General Information

Request Information

Admissions Information

Admissions Requirements

GPA Requirement

Prospective applicants must have a 3.0 or higher GPA in order to qualify for admission.

Statement of Intent

Applicants must submit a concise statement of intent demonstrating their academic goals, career goals, and why a graduate degree in linguistics would help him/her pursue these goals.

Writing Sample

Applicants must provide a writing sample to demonstrate their level and proficiency of writing.

Standardized Tests

The GRE is optional, not required for application to the PhD Program.

English Proficiency

English proficiency is one of the requirements for admission for all applicants whose native language is not English. Applicants must submit a minimum TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 550 on the paper-based test (PB), 79 on the internet-based test (iBT), or a IELTS (International English Language Testing System) composite score of 7 (no subject area below a score of 6). International students seeking graduate teaching assistantships must attain the minimum TOEFL or IELTS score listed above, and in addition must attain a score of 26 or higher on the speak portion of the TOEFL IBT.

Letters of Recommendation

Applicants must submit three letters of recommendation from letter writers who know the student’s work, specifically assessing student’s ability to carry out graduate work in linguistics. Applicants are encouraged to submit letters of recommendation from professors who are familiar with the applicant's recent academic work.

 

Standardized Tests

Required test(s):

• GRE
• TOEFL or IELTS if non-native English Speaker

 

Minimum TOEFL: Score of 550 on the paper-based test (PB) or 79 on the internet-based test (iBT)
Minimum IELTS: Composite score of 7 (no subject area below a score of 6)

 

Funding Opportunities

While we are not able to guarantee funding for all graduate students, the Department of Linguistics endeavors to fund all PhD students for four years, through a combination of fellowships, teaching positions, and research positions. Other sources of funding are available, and graduate students are expected to familiarize themselves early on with these opportunities. These include funding sources here at the University of Arizona (such as the Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Institute and the ConfluenCenter) and elsewhere (such as the National Science Foundation, The National Institutes of Health, The National Endowment for the Humanities, and other funding agencies).

 

Admissions Deadlines

Domestic Applicants:

• Fall: December 15

International Applicants:

• Fall: December 15

 

International Conditional Admission

International applicants will not be considered for conditional admission by this program.

Other Information

The GRE Institution Code for The University of Arizona is 4832

NRC Taxon(a) for this program: Linguistics

Completion Requirements

Minimum Credit Units

63 

Core Coursework Requirements

A.      Core Curriculum

Required of all students (without exception; courses taken outside the department or at other universities may not be substituted):

a.         Syntax I (LING503), Phonology I (LING510), taken in the first semester

b.         Five courses out of the following six areas (one out of each group, with one group not treated)[1].

[1] Underlying assumption:  students with TA/RA duties are expected to take, except by petition, three courses per semester until the end of the sixth semester.  Students without TA/RA duties may wish to take 4 courses.

Computational Group:

LING 508       Computational Techniques for Linguists

LING 538       Computational Linguistics

LING 539       Statistical NLP

LING 578       Speech Technology

Foundation Group:

LING 501       Foundation of Linguistic Theory

LING 507       Statistical Analysis for Linguists

LING 588       Linguistic Elicitation and Documentation

LING 518       Analysis and Argumentation

Phonology/Phonetics Group:

LING 514       Phonology II

LING 515       Phonological Phonetics

LING 516       History of Phonology

Psycholinguistics Group:

LING 532       Psychology of Language

LING 533       Theories of Language Development

LING 543       Advanced Language Development (syntax/lexicon)

Syntax/Semantics Group

LING 504       Advanced Syntactic Theory

LING 505       Theories of Grammar

LING 506       Major Works in Syntactic Theory

LING 564       Formal Semantics

LING 522       Lexical Semantics

Typology/Morphology Group:

LING 535       Morphology

LING 544       Typology and Universals

LING 545       Structure of Non-Western Language

LING 554       Structure of A Near-Eastern Language

Students who have completed any of the core courses at the undergraduate level in the linguistics department, and have counted that course as part of their BA degree in Linguistics, must retake that course at the graduate level when they enter the graduate program. If the course was not used for the BA degree in Linguistics, and was taken at the graduate level, the student may waive the relevant course in the graduate program, based on the course and advisor’s agreement. In that case, the course must be replaced by another core course.

