1. Program requirements Linguistics new graduate student orientation
August 18, 2016

2. Program Requirements M.A. Courses and language requirement
Qualifying Paper and Oral Exam
or M.A. Thesis
First-year Ph.D. Paper and Oral Exam
Ph.D. Courses and language requirement
Dissertation Proposal and Preliminary Exam
Thesis and Defense

3. Timeline for students entering at MA level
First year: MA coursework; begin work on MA qualifying paper.
Second year: MA coursework; MA qualifying paper due, oral exam.
Third year: PhD coursework; PhD qualifying paper due, oral exam.
Fourth year: PhD coursework; thesis proposal & preliminary exam.
Fifth (and possibly sixth) year: work on thesis, PhD thesis defense.

4. Timeline for students entering at PhD level
First year: make up any MA prerequisites; PhD coursework; work on PhD qualifying paper.
Second year: PhD coursework; PhD qualifying paper due, oral exam.
Third year: PhD coursework; thesis proposal & preliminary exam.
Fourth (and possibly fifth) year: work on thesis, PhD thesis defense.

5. M.A. Courses Required: Electives:
LING 501: Syntax I
LING 502: Phonology I
(note: prerequisite of LING 401: Intro to General Phonetics)
LING 425: Intro to Psycholinguistics
LING 450: Sociolinguistics I
Choose at least one:
LING 541: Syntax II
LING 542: Phonology II
Choose one:
LING 509: Cognitive Linguistics
LING 507: Formal Semantics I
LING 551: Pragmatics I
Electives:
16 credit hours (normally four courses), including a maximum of 4 hours of independent study for non-thesis students

6. Course transfers and exemptions: MA level
You may petition to transfer up to 12 credit hours (3 courses) of coursework at another institution that was not used towards any prior degree.
Petitions are not accepted until after you complete one semester of study.
You may also request course exemptions from required courses based on previous coursework; if granted, exemptions do not decrease the required number of hours (you just have more room for electives).

7. MA Qualifying Examination
Students who intend to advance to the PhD level should complete one research paper, with oral examination, in the second year of the program (paper due in January of your second year). or Students who do not intend to advance to the PhD level should write a Master’s thesis, completed under supervision of your advisor.

8. First Year Ph.D. Exam
After completing your M.A., in the first year of the Ph.D. portion of the program, you must submit a second research paper, and defend it in an oral examination (paper due in January of your third year in the program / first year in the PhD program). Normally this is done as part of your work for LING 504: Practicum, with concurrent enrollment in an individualized study with the faculty member supervising your research. If you have been admitted at the Ph.D. level, you should work on this paper during your first year in the program (paper due in September/October of your second year).

9. Advancing from MA to PhD
All MA course requirements completed.
Minimum 3.5 GPA in required MA courses.
Minimum 3.0 GPA in all Linguistics graduate courses.
Successfully pass the MA qualifying exam.

10. MA degree
Students earn an MA prior to advancing to the PhD curriculum.
Make sure to get your name on the May or August degree list after you have completed all MA requirements.

11. Qualifying papers: topics and supervision
For each of your qualifying papers, you should work closely with a faculty member who supervises your paper.
Your supervisor should be a core faculty member in Linguistics.
You may work with the same professor on both papers, or with different professors.
You may do the two papers in different research areas, or in the same research area, provided that the two papers address different topics / questions.

12. Different scenarios
If you are coming in at the MA level, and you do not have a previous MA in linguistics (or at least not one that includes an MA thesis)…
If you are coming in at the MA level, and you have a prior MA in linguistics (or related field) that includes an MA thesis…
If you are coming in at the PhD level…

13. Scenario 1: coming in at MA level, no prior MA thesis
MA-level qualifying paper due in January of your second year, oral exam in February/March.
PhD-level qualifying paper due in January of your third year, oral exam in February/March.
Proceed to thesis proposal stage upon passing PhD-level exam.

14. Scenario 2: coming in at MA level, but have prior MA thesis
MA-level qualifying paper due in January of your second year, oral exam in February/March.
*After* successful completion of MA exam, you may petition to have your prior MA thesis take the place of the PhD-level qualifying paper:
If petition is approved: proceed directly to thesis proposal stage.
If petition is not approved: PhD-level qualifying paper due in January of your third year, oral exam in February/March (same as in Scenario 1).

