The Department of Linguistics offers programs of graduate study leading to the M.A. and the Ph.D. Theoretical approaches in all areas of linguistics are emphasized, providing a thorough grounding in five core areas of linguistics through required courses in phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, and field methods. Advanced courses are offered in the department's core concentrations of phonetics and phonology, syntax and semantics, descriptive and documentary linguistics, computational linguistics, and the linguistics of signed languages, as well as areas that may be within the research interests of specific faculty. Students may also elect to take related coursework in such departments as Anthropology, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Computer Science, Philosophy, Psychology, and Statistics, as well as specific language departments.
While the department usually does not accept students to only the MA degree, there may occasionally be reasons why an applicant needs to apply for the MA degree rather than the PhD, and in those cases we may consider the application. MA only students usually do not receive funding. PhD students indicate PhD as their degree objective even if they do not yet have an MA. All students take the same set of core courses, whether enrolled in the MA or PhD program. The MA program is a full-time program, with most courses taking place between 8 am and 5pm on weekdays.Add body text in this space.
The study of speech sounds in human languages includes both phonology (the definition and distribution of sound categories) and phonetics (the realization of those categories in terms of physiological, aerodynamic, acoustic and psychological events). Our conviction is that one can't really understand one of these without a fairly advanced knowledge of the other. The recommended program of courses for students interested in speech sounds thus includes both.
