The Department of Linguistics offers programs leading to the Master of Arts and the Doctor of Philosophy degrees which emphasize theoretical and experimental linguistics. An M.A. option in the linguistics of Native American Languages (NAMA) is also available, as well as an M.S. in Human Language Technology (HLT). In... Show Full Description

The Department of Linguistics offers programs leading to the Master of Arts and the Doctor of Philosophy degrees which emphasize theoretical and experimental linguistics. An M.A. option in the linguistics of Native American Languages (NAMA) is also available, as well as an M.S. in Human Language Technology (HLT). In addition, the department, together with the Department of Anthropology, offers a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Anthropology and Linguistics (ANLI) http://grad.arizona.edu/prog_desc/anli.php, and participates in the Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT).

For the doctorate, specializations are available in such areas as: syntax, phonology, phonetics, semantics, morphology, Native American linguistics, Celtic linguistics, English linguistics, Persian linguistics, East Asian Linguistics, cognitive science, computational linguistics, language acquisition and development, and language processing. Additional specializations are possible in consultation with Advisor approval.

Master of Arts option in Native American Linguistics: This program is designed to train members of Native American Communities to do descriptive research on their languages, and to prepare for careers teaching these languages and related fields. NOTE: for the M.A. option in Native American Linguistics, the GRE exam is recommended but not required. This program does not automatically lead into the Ph.D. program. A total of 26 units of course work is required along with a 6 unit thesis. Courses include LING 500, 597a, 545a, 545b, LRC 510, and electives. Some course work is taken during the summer months at the American Indian Languages Development Institute (AILDI).

The new Master of Science in Human Language Technology (HLT) is designed specifically to prepare students to enter competitive, scientific workforces. During the two-year course of study, students will gain a strong understanding of both linguistics and language technology. This knowledge will equip them with flexible skills in language technology, such as the ability to build and refine search engines or to work on machine translation and speech recognition software. Students will be required to complete an HLT internship under the direction of one of the program's industry affiliates and write a Master's thesis including an actual working implementation.

All students in the Linguistics and joint Anthropology/Linguistics programs, regardless of their specialization and degree objective, are expected to complete the following courses: 503 (Syntax), 510 (Phonology), and five courses out of the following six areas (one of each group with one group not related): Computational, Foundation, Phonology/Phonetics, Psycholinguistics, Syntax/Semantics, or Typology/Morphology. These courses cover the foundations and major current developments in theoretical and experimental linguistics.

Master of Arts in Linguistics: Students normally receive their M.A. in the second year as they proceed towards the Ph.D. program in Linguistics. Students interested in this program should apply directly to the Doctoral Program. A total of 30 units of course work is required, including all of the courses listed above.

Doctor of Philosophy: In addition to the courses listed above, students must complete 697a, two seminars, and a dissertation. Additional courses and seminars are required depending on the student's area of specialization and minor field. A minor taken within the department consists of 9 units. Two written comprehensive examinations consist of the submission to the faculty of two research papers in the scope of a journal article, normally at the end of the fourth and fifth semesters. An oral comprehensive examination is required within five academic weeks of the successful completion of the second written prelim (research) paper. A dissertation proposal must then be approved by the student's dissertation committee within a subsequent 4 months. Students enrolled in the joint program in Anthropology and Linguistics have additional course requirements in the Anthropology Department.

Further information about the graduate program is provided in the Handbook of Policy for the Graduate Program in Linguistics, which is available upon request from the department and accessible through the department's home page.