNG 200, 210) (Instructor of Record – Director of Graduate Studies)

APLNG 595 006 – RA in any APLNG Center (EPPIC, CLA, CRELLT) or Faculty directed research (curriculum development, etc.) (Instructor of Record – Director of Graduate Studies

• APLNG 600   –   Register for this course when preparing for comprehensive exams. You must complete a drop/add form and return it to  Graduate Program Staff  to register for this course. The course cannot be added on LionPath. If you are appointed on an assistantship, you must be registered for 9 credits to maintain your full-time status with the Graduate School. You should register for 3 credits of the 500-level APLNG course you are auditing (see Section 1F below) and a combined total of 9 credits of APLNG 600, APLNG 595 (if you are assigned to work as a GA), and APLNG 602 (1 credit if you are apprenticing to teach a course).
• APLNG 601 – Register for this course   after passing the comprehensive exams.  You must register for this course continuously during the fall and spring semesters to maintain your full-time status with the Graduate School.  You must complete a drop/add form and return to  Graduate Program Staff  to register for this course.  The course cannot be added on LionPath.
• APLNG 602 – APLNG 602 – If you are apprenticing to teach a 200-, 400- or 500-level course  before  passing your comprehensive exams, you must register for one credit of 602. Please note: this is a graded course. The grade will appear on your transcript. If you are apprenticing to teach a 200-, 400- or 500-level course  after  passing your comprehensive exams, you must register for one credit of 602 as an audit.  You must complete a drop/add form and return it to  Graduate Program Staff  to register for this course. The course cannot be added on LionPath.
• All students on departmental funding, i.e., TAs and RAs as well as those on Humanities Release, RGSO release, and the Gil Watz Fellowship, are required to take part in administering the American English Oral Communicative Proficiency Test (AEOCPT) and Interactive Performance Test (IPT) which are given before and at the end of each semester. Students who fail to meet this responsibility are ineligible to receive travel funding.

E. Teaching Apprenticeship

Teaching apprenticeships provide you with the opportunity to team-teach with faculty members. In these experiences, you work with your faculty mentors to design course materials, prepare classes and assess student learning. You must register for one credit of APLNG 602 in the semester you are team teaching before passing the comprehensive exams. After passing the comprehensive exams, you should no longer register for APLNG 602 when you team teach. You should not team teach in the semester you take your humanities release.

F. Important Information About Coursework

• A graduate student on a half-time assistantship appointment normally registers for 9 to 12 credits per semester (4 to 6 per six-week summer session). The credit limits may only be increased or decreased in exceptional cases for a specific semester or summer session by permission of the assistantship supervisor, the student’s academic adviser, and the dean of the Graduate School. Requests should be submitted by the student’s academic adviser (with the signatures of both the assistantship supervisor and the academic advisor) for the dean’s approval via  Graduate Program Staff .
• While you may register to audit or take 400-level courses, note that they will not count toward the doctoral degree.
• No more than one non-APLNG 500-level course taken within any given academic year may count toward the doctoral degree, and no more than two total non-APLNG 500-level courses may count toward the doctoral degree. These restrictions do not apply to non-APLNG 500-level courses taught by APLNG faculty with appointments in other departments (currently Suresh Canagarajah, Sinfree Makoni, Susan Strauss, and Ning Yu) or Affiliate Faculty (currently Mari Haneda, Busi Makoni, Matthew Poehner). If in any given year, the number of 500-level APLNG courses is limited, the student may, in consultation with his/her advisor and with approval from the DGS, take one additional non-APLNG course.
• You are expected to complete all coursework (excluding 600, 601, 602) by the end of your fourth semester (sixth semester if you entered with a Bachelor’s degree). Deferred grades (“incompletes”) are only permitted for extenuating circumstances and may not be used to extend a course beyond the end of the semester or to raise a grade. All deferred grades must be settled within 12 weeks after the course end date. You are encouraged to consult the  Graduate School Bulletin  concerning academic information and procedures relative to coursework and grading.
• All funded doctoral students will be required to register to audit one 500-level APLNG course in the semester they take the comprehensive exams (this will be the 5th semester for students entering with an MA degree and the 7th semester for students entering with a BA degree). After passing the comprehensive exams, you should only register for APLNG 601 – you should no longer register for APLNG 595 (if you are assigned to work as a GA) or APLNG 602 (if you are apprenticing to teach a course) However, you can register for up to 3 credits as an audit without paying a fee.
• If you previously took a doctoral level course that is equivalent to a required course (APLNG 577, 582, 591, 593), you may request to have the required course waived. You should submit a syllabus to the Director of Graduate Studies, who will ask the instructor scheduled to teach the next offering of the required course to evaluate whether the courses are indeed equivalent. If your request is approved, you can take an additional 500-level APLNG course of your choice instead. Note that this does not reduce the total number of credits required for the degree.

2. APLNG Roundtable

In addition to the above coursework, you are expected to participate in regularly scheduled departmental roundtable sessions and the invited lecture series. The purpose is to provide you with opportunities to interact formally and informally with colleagues and more generally, to engage in scholarly pursuits with faculty members. Roundtable sessions include presentations and discussions of research-in-progress by members of the APLNG community and visiting scholars. All events are announced on the departmental website. All PhD students are required to give at least one individual research presentation (i.e., not as part of a reading/research group or discussion panel) in their fourth or fifth year. All PhD students are also encouraged to give at least one individual research presentation in their first three years.

3. Advisors and Committees

A. initial advisor selection.

Upon being admitted to the program, you are assigned a temporary advisor who assists in coursework selection and monitors your progress in the program. To the extent possible, assignments are made on the basis of shared research interests.

Qualifying Examination Committee : Early in the semester of the qualifying examination, you select members of your qualifying committee, in consultation with your advisor. The committee consists of a chair (your faculty advisor) and a minimum of two faculty members with appointments in the department. You should contact faculty members directly to ask if they are willing to serve on the committee. Once the committee is set up, you and your advisor, in consultation with the other committee members, schedule a date and time for the exam.  Graduate Program Staff  can assist in scheduling the venue for the exam.

B. Permanent Advisor Selection

After passing the qualifying examination and at least one semester before you are to take the comprehensive exam, you must obtain the agreement of a member of the department’s graduate faculty to serve as permanent advisor. This person may be your temporary advisor, but need not be. You should inform  Graduate Program Staff  and the Director of Graduate Studies as soon as you have reached an agreement with your permanent advisor. Your permanent advisor serves as chair of the comprehensive examination and dissertation committee. Once you begin the comprehensive exam process, no changes to the advisor can be made except in unusual circumstances (e.g., the faculty member leaves the university). Any change requires written approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.

Important:  If at some point after qualifying and prior to comps, you and your permanent advisor decide that you would be better served by selecting a new advisor, you must inform the Director of Graduate Studies of the change and select a new advisor within one month of having informed your current advisor of your intention to change advisors.

C. Comprehensive Exam and Dissertation Committee

All doctoral committees must have a  minimum  total of four Penn State Graduate Faculty   members  (one of which must be the dissertation adviser).  Graduate Faculty appointments are maintained in a database and displayed on the Graduate School’s website at  https://secure.gradsch.psu.edu/gpms/index.cfm . This link provides the most reliable source of information for identifying Penn State Graduate Faculty members.

• Two of these four members must represent the major field (one of which must serve as chair of the committee).
• One of these four members must serve as the ‘Outside Field Member’. This member can be a member of the department but with research expertise outside the research expertise of the chair of the committee.
• One of these four members must serve as the ‘Outside Unit Member’. This member must be in an administrative unit that is outside the unit in which the dissertation adviser’s primary appointment is held.
• The Outside Field Member and the Outside Unit Member may be the same individual as long as that person meets the requirements of both positions.

Your advisor assists you in choosing committee members. You should contact faculty members directly to ask if they are willing to serve on the committee. Once you begin the comprehensive exam process, no changes in committee membership can be made except in unusual circumstances (e.g., a faculty member leaves the university). Any change requires written approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. A person not affiliated with Penn State who has particular expertise in your research area may be added as a fifth member, upon recommendation of the head of the department and approval of the graduate dean (via the  Office of Graduate Enrollment Services ).

