M.A. Course Requirements for Ph.D. Students
M.A. Course Requirements for Ph.D. Student
Thirty-three hours of graduate work consisting of:
Required Courses
LING 794 Proseminar
LING 705 Phonetics I
LING 712 Phonology I
LING 725 Syntax I
One of the following acquisition courses:
LING 709 First Language Acquisition I
LING 715 Second Language Acquisition I
One of the following processing courses:
LING 735 Psycholinguistics I
LING 738 Neurolinguistics I
One of the following research methods courses:
LING 720 Research Methods in Linguistics
LING 741 Field Methods in Linguistic Description
LING 782 Research Methods in Child Language
Two Electives (2 courses - 6 credit hours) to be determined by the student and the student’s advisor. One elective course (3 credit hours) must be taken from the Advanced II-Level course list or Linguistics Seminar course list. Electives are NOT to include LING 850, LING 851, LING 852, or LING 998.
| Advanced II - Level Courses | Linguistics Seminar Courses |
|---|---|
| LING 707 Phonetics II | LING 807 Seminar in Phonetics |
| LING 714 Phonology II | LING 814 Seminar in Phonology |
| LING 716 Second Language Acquisition II | LING 822 Seminar in First Language Acquisition |
| LING 726 Syntax II | LING 826 Seminar in Syntax |
| LING 727 Morphology | LING 831 Seminar in Semantics |
| LING 731 Semantics | LING 837 Seminar in Psycholinguistics |
| LING 737 Psycholinguistics | LING 842 Seminar in Neurolinguistics |
| LING 739 First Language Acquisition II | LING 860 Seminar in Second Language Acquisition |
| LING 742 Neurolinguistics II | LING 910 Linguistics Seminar: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
One Research Seminar Course (1 course – 3 credit hours)
One of the following Research Seminar courses to be determined by the student and the student’s advisor. The course will include preparation of a written Research Proposal and oral presentations.
LING 850 Topics in Research in Experimental Linguistics
LING 851 Research in Language Acquisition and Processing
LING 852 Research in Field and Formal Linguistics
M.A. Research Project course (1 course – 3 credit hours)
LING 899 Master’s Research Project
M.A. Research Project for Ph.D. Students
The M.A. Research Project should consist of a detailed Research Proposal and include pilot results and preliminary analyses. Students continuing on to the Ph.D. should be able to continue working on the project with the aim of submitting it as a qualifying paper for the Ph.D. program. The minimum length of the Research Project is 20 pages.
When the student is ready to begin writing the Research Project (typically during their third semester of coursework), the student in consultation with their faculty advisor should form a research project committee consisting of two additional members of the faculty. As soon as the committee is formed, the membership should be entered in to the student’s file for the department’s record and the Director of Graduate Studies should be informed. The Research Project committee will approve the project topic, supervise the project, and conduct the M.A. Research Project Oral Examination.
A student who has begun work on a Research Project ideally should take the Oral Examination no later than the semester in which the student is enrolled for their thirty-third hour of course work applicable to the M.A. in Linguistics. Students MUST be enrolled in LING 899 Master's Research Project in the semester (e.g., Spring) in which they defend their Research Project (and they must continue to be enrolled until they have completed their M.A. Research Project).
Three hours of Master’s Research Project credit (LING 899) may be applied toward the minimum of thirty-three hours for the degree. The student must be enrolled in LING 899 in the semester in which they defend their M.A. Research Project.
The Research Project must be defended successfully in an Oral Examination. The oral exam is scheduled when all three committee members have indicated in writing their approval or disapproval of the written Research Project for defense and at least two (including the faculty advisor) have approved scheduling the exam. At least 2 weeks before the exam date, the faculty advisor will request the department Graduate Program Coordinator to submit the pre-approval paperwork to the College Office of Graduate Affairs. At this time, the student must deposit a final formatted copy of the M.A. Research Project in the main office. If both the student and advisor agree, the M.A. Research Project Oral Examination will be open to the public.
Following the Oral Examination, the student's performance will be evaluated by the project committee and reported by a Progress-to-Degree form to the College Office of Graduate Affairs as the outcome of the M.A. Oral Examination.
The committee will evaluate the M.A. Research Project using the M.A. Research Project rubric (pdf). A student will pass if all components are rated Outstanding, Very Good, or Acceptable. A student will fail if any of the components are judged "Unacceptable". If a student fails, they are given two weeks to revise the Research Project. If any of the components are again judged "Unacceptable", the student will not receive an M.A. degree.
To determine whether the student can continue into the Ph.D. program, the committee will also evaluate the M.A. Research Project with the following grades: 0=fail, 1=pass but cannot continue to the Ph.D. program, 2=pass and can continue to the Ph.D. program.
Students must ensure completion of all graduation requirements before and following the Research Project exam. Please see the College Office of Graduate Affairs M.A. Degree Checklist.