Students gain advanced knowledge of structural/theoretical linguistics, second language acquisition and development, bilingualism and multilingualism, and formal and descriptive linguistics. The program offers both a Ph.D. and a M.A. The Ph.D. program is supported by a wide array of faculty and encompasses numerous research areas. Linguistics at UC Davis distinguishes itself from programs at other UC campuses by offering an area of emphasis in second language acquisition and development, or SLAD, which responds to a growing need for researchers trained to investigate issues of multilingualism and the acquisition and teaching of nonnative languages. Other possible areas of emphasis include language and society, language and mind/brain, and language structure and theory. The M.A. program prepares students to teach English to speakers of other languages and provides them with a strong background in formal and descriptive linguistics. The UC Davis doctoral program in Linguistics comprises a graduate faculty who embody a wide range of expertise and research interests. Students can specialize in general linguistics, second language acquisition and multilingualism, and experimental/quantitative approaches to language research.
The language structure and theory area of emphasis within the Ph.D. program allows students to pursue advanced coursework and specialized research in various traditional areas of linguistic inquiry, including, phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, language typology, theoretical linguistics, descriptive linguistics, lexical and cognitive semantics, and formal semantics. The Ph.D. program in linguistics is affiliated with a large interconnected group of UC Davis centers and programs that are devoted to mind and brain sciences. At the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain, Graduate Group faculty in linguistics operate three research laboratories: Auditory Neuroscience and Speech Recognition Lab, Cognitive Neurolinguistic Research Laboratory, Cognitive Neuroscience of Language Lab, Research in the Language Sciences examines the application of experimental and laboratory methods in linguistic research, as well as statistical and computational modeling of linguistic phenomena.