4. Examinations

A. qualifying examination.

You must pass a qualifying examination in the third semester of full-time graduate study (or equivalent if you entered with a Bachelor’s degree or are less than full time). The purpose of the exam is to assess your competence as an academic writer, and your ability to carry out research. The exam is given orally and is not to exceed 60 minutes. Prior to the exam [see below for details] you must submit two original research papers to the committee. In compliance with the purpose of the exam, these papers should demonstrate your ability as a scholar and thus point to the likelihood that you will successfully complete the program. During the exam, you will be questioned on the papers, your program of study, and research plans. In the event that you do not schedule and take the exam by the end of the third semester, you will be placed on probation and have until the end of the fourth semester to pass qualifying.

Important :  Failure to successfully complete the exam by the end of the fourth semester (or sixth if you entered with a Bachelor’s degree) will result in your termination from the program.

Arranging the exam

One month prior to  the date of the qualifying examination, you must submit to your advisor the following:

• A program timeline  detailing semester by semester the courses that you have already completed, those left to take, and a timeline for completing the program.
• A one-page description of research interests  articulating the likely direction of your doctoral research, including possible research questions and theoretical frames that interest you as well as some reflection on the kind of data you might like to collect.
• Two academic papers  you produced in courses taken at Penn State, at least one of which should reveal your competence to conduct research. Both papers should follow the APA or LSA Style Sheet.

At least three weeks prior to  the examination, you are responsible for informing  Graduate Program Staff  of the time, date, and location of your qualifying examination.  All required paperwork will be filed with the Graduate School at that time.

At least two weeks prior to  the examination, you are to submit the program timeline, the one-page description of research interests, and the two academic papers to the full committee. Unless otherwise agreed upon by the committee, you must submit the documents in hard copy (rather than in electronic format).

Exam results

The outcome of the examination consists of one of the following recommendations:

• Continue in the program; admitted as candidate
• Do not continue in the program

The chair of the committee is responsible for communicating the results of the exam to  Graduate Program Staff  within a week following the exam.

Important :  The Graduate School will admit no student to Qualifying until she/he is of regular status. This means that all evidence of previous university degrees must be in order and  no outstanding deferred grades remain on the transcript.  If this occurs, you must work with the Director of Graduate Studies to resolve the issue before you take the exam. If you are not recommended to continue in the program, your status as a graduate student will be terminated at the end of the semester in which you take the exam.

B. Comprehensive Examination

This examination is designed to determine your competence to interpret the theoretical assumptions and research findings in your area of concentration and your ability to do empirical research in that area.  The exam will comprise two components: data analysis and a critical theoretically grounded discussion of the existing research that addresses the topic of your contemplated doctoral dissertation.

The Initial Comprehensive Exam Meeting

By no later than the  summer   prior to the start of your fifth semester  (or seventh if you entered with a Bachelor’s degree) in the program, in consultation with your advisor, you should identify a previously unanalyzed data set that relates to the problem to be addressed in your dissertation. NB: Students enrolled in dual-title degrees who complete their course work in the third year may plan to take their comprehensive examination in the sixth semester. “Previously unanalyzed” implies that you have not already conducted the same kind of analysis on these data that you would perform in the exam.  Data sets can be drawn from any relevant source, including the Internet, classrooms, corpora, interviews, field notes, video recordings, etc.  Human subjects/IRB approval is not required since the dataset will be used exclusively for purposes of the comprehensive examination.  (IRB approval may be necessary for the dissertation project).

You are responsible for setting up the initial comprehensive exam meeting.  At least one week prior to  the initial comprehensive exam meeting:

• Contact  Graduate Program Staff  to arrange a room for the meeting, if necessary.
• Ask  Graduate Program Staff  to prepare your  doctoral committee form  so that you can bring the form to the initial comprehensive exam meeting for your committee members to sign. You will need to send her the names and departmental affiliations of all committee members and specify who will serve as the Chair, Co-chair (if applicable), Major Field members, Outside Field Member, and Outside Unit Member in your committee. The doctoral committee form must be returned to  Graduate Program Staff  promptly after the meeting.
• Submit to the full committee a  1-2 page description  of the data set and  a one-page statement  that articulates the focus of your potential dissertation project.

Data Analysis.   At the pre-comps meeting your committee, in discussion with you, will formulate a data analysis question.  You will then have seven calendar days to develop and submit to the doctoral committee a written analysis of the dataset. Both you and your committee must agree that the proposed question can be thoroughly addressed within seven days, and both must agree on the format of the written analysis.

Theory and Literature.   Also during the pre-comps meeting, you and your committee will discuss the relevant literature and key issues relating to the dissertation topic. Based on this discussion, the committee will formulate a question, and you will have 30 calendar days to write an examination paper addressing this question in the form of a literature review or theoretical paper. This paper must be a full-length paper using an established formatting style (APA, LSA), and it must include bibliographies of the references cited.

At the pre-comps meeting, you and your committee will discuss which question you will work on first. During this meeting the committee may provide guidance, such as suggested sources or approaches. However, you are expected to complete your papers independently. The committee communicates the first question to you within 72 hours after the pre-comps meeting, and the second question to you within 48 hours after receipt of your first paper. You should consult with committee members as to whether they wish to receive paper or electronic copies. You are strongly recommended to schedule your oral examination with your committee at the end of the pre-comps meeting.

Eligibility

To be eligible to hold the comprehensive exam meeting, you must 1) have completed all required coursework, 2) satisfied all language requirements, 3) have a minimum grade-point average of 3.00 for work done at Penn State, 4) have no deferred or missing grades, and 5) be registered as a full- or part-time student for the semester in which the examination is taken.

The Oral Examination

At least three weeks prior to  the oral examination, you are responsible for informing  Graduate Program Staff  of the time, date, and location of your oral comprehensive examination. All required paperwork must be filed with the Graduate School at that time. The exam will not be held if  Graduate Program Staff  is not informed within the required time frame.

The oral exam should take place about ten days following submission of the second paper. The oral exam is a question and answer session based on both the data analysis and examination papers and your work to date in the program and lasts no longer than two hours.

The comprehensive examination may be held fully in-person, fully remote, or hybrid with some individuals participating in-person while others participate remotely. Student preference for delivery mode should be strongly considered, but the student and adviser must agree on the mode. If the student and adviser cannot agree on the mode, the Graduate Program Head will make the final decision. Either the student or adviser can appeal the decision of the Graduate Program Head to the Associate Dean for Graduate Education.

Results of the Exam

A favorable vote by at least two-thirds of the members of the committee is required to pass the exam. The Chair will inform you whether you have passed immediately following the oral component. The Chair will communicate the results to  Graduate Program Staff , who will communicate them to the  Office of Graduate Enrollment Services  once the official form has been signed by the Director of Graduate Studies.

Important :  If you fail the exam on the first attempt, you may repeat it once and you must do so before the end of the subsequent semester. Candidates who fail the exam a second time will be terminated from the program. Failure to pass the exam by the end of the sixth semester (or eighth if you entered with a Bachelor’s degree) will result in your termination from the program.

5. Additional Language Competency

You must demonstrate competency in one additional language other than your first language. Students whose first language is not English can use English to satisfy this requirement. Students whose first language is English may satisfy this requirement by completing one of the following: having an undergraduate or graduate degree with a major or minor in that language, passing an appropriate graduate-level course offered in that language at your previous institution or Penn State, submitting to the doctoral committee a course/research paper that involves an in-depth analysis of that language, or demonstrating intermediate-advanced speaking proficiency in that language to a relevant member of the graduate faculty at Penn State through an oral interview. Other ways to satisfy this requirement may be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies on a case-by-case basis. Students are responsible for demonstrating their additional language competency before they will be allowed to schedule their initial comprehensive examination meeting.

6. Ph.D. Dissertation

A. dissertation proposal defense meeting.

The purpose of this meeting is to defend the written  proposal  for your dissertation research.  The proposal is typically 25-30 pages in length and consists of the following sections: background and significance of the problem including an overview of the relevant literature, a statement of the research question(s), and an overview of the methodology to be used, including means for data collection and analysis. If you wish to adopt the  three-article dissertation  format, you should articulate in writing the rationale for the decision to adopt this format to the whole committee before the dissertation proposal defense meeting, and the committee will approve or decline this decision at the proposal defense meeting. Committee approval is required to change the dissertation format once an agreed decision is made.