 

B.      Colloquium

Two required colloquium courses, LING595A, are to be taken in the 1st and 2nd semesters, one unit each. These are important parts of graduate education. All other students are strongly encouraged to enroll in these courses.

 

C.      Seminars

A minimum of two seminars is required.  However, students are encouraged to attend all seminars that meet their curricular goals throughout their graduate career, and should consult with their advisor on the number and type of additional seminars to consider.

 

D.      Professionalism in Linguistics Requirement

There is a required one-credit course on professionalism, LING689, (separate from the comprehensive exam courses) to be taken by the 6th semester. This class is required of all students. In addition, the graduate advisor will be responsible to meet with students in order to cover issues such as students’ survival skills, meetings with professors, planning graduate career, library resources, etc.

 

Elective Coursework

The core requirements, specialization requirements, and minor requirements leave little or no space in the student's schedule for electives. Where there is an opportunity for an elective, the student may select among LING courses not used for the requirements, as well as courses outside the LING department.

 

 

Additional Requirements

Each student will select a specialization within linguistics. Specialization courses are listed below.

Where existing specializations do not meet a specific person's needs, that student is encouraged to design their own specialization in consultation with their advisor.

The requirements for these specializations will overlap with the core course requirements. However, Major and Minor course requirements may not overlap with each other on the Plan of Study.

LISTING OF SPECIALIZATIONS (pp 11-14 of Lingusitics Graduate Handbook)

LANGUAGE REVITALIZATION:

Total of 36 units: A) Required: LING 521 Language Revitalization, Maintenance, and Documentation LING 535 Morphology LING 588 Elicitation and Documentation LING 597a Descriptive Linguistics for Native American Languages (Must be taken Fall semester) LING 699 (2 units) Internship* 1 semester of Navajo, Tohono O'odham, Hopi, or another indigenous or endangered language** 2 courses taken at AILDI (can overlap with other requirements) B) At least one of: LING 544 Typology LING 545 Structure of a Non-Western Language

PHONOLOGICAL THEORY:

Total of 36 units:

A) All of the following: LING 510 Phonology 1 LING 514 Phonology II LING 515 Phonological Phonetics* Either one of the courses listed in group C below, or a third instance of Ling 696B *Exception: if the student is doing a phonetics minor, then LING 515 will count towards the minor, and a course from groups B or C can replace this course.

B) Two instances of LING 696B (These seminars may be taken after advancement to candidacy if 36 appropriate LING units are otherwise provided)

C) Strongly recommended: LING 507 Statistics For Linguists LING 516 History of Phonology LING 535 Morphology (when taught with a phonology focus) ANTH 580 Historical Linguistics 

PSYCHOLINGUISTICS The specialization in Psycholinguistics consists of an emphasis in either adult or developmental psycholinguistics.

The requirements for the developmental emphasis are as follows.

Total of 36 units:

A. All of the following: LING 533 Theories of Language Development LING 543 Advanced Language Development(syntax/lexicon) LING 543 Advanced Language Development (phon/morph) LING 532 Psychology of Language LING 507 Statistical Analysis for Linguistics (where appropriate another statistics course may be substituted - for example, a Psyc, Educational Psyc, or Math stats course - if approved by the student's own advisor and the DGS). LING 699 (six units of lab rotation)* LING 696 (one advanced seminar)

B. Strongly recommended: LING 595 B – Cognitive Science colloquium LING 595A – Linguistics Department colloquium The requirements for the adult psycholinguistics emphasis are as follows: Total of 36 units: A. Required: LING 532 (Psycholing.) LING 517 (CogSci) LING 507 (Statistics) 14 LING 533 (Developmental Psycholing.) LING 548 Auditory and Visual Word Recognition and Lexical Processing LING 699 (6 units) lab experience, structured in consultation with the advisor* B. Plus 1 out of the following 4: LING 509 (Writingsystems) LING 540 (Bilingual Mind) LING 542 (Topics in Psycholing.) LING 549A (Bioling.) C. Plus 1 out of the following: LING 696E (seminar) LING 696F (seminar) LING 596F (if language-oriented that semester; Cog. Psych. SYNTACTIC THEORY: Total of 36 units in LING classes: A) All of the following LING 503 Syntax I LING 504 Advanced Syntax LING 505 Theories of Grammar LING 506 Major Works in Syntax B) And at least two of the following LING 501 Formal Foundations LING 518 Analysis and Argumentation LING 522 Lexical Semantics LING 535 Morphology LING 538 ComputationalLinguistics LING 544 Typology and Universals LING 564 Formal Semantics