15. Scenario 3: coming in directly at the PhD level
PhD-level qualifying paper due in September/October of your second year, oral exam in October.
Proceed to thesis proposal stage upon passing PhD-level exam.

16. Exemption for publication (for all scenarios)
You may petition to be exempted from the oral exam on either qualifying paper if:
You have written a journal paper based on your qualifying paper and it has been accepted for publication at an established, peer-reviewed journal (conference proceedings don’t count!).

17. Ph.D. Courses Required: LING 504: Practicum
LING 590: Special Topics in Linguistics (= individualized study)
Courses as required by your subfield of specialization in linguistics. (See webpage for requirements in specific fields):
Computational Linguistics
Phonetics & Phonology
Psycholinguistics and Neurolinguistics
Second Language Studies
Semantics and Pragmatics
Sociolinguistics
Syntax
or a self-designed program approved by your advisor
Total course hours: 64 (including 32 hours of thesis research)

18. Course transfers from MA to PhD curriculum
If you completed more than 40 credit hours for your MA degree, you may transfer the extra hours from the MA to the PhD curriculum.
Please see me after you obtain your MA degree about which courses to transfer.

19. Language Requirements
For the MA: Demonstrated proficiency in a language other than your native language
May be satisfied by fluency in another language (English for non-native-English students) or by college-level coursework.
For the PhD: Structural knowledge of a language that is neither your native language nor the language used to satisfy the MA language requirement.
May be met by LING 516: Field Methods, or a “Structure of language X” course, or a two-semester sequence of language study.

20. Preliminary Exam
Candidates must pass the Preliminary Examination consisting of an oral examination in which the thesis proposal is reviewed by the committee.
Exam is conducted by a committee of at least 4 faculty members, including advisor.
The preliminary exam should take place during your fourth year in the program (the second year in the PhD portion of the program).

21. Thesis and Defense
The doctoral thesis is written under the direction of a thesis director (usually the advisor).
Thesis is defended at the final oral examination.
Defense is conducted by a committee of at least 4 faculty members, including advisor.
The defense should normally take place during your fifth year in the program (third year in the Ph.D. portion of the program).

22. Choosing your advisor
Your academic advisor is a faculty member who will monitor your progress and consult with you on course selection.
You may choose an advisor at any time, and you should choose your advisor once you are in the Ph.D. portion of the program.
Until you choose an advisor, the Director of Graduate Studies (Tania Ionin) will serve as your advisor.
Your advisor typically also serves as your supervisor of dissertation research and chair of your final examination committee. Choose an advisor who works in the area of research you would like to pursue.
You must obtain your advisor’s signature on the selection form: dvisor_agreement_000.pdf

23. Course Selection and Registration
Normal Course Load:
4 courses (12-16 hours) if you do not have an assistantship
3 courses (9-12 hours) if you have a 25% assistantship
2 courses (6-8 hours) if you have a 50% assistantship
Full-time status requires at least:
8 graduate credit hours (normally 2 courses) if you have an assistantship of at least 25%.
12 graduate credit hours (normally 3 courses) if you do not.
Graduate-level courses include:
Courses numbered (mixed grad/undergrad)
Courses numbered 500+ (normally grad only)

24. Course Selection and Registration
Register for courses online at UI Enterprise (
MA students: choose from among:
LING 401: Introduction to General Phonetics
LING 450: Sociolinguistics I
LING 501: Syntax I
LING 507: Formal Semantics I
An elective course that is necessary for your particular research area
PhD students:
Any pre-requisite course(s) that you did not complete during your MA
Course(s) relevant to your particular research area

25. Annual review
Every Linguistics graduate student must go through the annual review process that takes place in March and April.
Financial aid for the following year is contingent on successful completion of the annual review.
As part of the review process, you must fill out your part of the review form and meet with your advisor (the DGS for first-year students).

26. Advising appointments this afternoon
4112 FLB
Please come prepared to discuss your proposed coursework for the semester.