When your proposal is completed, notify your chair and committee members in order to schedule a proposal defense meeting. The meeting is expected to last one hour. You must present the completed proposal to your committee members  at least two weeks  before the meeting. At the proposal defense meeting, committee members will engage with you in assessing the scholarly and scientific merit of research questions, data collection methods, and proposed analytic procedures.  Because these discussions often result in refinements and reformulation of questions, methods, and procedures, you should be aware that data collected prior to the defense proposal may or may not be appropriate for the final dissertation project.  If the dissertation research involves collecting data from human participants, you must obtain approval from the University’s Office of Research Protection.   It is important that you ask your advisor to promptly communicate the outcome of your dissertation proposal defense to  Graduate Program Staff  and the Director of Graduate Studies.

Important:  The proposal defense meeting must take place  within one semester  of passing the comprehensive exam. It may take place in the same semester as the comprehensive exam but there must be at least a two-week time period between the two events.

B. Dissertation Writing Process

At the beginning of the process, the chair, in consultation with you, will decide on the specific procedures for providing feedback to you. All committee members are expected to provide feedback on a complete draft of the dissertation  at least once  before the final, defendable, draft is completed. In consultation with you and your committee members, the chair will decide when the document has reached the status of a defendable dissertation.

This version will then be submitted to the dissertation committee for their final review. The committee will have four weeks to review the dissertation and provide their final comments to the candidate prior to the defense.

C. Continuous Registration

Before taking comprehensive exams, you must have fulfilled the two-semester full-time residence requirement. You must then register continuously for each fall and spring semester after passing the comprehensive exam and until the dissertation is accepted and approved by your committee. You can maintain registration by registering for APLNG 601.

D. Scheduling of the Oral Defense

A date for the oral defense may not be scheduled until at least three months after you pass the comprehensive exam, although the Dean of the Graduate School may grant a waiver in appropriate cases. The oral examination of the dissertation must take place  ten weeks before the end of the semester in which you expect to graduate . You are reminded that a request for the oral examination must be submitted to the Dean of the Graduate School for approval  at least three weeks  prior to the date of the exam (see Section E).

E. The Final Oral Examination (“The Defense of the Dissertation”)

At least  three weeks prior to  the oral defense, you are responsible for informing  Graduate Program Staff  of the time, date, and location of the examination and, since an oral defense is open to the public, requesting that the information be announced on electronic listservs and posted on public announcement boards. At this point in time, you will have filed all required paperwork with the Graduate School.

The oral defense is administered and evaluated by the entire doctoral committee. It typically consists of a 10-minute presentation on your findings and a two-hour discussion period. You and at least three members of the committee (including the chair) must be physically present at the oral defense. No more than one member may participate via telephone; a second member can participate via PolyCom. A request for exceptions must be submitted to the Graduate School for approval  at least three weeks prior to  the date of the oral defense.

During the semester in which you take the oral examination, you must be registered as a full-time or part-time degree student.

Important : Oral defenses may only be scheduled during the academic year (August-May) and may not be scheduled during the summer term. The Department makes one exception to this rule. If you have a tenure-track job offer in hand (with a start date in the summer or fall), and you are planning to graduate in the summer term in advance of that job, you may schedule a summer defense. Please consult with your committee about your plans, and please consult the  Thesis Office Calendar  of the Graduate School to determine the latest dates by which you must have passed the defense and submitted the dissertation.

The final oral examination may be held fully in-person, fully remote, or hybrid with some individuals participating in-person while others participate remotely. Student preference for delivery mode should be strongly considered, but the student and adviser must agree on the mode. If the student and adviser cannot agree on the mode, the Graduate Program Head will make the final decision. Either the student or adviser can appeal the decision of the Graduate Program Head to the Associate Dean for Graduate Education.

F. Results of the Exam

A favorable vote by at least two-thirds of the committee is required to pass the defense of the dissertation. If you fail the exam on the first attempt, you may repeat it once. If you fail the exam a second time, you will be terminated from the program.

G. Doctoral Dissertation Submission

After passing the final oral examination, you should revise your dissertation based on the comments from your committee and submit the final draft of your dissertation to the graduate school. Please consult the graduate school’s  Thesis and Dissertation Information page  for information on submission requirements. 

7. Timeline for Completing Degree

Students entering with a Bachelor’s degree:

To ensure timely progression to the completion of the PhD, and be eligible for funding in years 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 (assuming availability of resources), students are expected to:

• have no incompletes (DFs) and maintain a grade point average of 3.5 at the end of the 4th semester (year 2)
• pass the qualifying exam by the end of the 5th semester and complete coursework by the end of the 6th semester (year 3)
• pass the comprehensive exam by the end of the 7th semester and have a dissertation proposal approved by the end of the 8th semester (year 4)
• complete data collection by the end of the 10th semester (year 5)
• complete the program, including acceptance of the doctoral dissertation, within  six  years from the date of entering the program

Students entering with a Master’s degree:

To ensure timely progression to the completion of the PhD, and be eligible for funding in years 2, 3, 4 and 5 (assuming availability of resources), students are expected to:

• have no incompletes (DFs) and maintain a grade point average of 3.5 at the end of the 2nd semester (year 1)
• pass the qualifying exam by the end of the 3rd semester and complete coursework by the end of the 4th semester (year 2)
• pass the comprehensive exam by the end of the 5th semester and have a dissertation proposal approved by the end of the 6th semester (year 3)
• complete data collection by the end of the 8th semester (year 4)
• complete the program, including acceptance of the doctoral dissertation, within  five  years from the date of entering the program

Important notes for all students

• Students entering with a Bachelor’s degree who fail to have a dissertation proposal approved by the end of the eighth semester will be placed on academic probation in the ninth semester and will be terminated from the program if the proposal is not approved by the end of the ninth semester. Students entering with a Master’s degree who fail to have a dissertation proposal approved by the end of the sixth semester will be placed on academic probation in the seventh semester and will be terminated from the program if the proposal is not approved by the end of the seventh semester.
• If, as indicated in your approved dissertation proposal, your data collection exceeds a one year period, you will be required to establish to your committee that you have made expected progress (as outlined in your dissertation proposal) by the end of the 8th (for students entering with a Master’s degree) or 10th (for students entering with a Bachelor’s degree) semester to be eligible for funding in the next year.
• Students entering with a Bachelor’s degree who are unable to complete the program within six years from the date of entering the program and students entering with a Master’s degree who are unable to complete the program within five years from the date of entering the program will be required to submit the methodology chapter and at least one data analysis chapter to the committee for approval by April 15 of that year in order to continue in the program. Extenuating circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
• Students entering with a Bachelor’s degree who are unable to complete the program within seven years from the date of entering the program and students entering with a Master’s degree who are unable to complete the program within six years from the date of entering the program will be terminated from the program. Extenuating circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

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PhD in Linguistics

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Aims of the PhD

Human language is a multifaceted phenomenon. It is simultaneously a property of individual minds and of whole speech communities, and thus both internal and external to us. It both shapes and is shaped by our societies over time. It is a combination of sound (or sign), which has physical properties that can be measured, and meaning, which does not. Accordingly, becoming a linguistic researcher involves mastering a variety of methods, both quantitative and qualitative. The PhD in Linguistics at BU aims to produce scholars who are versatile enough to be experts in both of these aspects of linguistic inquiry, yet skilled enough to do cutting-edge research in a particular subfield of the discipline. We offer a solid grounding in a range of research methods, including field methods, quantitative methods, and computational methods.

Learning Outcomes

Students graduating with a PhD in Linguistics will demonstrate:

• broad knowledge of the discipline
• deeper knowledge in a specialized area or subfield
• ability to carry out a significant piece of independent research (which implies knowledge of and ability to use research methodologies in order to complete the research)

Prerequisites

The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is not required to apply.