C) and two seminars in either LING 696A or LING 696D (These seminars may be taken after advancement to candidacy if 36 appropriate LING units are otherwiseprovided)

 

Minor Requirements for Doctoral Students in this Program

1. A minor is required, with at least 9 credit units. (If a student chooses a department outside of Linguistics, it may involve more than 9 credit units.) A student may minor in Linguistics, in which case they may design an individual minor concentration. They may also select from one of the minor concentrations below. 

(List from pp 14-16 of Lingusitics Graduate Handbook)

Options in the Linguistics Minor (for students in the Linguistics Ph.D. program

COMPUTATIONAL LINGUISTICS:

A) Required LING 538 Computational Linguistics

B) Two of the following LING 501 Formal Foundations ,LING 578 Speech Technology, LING 539 Statistical NLP, LING 581 Advanced Computational Linguistics 15

*LING508 Programming for Linguists (required only if student does not have prior programming experience)

MORPHOLOGICAL THEORY: (Minor option only) Morphology figures in many of our courses. You should work closely with your advisor in selecting courses that include coverage of morphological themes in a way that broadens your understanding of morphology and advances your general research interests.

A) Required: LING535 Morphology

B) Two of the following courses: LING 535 Morphology*, LING 544 Typologies and Universals, LING 522 Lexical Semantics, LING 588 Documentation and Elicitation (with approval of the student's advisor, depending on type of language) LING 596D, Linguistics and Philosophy (when it has a morphology focus) LING 696H Seminar in Morphology

*535 may be repeated for credit if the student's advisor agrees that the content of the second offering is sufficiently different from the first.

NATIVE AMERICAN LINGUISTICS: (Minor option only)

A) Two semesters of Navajo, Tohono O’odham, Hopi or other indigenouslanguage. (1 semester from each of two languages is acceptable)

B) One of the following courses: LING 583 Sociolinguistics ANTH 589 Areal Survey of Native North AmericanLanguages LING 521 Language Revitalization and Maintenance LING 588 Field Methods LING 545 Structure of a Non Western Language (if taught on a Native American language) One course taken at AILDI (available in the summer only1 )

C) A paper on the structure of an indigenous language (to be submitted to thestudent’s advisor. This could be a paper written for another class.).

PHONETICS: (Minor option only)

A. LING 515 Phonological Phonetics, LING 507 Statistics for Linguists B.

One of the following: 1 Note that students enrolling in AILDI must take a minimum of two classes. 16 LING 578 Speech Technology, LING 696B

Phonological Theory (with a phonetics focus) PHONOLOGICAL THEORY: LING514 Phonology II LING516 History ofPhonology LING696B (with a phonology focus)

PSYCHOLINGUISTICS: (Adult) LING 532 (Psycholing.) LING 517 (CogSci) LING 533 (developmental psycholing.) LING 540 (Bilingual Mind)

PSYCHOLINGUISTICS: (developmental) LING 533 Theories of Language Development LING 543 Advanced Language Development(syntax/lexicon) LING 543 Advanced Language Development (phon/morph)

SEMANTICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE: (Minor option only)

A) Required: LING 564 Semantics LING 522 Lexical Semantics

B) One of the following: LING 565 Pragmatics LING 563 Philosophy of Language LING 596D Topics in Philosophy and Linguistics LING 696A Seminar in Syntax and Semantics (when a semantics focusis given) LING 696E Master Seminar in Cognitive Science

SYNTACTIC THEORY LING 504 Advanced Syntax LING 505 Theories of Grammar OR LING506 Major Works LING 696A Seminar in Syntax and Semantics

 

Student Handbook

Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for students who are pursuing this program of study.

 

Program StatisticsInformation about these numbers

Program-level Information
Application Acceptance Rate	15.19%
Avg. Time-to-degree (years)	6.49
Department-level Information
Enrollment Percent Male	48.98%
Enrollment Percent Female	51.02%
Enrollment Percent International	36.73%
Enrollment Percent URM	30.61%

---