Entering students are expected to have completed introductory classes in: 

• phonetics/phonology (e.g., GRS LX 601)
• syntax (e.g., GRS LX 621)
• semantics/pragmatics (e.g., GRS LX 631)

Students who do not have sufficient background in linguistics must complete additional coursework to fulfill the above prerequisites prior to entry or during the first year. Note: if completed at BU, GRS LX 601, 621, and 631 will not count toward the PhD course requirements.

Admissions & Funding

The deadline for application to enter the program in Fall 2023 is January 6, 2023.  Information about the graduate admissions process ( including the application process and requirements ) is available at the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (GRS) website:

We anticipate being able to admit about five students per year. All admitted students will receive full coverage of tuition costs plus a fellowship for five years. For further information about funding, consult the GRS website above.

Requirements

Course requirements.

The PhD requires successful completion of 64 credits at the graduate level, including three core courses: 

• GRS LX 703 Phonological Analysis
• GRS LX 722 Intermediate Syntax
• GRS LX 732 Intermediate Semantics

Six additional courses from the four areas below, with two courses each in two of the areas, and one course each in the remaining two areas:

• advanced phonetics, phonology, or morphology (e.g., GRS LX 706)
• advanced syntax, semantics, or pragmatics (e.g., GRS LX 723, 736)
• linguistic research methodology
• language acquisition or socio-historical linguistics

A 4-credit graduate proseminar sequence (GRS LX 801 & 802) is typically taken in the second year.

Finally, six additional courses (including up to 8 credits of directed study) are taken in Linguistics or related fields that comprise a specialization , which will generally be in the area of the dissertation. These courses will be decided upon by the student in conjunction with their advisor, whose approval is required.

Language Requirement

The PhD requires demonstration of graduate-level reading proficiency in two foreign languages (one of which may be English, for non-native speakers) by the end of the third year of enrollment.

These proficiencies can be demonstrated through any of:

• a language examination
• successful completion of a non-credit graduate-level foreign language reading course offered at BU
• the equivalent of two years of undergraduate study of the language at BU (or successful completion of any higher-level language course taught in the language)

Graduate-level foreign language reading courses offered at BU include:

• GRS LF 621 Reading French for Graduate Students
• GRS LG 621 Reading German for Graduate Students
• GRS LI 621 Reading Italian for Graduate Students
• GRS LS 621 Reading Spanish for Graduate Students

Qualifying Examinations

To advance to candidacy, students must satisfactorily complete and defend two substantial research papers in different areas of the field (the first by the end of the fourth semester, the second by the end of the sixth semester of enrollment).

Each Qualifying Paper (QP) will be planned and carried out under the supervision of a Linguistics faculty member with expertise appropriate to the relevant project and, upon completion, will be defended orally and approved by an examining committee, composed of the first and second reader as well as a third faculty member determined by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) in consultation with the student.

A brief proposal for each QP must be submitted, with signed approval of a first and second reader (who have been approved by the DGS and who have agreed to advise the student on the proposed project), by October 15 of the academic year in which the project is to be completed. For the second QP, a topic approval form, in which the student explains how the second QP differs from their first QP, must also be submitted, in advance of the proposal approval form.

Dissertation and Final Oral Examination

PhD candidates will demonstrate their abilities for independent study in a dissertation representing original research or creative scholarship.

A prospectus for the dissertation must be completed and approved by the readers, the DGS, and the Department Chair.

Candidates must undergo a final oral examination in which they defend their dissertation as a valuable contribution to knowledge in their field and demonstrate a mastery of their field of specialization in relation to their dissertation.

All portions of the dissertation and final oral examination must be completed as outlined in the GRS general requirements for the PhD degree:

Director of Graduate Studies

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PhD Program

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The Department of Linguistics is pleased to announce that we are accepting admissions for the PhD program. The application deadline is December 15 for entry the following fall. For more information about the program and the application process, please see below and also the Frequently Asked Questions page. If you consider applying to our program, or have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Alan Juffs, [email protected] .

We only accept PhD students with specialization in areas in which the core faculty have expertise. These areas include phonetics/phonology, second language acquisition, sociolinguistics, Hispanic linguistics, and Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Students can receive training in statistical modeling and data science. 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 samples of their best written work in linguistics in support of their application. Without such supporting evidence, admission is very unlikely. For more information on the application process and requirements, please refer to the application process .

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 30 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.

View course descriptions at the University's Graduate Catalog.

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.

Knowledge of other languages

No foreign language prerequisite is needed to apply to the graduate program. However, by end of the PhD program, students should have knowledge of other languages as described in the Department's Graduate Student Handbook.

Preliminary Screening Exam

The preliminary screening exam normally consists of three edited term papers submitted at the end of the third semester of study.

Comprehensive Examinations

The comprehensive examination consists of two publishable papers approximately 10,000 words in length.

Dissertation

When 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, 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 topics and can be found in the Graduate Student Handbook:

• Comprehensive papers
• Dissertation proposal
• More information on PhD requirements

Photo above:  PhD graduate, Dr. Matthew John Hadodo conducted ethnographic fieldwork on the Istanbul Greek community in the summer of 2016. Here is a former Greek boys' grammar school that has since been converted into a Turkish film academy. Located in the Asian side of Istanbul (Üsküdar, formerly Σκούταρι Skutari), the Neoclassical building with Doric columns also boasts a Turkish flag covering the Greek writing and the traditional Nazar or Evil Eye commonplace in the Mediterranean.

Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership (TLPL)

Applied linguistics and language education, ph.d..

Faculty research interests in the Applied Linguistics area of focus include classroom discourse, conversational analysis, dual language learner education, language and literacy teacher development, language assessment policy, language contact and multilingualism, language diversity, language in school contexts, language planning and policy, multilingualism, peer interaction, second language teaching, sociocultural approaches to second language acquisition, teacher collaboration, codeswitching, and translanguaging. The doctoral program is primarily focused on language education in pre-kindergarten through high school settings in the US.

The program provides competitive financial support packages for all admitted students.

Applied Linguistics and Language Education (ALLE) faculty and doctoral students run an important center on campus, called the Multilingual Research Center (MRC). The MRC is committed to promoting research and outreach related to multilingualism, multilingual communities, and the education of multilingual populations.  It aims to increase the quality and number of TESOL, World Language, and dual language programs and teachers in Maryland, the nation, and the world through outreach; to sponsor and conduct research which illuminates our understanding of multilingualism and multilingual communities; and to disseminate research results to teachers, school systems, and national and international research communities.  The MRC uses its financial resources to support faculty and student research, sponsor prominent outside speakers and visitors, and provide faculty and doctoral students with generous support to attend national and international conferences. Learn more about the MRC .

The University of Maryland is the state's flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation, the university is home to more than 37,000 students, 9,000 faculty and staff, and 250 academic programs. Its faculty includes three Nobel laureates, two Pulitzer Prize winners, and 49 members of the national academies.  It is a member of the Association of American Universities and competes athletically as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The College of Education at the University of Maryland is consistently ranked as one of the country’s leading education schools by US News . TLPL’s Division of Language, Literacy, and Social Inquiry is home to the Multilingual Research Center, which seeks to create an infrastructure for practice and research in the broader community.

UMD is the nation’s premier institution for language-related research.  It is home to over 200 language scientists in 17 different departments and centers. The campus-wide Maryland Language Science Center coordinates and creates opportunities for collaborations across disciplines and perspectives, and sponsors a wide range of talks, mini-conferences, and workshops.  Students in the LLSI program are encouraged to take full advantage of program flexibility to draw on the university’s wide range of intellectual resources in this area.

Primary Program Faculty

Shenika Hankerson (PhD, Michigan State University): African American Language; race, equity, language, and literacy; second language writing; language policies and language rights; critical discourse studies. Email [email protected] . 

Jeff MacSwan (PhD, UCLA): Bilingualism; codeswitching; applied linguistics; the role of language in schooling; language assessment policy. Email [email protected] . 

Laura Mahalingappa (PhD, The University of Texas at Austin): Teacher preparation and development for marginalized students; linguistically responsive pedagogy; first and additional language acquisition; critical language pedagogies; language awareness for teachers and learners. Email [email protected] .

Melinda Martin-Beltrán (PhD, Stanford University): Sociocultural approaches to second language acquisition focusing on dual language learners (ESOL students); peer interaction; language exchange; and teacher learning to build upon students’ linguistic and cultural diversity. Email [email protected] . 

Nihat Polat (PhD, University of Texas at Austin): Applied linguistics; individual differences (e.g., motivation, identity) in additional language acquisition (e.g., writing, syntax) and pedagogy (e.g., SIOP); teacher education (e.g., cognition, dispositions); the education of minoritized multilingual learners (e.g., emergent bilinguals, Muslim students in the U.S.). Email [email protected] .

Megan Madigan Peercy (PhD, University of Utah): Pedagogies of teacher education; preparation and development of teachers throughout their careers and as they work with language learners; theory-practice relationship in language teacher education; teacher collaborative relationships and learning. Email [email protected] . 

Kellie Rolstad (PhD, UCLA): Language of schooling; language diversity; second language teaching; unschooling; democratic education. Email [email protected] .   

Participating Faculty

Peter Afflerbach (PhD, State University of New York at Albany): Reading comprehension strategies and processes, especially related to new literacies; the verbal reporting methodology; reading in Internet and hypertext environments; reading assessment.

Ayanna Baccus (PhD, University of Maryland): Reading and literacy instruction.

Perla Blejer (EdD, George Washington University): Second language acquisition; foreign language education methodology; language program administration in higher education; issues of equal opportunity for at-risk students and disadvantaged populations.

Drew Fagan (EdD, Teachers College, Columbia University): Influence of teacher talk on language learning opportunities in classroom discourse; conversation analysis and second/foreign language classroom interactions; factors affecting teachers; preparing mainstream teachers for working with English Language Learners.

Loren Jones (PhD, University of Miami): Literacy and language instruction to support culturally and linguistically diverse students; writing development of English learners (ELs); translanguaging to promote literacy development; teacher preparation for working with ELs across content areas. 

Sarah C. K. Moore (PhD, Arizona State University): Language policy; equity and access for minoritized language communities; educator professional development and preparation around language teaching and learning; online and virtual educator preparation.

John O'Flahavan (PhD, University of Illinois; Urbana-Champaign): PK-12 literacy teaching and learning; the discourses involved in teaching and learning in schools; comprehensive school-wide literacy programs; sustainable school improvement.

Olivia Saracho (PhD, University of Illinois; Urbana-Champaign): Emergent literacy; family literacy; cognitive style and play.

Ebony Terrell Shockley (PhD, University of Maryland, College Park): Teacher preparation for culturally and linguistically diverse learners,  primarily in STEM and literacy contexts; written language assessment bias for bidialectal and multilingual learners; preparing teachers for speakers of African American Language; Black English Learners and the achievement gap; English Learners in Special Education.

Wayne Slater (PhD, University of Minnesota): Persuasion in reading comprehension and written communication, with a focus on biased assimilation and stasis theory.

Jennifer Turner (PhD, Michigan State University): Culturally responsive approaches to elementary reading instruction; vision as a conceptual and practical tool for preparing reading teachers for diversity; literacy as an indicator of college and career readiness; diverse students’ multimodal representations of future professional identities and workplace literacies.

Peggy Wilson (PhD, University of Maryland): Secondary literacy, writing, and grammar.

Affiliated Program Faculty

Donna Christian (PhD, Georgetown University): Dual language education; bilingual education; dialects and education; heritage language education; language and public policy; second/foreign language learning; sociolinguistics. Dr. Christian is a Senior Research Fellow and past President/CEO of the Center for Applied Linguistics.

Elisa Gironzetti (PhD, Texas A&M University-Commerce; PhD, Universidad de Alicante): Applied linguistics; second language and heritage language pedagogy; instructional pragmatics; humor; multimodal discourse analysis. An assistant professor in the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, Dr. Gironzetti is director of the Spanish Language Program at UMD.

Francis M. Hult  (PhD, University of Pennsylvania; Docent, University of Jyväskylä): Discourse studies; educational linguistics; ethnography; language policy and planning; linguistic landscapes; multilingual education; nexus analysis; sociolinguistics; sustainability; and transdisciplinarity.  Dr. Hult is Professor of Education at UMBC.

Manel Lacorte (PhD, University of Edinburgh): Applied linguistics; second language and heritage language pedagogy, teacher education, classroom interaction and contexts; sociopolitical issues in second language and heritage language teaching and learning. 

Minglang Zhou (PhD, Michigan State University): Chinese as a second/global language; bilingualism and bilingual education; language identity; language contact; the relationship between language, ethnicity, and nation-state in China. Dr. Zhou is director of the Chinese Language Program and an associate professor in the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at UMD.

The PhD focus in Applied Linguistics and Language Education (ALLE) provides competitive funding packages for all admitted full-time students.  As a general rule, the program anticipates that all its students will devote themselves full time to graduate study, and will not have significant employment outside of the university for the duration of the program.  This permits the ALLE community to function as a community of practice in which students not only attend classes but are also socialized into a scholarly community.  While doctoral programs traditionally focus on a domain (the subject matter or body of knowledge), little attention is generally given to the creating of a community permitting routine interaction around the construction of professional practice. ALLE faculty believe that a successful program must substantially focus on building a strong sense of community among students, extending into the larger intellectual community of faculty within the home department and throughout the university, providing ample opportunity for participants to engage in their principal craft in spaces outside of traditional classrooms.  

These are some of the specific resources ALLE provides to its doctoral students to help build a community of practice:

A shared space .  All ALLE doctoral students are assigned a desk space with other area doctoral students.  This shared space gives students an opportunity to interact intellectually around course content, program expectations, and research collaborations.

The Multilingual Research Center .  ALLE is home to the Multilingual Research Center (MRC), which engages in research and outreach activities in support of linguistic diversity. The MRC provides research funding support, generous conference travel support for students and faculty, and hosts exciting speaker and brown bag events on campus.   Learn more about the  MRC .

The broader intellectual community. ALLE participates in the Maryland Language Science Center (MLSC), a campus-wide consortium of over 200 language scientists and scholars from numerous departments across campus.  The MLSC hosts events, conferences, talks, and research collaboration events throughout the year.  Learn more about the MLSC .

Student-faculty research collaboration . Students and faculty actively collaborate on a wide range of research projects.  Our goal is to involve every student hands-on in research activity, leading to research conference presentations and co-authored publications.  While these publications typically involve faculty participation, students sometimes collaborate with other students as well on collaborative research activity. Review a list of recent coauthored student-faculty publications .

Typical applicants to the Applied Linguistics and Language Education (ALLE) focus in Language Literacy have completed a prior master’s degree and will need to complete an additional 60 credits of coursework at the University of Maryland for the PhD. (In unusual cases, we may admit students who have not yet completed a master’s degree; in that case, an additional 30 credits are required.)Students complete six major components of coursework, as follows:

• TLPL794 Foundations of Educational Research I (3 credits).  An introduction to the “contested terrain” of education research. It examines major conceptual, methodological and political issues embedded in efforts to carry out education research and focuses on the development of the analytic dispositions and communication skills required to carry out research that meets the variously defined quality, utility and significance standards of scholarship in the field.
•   TLPL795 Foundations of Educational Research II (3 credits). Students engage in the process of conceptualizing and completing a rigorous review of a section of literature in their area of specialization.
• Students in the specialization in Applied Linguistics and Language Education (ALLE) are required to take at least one course in Literacy or Reading Education (3 credits)  as a Breadth Requirement .
• TLPL740 Language and Education (3 Credits). Dialect, language varieties in school settings; historical and current perspectives on the role of language in learning; theories of school achievement and consequences for language assessment.
• TLPL743 Teaching English Language Learners: Current and Future Research Directions (3 credits). Research on the preparation of generalists and specialists teaching English Language Learners. Current research and future research directions.
• TLPL744 Research Foundations of Second Language Education: Examining Linguistically Diverse Student Learning (3 credits). Critically examines theories of second language acquisition and research in applied linguistics relevant to linguistically diverse students and learners of English as an additional language. Analysis of research from linguistic, psycholinguistic, sociolinguistic and sociocultural perspectives, with an emphasis on the social contexts of second language learning and teaching. 
• TLPL788 Foundations of Applied Linguistics Research (3 credits). Explores the interdisciplinary field of Applied Linguistics, drawing upon a wide range of theoretical and methodological approaches. 
• Students choose four Research Methods courses (12 credits).  Courses may be selected from a wide range of options in qualitative and quantitative research methods and may include TLPL793 Discourse Analysis .
• In consultation with the advisor, students choose six courses (18 credits) as Electives .  The elective provision gives students access to the full range of relevant graduate courses throughout the university.
• While working on the dissertation, students will enroll in 12 credits of Dissertation Research .

The Comprehensive Exam .  Students write a comprehensive exam after the fourth or fifth semester of their program, often in the intervening summer.  The comprehensive exam provides an opportunity for students to review a body of literature relevant to their developing dissertation project interest. The comprehensive exam is evaluated according to a rubric by at least two program faculty.  View Comprehensive Exam Rubric .

The Dissertation Proposal . Typically done the third year, students work closely with an advisor to develop a detailed research plan for the dissertation, called a Dissertation Proposal. The proposal presents a rationale for the study, prior relevant research, and details about the research plan, and generally builds on the work completed for the Comprehensive Exam.  A dissertation committee meets with the student for a Proposal Defense before moving on to the dissertation research.

The Dissertation .  Students produce a final dissertation based on the research plan developed in the Dissertation Proposal.  The results of the study are presented at a Dissertation Final Defense with the student’s dissertation committee.  Family members and other members of the public are welcome to attend

Typical Course Sequence

By design, students will complete the program in four years.  A typical course sequence is shown in the table below.

For more information about the program, contact any of the primary program faculty .  We welcome campus visits for students considering applying to the program and routinely hold information events where students can learn more in person about the program.

For information about applying, contact Kay Moon, TLPL Graduate Coordinator, at (301) 405-3118 or [email protected] .

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Department of Linguistics

Ph.d. program.

The main components of the Linguistics Ph.D. program are as follows:

• Course Requirements
• Language Requirement
• Generals Papers
• Dissertation
• Extra Funding Availability

All requirements, including two generals papers, should ideally be completed by the end of the third year, but in no case later than the end of the fourth. The dissertation prospectus is due on October 15 of the fall term of the fourth year. Failure to meet program requirements in a timely fashion may result in termination of candidacy. 

First-year students are advised by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) until they select a major field from the regular departmental faculty. Thereafter, progress toward completion of the Ph.D. requirements continues to be monitored by the DGS, but primary responsibility for overseeing study shifts to the major advisor. Students are free to change their major advisor at any time. By the end of the second year they should also select a co-advisor, who serves as a secondary advisor and faculty mentor.

Harvard Linguistics Graduate Student Handbook

Progress to the Degree (updated 7/1/2015)

A B+ average must be maintained in each year of graduate study. Grades below B- cannot be counted toward departmental requirements; two grades below B- in required courses will result in termination of candidacy. Ordinarily, a grade of Incomplete can only be converted into a letter grade if the work is made up before the end of the following term. No grade of Incomplete can be used to satisfy a departmental requirement.   No two programs of study are alike, but students should typically plan to complete the requirements for the degree according to the timetable below. Departures from this schedule must be approved by the main advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.   Years G1 and G2: Course requirements are satisfied. By the end of the G2 year, the first generals paper should be well underway.   Year G3: Teaching duties begin. The first generals paper should be defended before the end of the fall term, and the second generals paper by the end of the spring term.   Year G4: Teaching duties continue. A thesis prospectus, naming a dissertation committee, is due on October 15 of the fall term; the committee must be chaired or co-chaired by a member of the Department of Linguistics and must include at least two members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Dissertation Completion Fellowship applications are due at midyear.   Year G5: The thesis is completed and defended in the spring.

A.M. Degree  (updated 7/1/2015)

Graduate students who have completed two years of residence, who have fulfilled all the course requirements and language requirements for the Ph.D., and who have successfully defended one Generals paper, are eligible to petition for a Master’s (A.M.) degree.  

Note that there is no master’s program in Linguistics.                     

• Courses 2023-24 AND Fall 2024
• Undergraduate
• Generals Papers (updated 7/1/2015)
• Extra Funding
• Secondary Fields
• Recent Dissertation Titles
• Financial Aid

Course Descriptions

Full course descriptions, fall 2024 courses are subject to change, fall 2024 courses, fall 2024 course schedule, fall 2024 asl course schedule, spring 2024 courses, spring 2024 course schedule, fall 2023 courses, fall 2023 course schedule, american sign language (asl) at harvard.

Graduate Programs

Our graduate programs provide a unique environment where linguistic theory, multiple methodologies, and computational research not only coexist, but interact in a highly synergistic fashion.  

Our focus is on the Ph.D. degree.  The department occasionally admits students already enrolled at Stanford for the M.A. degree. Ph.D. students in other departments at Stanford may also apply for the Ph.D. Minor. 

Doctoral Program

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

Ph.D. Minor

Our Ph.D. Minor allows Ph.D. students in other Stanford departments to develop a solid grounding in linguistics that can complement and enhance their studies and research in their home department.

M.A. for Stanford Graduate Students

We offer an MA degree for Stanford graduate students which develops students' knowledge of linguistics, preparing them for a professional career or doctoral study in linguistics or related disciplines.

Coterminal M.A. Program

Our Coterminal M.A. Program develops students' knowledge of linguistics, preparing them for a professional career or doctoral study in linguistics or related disciplines.

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Educational linguistics, doctor of philosophy (ph.d.), you are here, a pioneering doctoral program with an enduring legacy of research in applied linguistics, language learning, and teaching..

The Educational Linguistics Ph.D. program focuses on language learning and teaching as well as the role of language in education. Our questions and concerns are situated squarely in educational policy and practice, informing and informed by interdisciplinary theory and research in linguistics, anthropology, psychology, sociology, history, and other fields.

What Sets Us Apart

About the program.

Our program promotes the view that language must be examined within the cultural contexts and social situations in which it occurs.

3–4 courses per semester (fall/spring semesters only)

Transfer courses 8 (electives only)

Duration of program 5–7 years

Culminating experience Candidacy examination, and dissertation

Our faculty and students are involved in generating research on language and learning in areas such as:

• Linguistic, cognitive, and sociocultural aspects of (additional) language development
• Local and global perspectives on world language teaching policy and practice in K-12 and higher education
• The intersections of disability, language, school–parent partnerships, and education policy
• The historical and contemporary manifestation of raciolinguistic ideologies that frame the language practices of racialized communities
• How multilingual speakers use milimodal communication practices – such as gestures, laughter, actions, and learning materials – to resolve miscommunication
• How language, social interaction, institutions, and the Internet influence what students learn in schools
• The role of lanugage in all forms of learning

Our curriculum is designed to provide a solid foundation in linguistics and research methodology. Students customize their education by working with their advisor to choose electives from a wide range of course offerings from across the Penn campus. Introductory courses in language pedagogy and sociolinguistics are strongly encouraged for students with no background in these areas. 

For course descriptions and requirements, visit the  Educational Linguistics Ph.D. program in the University Catalog .

For a full list of courses offered at GSE, visit  Penn’s University Course Catalog .

Sample courses

• Linguistics in Education                                                                              
• Sociolinguistics in Education                                                                      
• Language Diversity and Education                                                             
• Second Language Development    
• Genealogies of Race and Language in Educational Research 
• Issues in Second Language Acquisition                                        
• Phonology I
• Citizen Sociolinguistics
• Classroom Discourse and Interaction
• Approaches to Teaching English and Other Modern Languages
• Anthropology & Education
• Theories of Reading
• Language in Culture & Society

Our Faculty

"I got to work with inspiring scholars doing cutting-edge work. I saw firsthand the process of writing, submitting, and publishing a journal article. I had so many experiences that shaped me as a scholar and that I continue to draw on in my research and academic writing."

Our Graduates

The Educational Linguistics Ph.D. program prepares candidates for teaching and research careers in colleges and universities worldwide, as well as careers in government, community, and private organizations.

Alumni Careers

• Associate Professor, Columbia Teachers College
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• Associate Professor, Malmö University
• Associate Professor, University of Iowa
• Associate Professor and Chair, Adelphi University
• Director of Educational Programming and Research, Center for Cultural, Art, Training and Education (CCATE)
• Senior International Baccalaureate World Schools Manager
• Assistant Professor of TESOL and Applied Linguistics in the English Department, Illinois State University
• Research and Evaluation Supervisor, William Penn School District
• Lecturer in Language Studies, Brown University
• Founder/CEO, Brilliant Bilingual
• Associate Professor of Language Education and Urban Social Justice Learning & Teaching, Rutgers University
• Associate Professor of Teaching and Learning, The Ohio State University
• Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Linguistics, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne
• Assistant Professor of International Students, College of Charleston
• Assistant Professor of Linguistics, University of Louisville
• Assistant Professor, Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Education, University of Colorado, Denver
• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow

Admissions & Financial Aid

Please visit our Admissions and Financial Aid pages for specific information on the application requirements , as well as information on tuition, fees, financial aid, scholarships, and fellowships.

Contact us if you have any questions about the program.

Graduate School of Education University of Pennsylvania 3700 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19104 (215) 898-6415 [email protected] [email protected]

Erica Poinsett Program Assistant [email protected]

Please view information from our Admissions and Financial Aid Office for specific information on the cost of this program.

All Ph.D. students are guaranteed a full scholarship for their first four years of study, as well as a stipend and student health insurance. Penn GSE is committed to making your graduate education affordable, and we offer generous scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships.

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Working Papers in Educational Linguistics

Working Papers in Educational Linguistics  is a student-managed journal focused on the many areas of research within educational linguistics.

You May Be Interested In

Related programs.

• Educational Linguistics Ed.D.
• Intercultural Communication M.S.Ed.
• Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) M.S.Ed.

Related Topics

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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/exams-committees 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 exam scheduling form ).
• 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/exams-committees . 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 exam scheduling form ).
• 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 .

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PhD in Applied Linguistics

The PhD program in Applied Linguistics prepares students to teach and conduct original research in the US and abroad. Students specialize in areas of applied linguistics, including teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), second language writing, language policy, sociolinguistics, corpus/computational linguistics, critical discourse analysis, second language acquisition, multimodal communication, and more. Past students have found positions in institutions of higher education, the US State Department and other governmental agencies, and in consulting in the multicultural workplace.

Students take courses in both TESOL and Applied Linguistics. Many courses are offered both online and in person. Students may also choose to pursue opportunities to teach abroad in the Czech Republic. 

Students are active researchers. Students have recently presented research at Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) International, American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL), Sociolinguistics Symposium, Second Language Research Forum, Tennessee TESOL, Southeast TESOL, and other regional, national and international conferences.  

For more information about the PhD in Applied Linguistics program requirements, visit the Graduate Catalog.

Structure of the PhD Program

When you begin the program, you will be assigned an advisor that will help you select courses and (if relevant) help you transfer in credits from your prior graduate studies. Students with a prior MA in Applied Linguistics, TESOL, or similar generally spend three semesters fulltime in coursework. 

As you are completing your coursework, you will form a committee for the comprehensive exams and to write your research prospectus (the proposal for your dissertation research study). You can learn more about the PhD Comprehensive Exams and the PhD Prospectus expectations. 

After you have defended your prospectus, the final stage of the program is researching, writing, and defending your dissertation. 

Graduate Assistantships

There are limited opportunities for graduate assistantships. Assistantships can include teaching in the Department of English, assisting in research, or other opportunities. Students interested in a graduate assistantship can indicate that in their application to the PhD program. You can learn more about how to apply to the PhD program here and can learn more about assistantships here . 

Applied Linguistics Coordinator: Dr. Rebecca Adams 901.678.4892 [email protected]

Ready to apply?

Current PhD Students

Alaa Alamri B.A. in Applied Linguistics, University of Memphis M.A. in Applied Linguistics, University of Memphis Dissertation Title: Family Language Policy of Transnational Returnees: The Case of Arab Families Re-adapting to Mainstream Arab Society

My research interests include Family language policy (FLP), Bilingualism, and translanguaging. Apart from research, I am a teaching assistant in the English department at the University of Memphis, where I teach ENGL 1010 and ENGL1020. My inspiration to become a writing instructor stems in part from my summer 2018 teaching experience at the University of West Bohemia in the Czech Republic.

Hind Saeed Alghamdi B.A. in English Language and Literature, Albaha University  M.A. in TESOL/TEFL, Southern New Hampshire University  Dissertation Title: What Meaning That Western Tourists Make of Saudi Arabia: Youtube Videos' Positioning Analysis of Place-Identity in the Context of Change 

My research interest lies at the intersection of language, discourse analysis, place-identity, identity studies. I am particularly interested in exploring how language is used to construct and negotiate meanings and identities in different social and cultural contexts. My current research project explores the ways in which language contributes to the construction of place identity, particularly in the context of tourism in YouTube videos. I am a lecturer in English Department at  Albaha University since 2016. 

Bakheet Almatrafi B.A. in English Language, Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia M.A. in TESOL, Indiana University of Pennsylvania  Dissertation Title: The Effectiveness of Translanguaging Written Corrective Feedback in English for Specific Purposes

My research interests include second language acquisition, academic writing, discourse analysis, translanguaging and World Englishes. My current work explores the efficacy of translanguaging practices in the provision of written corrective feedback in academic writing. I have been a language instructor at Umm Al-Qura University since 2016, and currently working as a writing consultant at the CWC at the University of Memphis.

Ahmed Alshammari B.A. in English Language, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia M.A. in TESOL, Southeast Missouri State University Dissertation Title: Investigating The Needs of Medical College Students at The English Language Center in Saudi Arabia

My research interests include second language acquisition, Needs Analysis, English for Specific Purposes ESP, Task-Based Language teaching TBLT, Computer Assisted Language Learning CALL, and Academic Writing. My current work focuses on the needs of first-year medical college students in Saudi Arabia. I have been an active member of the TESOL International Association since 2016 and participated as a volunteer, presenter, and reviewer for several years. I have been a language instructor at Umm Al-Qura University since 2018, and currently working as a writing consultant at the Center for Writing and Communication CWC at the University of Memphis.

Mughram Alshehri B.A. in Arabic Language and Literature, King Khalid University, KSA M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language, Carson Newman University, USA Dissertation Title: Students, Teachers, and Policymakers' Perceptions Towards Teaching Saudi Dialect in L2 Arabic Classroom

I am a lecturer at King Saud University, and I have taught Arabic as a second language for more than five years. My research interests include second language acquisition, second language teaching methodologies, Arabic diglossia, and language teaching and learning.

Majed Alsulami B.A. in Arabic Language Studies, King Abdulaziz University, KSA M.A. in Arabic Rhetoric, Imam University, KSA & M.A. in TESL, Carson-Newman University, USA Dissertation Title: Exploring Arabic as a Second Language (ASL) Learners’ Imagined Communities, Communities of Practice, and Investment in Learning ASL in Saudi Arabia

My research interests include L2 identities, Bilingualism, and ASL teaching and learning. I am a lecturer at King Abdulaziz University since (2014), and I have taught Arabic as a second language to international students from different places and backgrounds.

Elliott Burgess BBA/MBA in Marketing, Freed-Hardman University M.A. in Applied Linguistics, University of Memphis Dissertation Title: Language Center Design: Community and Belonging for Refugees and Immigrants During COVID-19

I am interested in exploring how space and place impacts the social and cultural aspects of English language learners. I've taught first year writing at The University of Memphis and Freed-Hardeman University and ESOL in Memphis and the Czech Republic. 

A. Egemen Curuk B.A. in English Language Teaching, Trakya University – Turkey M.A. in Applied Linguistics, University of Groningen – Netherlands Dissertation Title: Implementation of Direct Corpus Applications to L2 Collaborative Writing Pedagogy: The Impact on Learner Interaction, Written Output and Development

I am deeply interested in the field of computer assisted language learning (CALL) with a particular focus in the implementation of corpora and other Large Language Models (LLMs) in language classrooms. As an avid believer of the power of learner interaction, I am working on my dissertation that aims to analyze how corpora affects writing development and learner interaction focusing on Language Related Episodes and genre awareness. Additionally, I am also quite involved with interdisciplinary research within Natural Language Processing (NLP) concentrating on context-sensitive sentiment analysis.

Nabaz Kareem B.A. in English Language and English Literature, University of Slemani, Kurdistan of Iraq M.A. in TESOL, Valparaiso University, USA Dissertation Title: The Effectiveness of Pedagogical Translanguaging to Develop Academic Writing in Comparison to Monolingual Instruction in an EFL Context

My area of interest is SLA focusing on EFL/ESL learning and teaching. My research investigates the effectiveness of pedagogical translanguaging in comparison to monolingual instruction in an EFL context concentrates on developing academic writing skills of EFL learners in Kurdistan of Iraq. In this study, I focus on applying translanguaging as a pedagogy via individual and collaborative writing and investigate its impact in comparison to monolingual instruction.

Iratishe Madaki B.A. in English, Taraba State University, Nigeria M.A. in Applied Linguistics, University of Memphis Dissertation Title: Role of Translanguaging among Multilingual Learners at the University Level in Nigeria and the Implications for Teaching and Learning in Multilingual Classrooms

My Research Areas of Interest are in Translanguaging and Multilingual Education, Language Policy, Speech Perception and Second Language Acquisition. I taught English language in Nigeria and received the Fulbright Scholarship to teach Hausa Language in the United States at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. 

Amber Worrick B.A. in International Relations, University of Iowa M.A. in Applied Linguistics, Northeastern Illinois University Dissertation Title: English as a global language: The impact of self-perception on motivation in an English for a Business Purpose Context

My  research interests include language learning motivation and identity in a multilingual setting.  I am  specifically interested in how perception of the self and the learning environment position learners to act on intended effort in a English for Business Purpose setting. Apart from research,  I have  taught and/or designed language and linguistics courses at Universidad de Chile, Universidad SEK, Tennessee State University, and Colorado Mountain College.  I am  currently an instructional designer for Movora in Veterinary Orthopedics . 

Heri Yusup B.A. in English, Padjadjaran University, Indonesia M.A. in Applied Linguistics, University of Birmingham, UK  Dissertation Title: Brain Drain in the Context of Indonesia: Metaphor Use in Indonesian Scholars' Talk about Migration and Mobility 

I am an assistant professor in the English Department at Universitas Islam 45 in Indonesia, where I have worked for nearly twenty years. I am currently the technical editor for the undergraduate research journal at the University of Memphis. My area of research interest is cognitive linguistics and corpus linguistics. In my dissertation, I will examine the conceptual metaphors that Indonesian scholars use when talking about their migration and mobility choices, decisions, and experiences using corpus-assisted discourse analysis, to better understand the perspective of Indonesians on the notion of brain drain.

Alumni are invited to update professional information by contacting Dr. Rebecca Adams ( [email protected] )

• Class of 2023
• Dissertation: Saudi Parents' Attitudes and Ideologies Towards the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language to First Grade Students
• Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of English, Qassium University
• Dissertation: Family Language Policy: Perceptions and Attitudes Toward African American Language
• Current Position: Academic Counselor, University of Memphis
• Dissertation: Spanish for Emergency Room Nursing: A Task-Based Needs Analysis for a LSP Context
• Current Position: Assistant Professor of Teaching, University of Memphis
• Dissertation: The Effects of Classroom Type on Interaction Processes, Vocabulary Development, and Motivation
• Dissertation: Persian ITAs and Speech Comprehensibility: Using CAPT for Pronunciation Improvement
• Class of 2022
• Dissertation: No to language-based discrimination: The effect of multimedia, perspective taking, and ITAs’ exposure on native speakers’ attitude toward L1-accented speakers. 
• Current Position: Assistant Professor, Christian Brothers University
• Dissertation: Language Policy and Indigenous Language in the Linguistic Landscape of Asunción, Paraguay
• Current Position: Assistant Professor, Freed-Hardeman University 
• Class of 2021
• Dissertation: Complexity, Accuracy, Fluency, and Reformulation in Pair and Individual Writing, and Revision: A Study in an EFL Context. 
• Current Position: Career-track lecturer in the Writing Program, the Department of English, University of Arizona
• Dissertation: Multi-modal Narrative Practices in Adult ESL: Fostering Investment in Language Learning and Negotiating Racism, Linguicism, & Identity. 
• Current Position: Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
• Dissertation: L1 Use in Corrective Feedback Interactions and Learner Uptake in Foreign Language Learning. 
• Class of 2020
• Dissertation: Collaborative writing in an online synchronous mode: Comparing L2 learners’ interactions, texts, and experiences working in pairs and groups . 
• Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Secondary Education; Head, International Mobility Unit - International Affairs Office, Central Luzon State University, The Philippines
• Dissertation: Gender representation in American made English language learning textbooks: A  multi-modal study.
• Current Position: Multilingual Multimodal Test Development Manager, Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, DC., USA
• Dissertation: How Preschool Teachers Use Book Sharing Strategies to Build Academic Language Skills. 
• Current Position: Assistant Professor of Teaching/Senior Experience Coordinator, College of Professional and Liberal Studies, University of Memphis
• Class of 2018
• Dissertation: Place, Identity, and Language Learning: The Transformative Role of Place-Based Language Learning.
• Current Position: Dean of Graduate School, Associate Vice President for International Initiatives, Christian Brothers University, Memphis, TN
• Dissertation: Teachers’ Practices and First-year Students’ Perspectives on Peer Review in Academic Writing Classes. 
• Current Position: Assistant Professor TESOL and Applied Linguistics, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, MS
• Dissertation: The Effect of Educational Background on Second Language Reading
• Current Position: Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, Jouf University, Saudi Arabia 
• Class of 2017
• Dissertation: Exploring Linguistic Barriers to Help-Seeking Behaviors: The Lived Experiences of Chinese Undergraduate Students.
• Current Position: Director of International Programs at Rhodes College
• Class of 2016
• Dissertation: Wiki-based Collaborative Writing Tasks in ESL Context.
• Current Position: Assistant professor of Applied Linguistics at Qassim University, Saudi Arabia. Assistant to Vice President for  Graduate Studies and Scientific Research for scholarship affairs
• Class of 2015
• Dissertation: Writing to Understand our Lives and Languages: A Case Study of an Immigrant Women’s Writing Group. 
• Current Position: Education Program Specialist at U.S. Department of Education
• Class of 2015 
• Dissertation: T eacher Development for Content-Based Curricula and Material Design: A Study of Senegalese EFL Instructors' Attitudes towards ESP.
• Current Position: Assistant Professor, Universite Amadou Mahtar Mbow de Dakar, Senegal
• Dissertation: Situating the Self: Identity and Power Relationships in a Pakistani ESL Classroom.
• Current Position: Professor, Foundation University, Islamabad
• Class of 2014
• Dissertation: Receptive and Productive Mastery of Recurrent Academic Word Combinations by First (L1) and Second (L2) English Speakers.
• Current Position: Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
• Class of 2012
• Dissertation: Attitudes & Acculturation: A Qualitative Case Study of EFL Teachers in Saudi Arabia.
• Current Position: Regional English Language Officer, Office of English Language Programs, U.S. Department of State
• Class of 2004
• Dissertation: A Study of Inter-level Visual Design Elements in English Language Teaching (ELT) Texts.
• Current Position: Head of English Department, University of West Bohemia, Czech Republic. Past President of the International Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages professional Organization

APPLE Lecture 2024

Teachers College, Columbia University 316 Zankel

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Email: tesolalofc@tc.edu

University of South Florida

Department of World Languages

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News & events, m.a. in spanish graduate students present at the kentucky foreign language conference.

• April 19, 2024
• Student Achievements

M.A. in Spanish graduate students: Alejandra Cancel Hernández, Andrea Magallanes Baeza, Michael Borntreger, Alex Burbano & Darby Estes with their professor, Dr. Scharm.

Five of our MA in Spanish graduate students presented their work at KFLC (Kentucky Foreign Language Conference) in Lexington, KY last week. The panelists presented each on posthuman thought and ecocriticism in contemporary Spanish fiction.

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Department of World Languages students, alumni, and faculty can submit news of accomplishments and events for our News section. We welcome announcements of publications, works presented, jobs procured, awards garnered, scholarships awarded, graduate school placements, and upcoming events.