Second-Language Requirement
All master's degree candidates are required to demonstrate proficiency equivalent to at least two years of one second language by the time of degree completion. This includes any languages taken within the past seven years. Any second language is acceptable, including English for a student whose first language is not English. It should be noted that the MA language may count toward the two language requirements for the PhD program if the language is used as a research language (see PhD requirements here).
Thesis Option
Coursework: 49 credits total
Core Courses
- LING 503 Thesis
- LING 550 Introduction to Phonology
- LING 551 Advanced Syntax
- LING 555 Linguistic Research [Topic]
- or LING 607 Seminar
- or LING 660 Historical Syntax
- or EALL 545 East Asian Psycholinguistics
- or EALL 680 Linguistics Research and Bibliography
- LING 614 Linguistic Theory: Phonology
- LING 615 Linguistic Theory: Syntax
- LING 616 Linguistic Theory: Semantics
Elective Courses:
Must be chosen in consultation with department's director of graduate studies and the student's faculty advisor. No course with a grade lower than a B- may be used to satisfy degree requirements.
- Select graduate level linguistics, or other relevant courses.
- Another seminar course in linguistics which requires reading primary literature and is evaluated with a research term paper.
MA committee
Students in good standing may form an MA committee consisting of two linguistics faculty members who indicate their agreement to serve by signing a standard form and who share equal responsibility for directing the thesis. For the MA to be granted, both members of the committee must approve the thesis and the main content of the thesis must be presented as a departmental colloquium.
Non-Thesis Option
Coursework: 48 credits total
Core Courses
- LING 550 Introduction to Phonology
- LING 551 Advanced Syntax
- LING 555 Linguistic Research [Topic]
- or LING 607 Seminar
- or LING 660 Historical Syntax
- or EALL 545 East Asian Psycholinguistics
- or EALL 680 Linguistics Research and Bibliography
- LING 614 Linguistic Theory: Phonology
- LING 615 Linguistic Theory: Syntax
- LING 616 Linguistic Theory: Semantics
Elective Courses:
Must be chosen in consultation with department's director of graduate studies and the student's faculty advisor. No course with a grade lower than a B- may be used to satisfy degree requirements.
- Select graduate level linguistics, or other relevant courses.
- Another seminar course in linguistics which requires reading primary literature and is evaluated with a research term paper.
Expected Learning Outcomes
- Be able to analyze and describe the structure of an unfamiliar language from provided and prepared data.
- Be able to test the psychological reality of a pattern experimentally.
- Acquire in-depth knowledge of functional and usage-based approaches to the core areas of linguistics (phonology, syntax and semantics).
- Acquire the methodological skills and command of the literature in a research area to complete an empirical study in linguistics.
- Be able to describe the grammatical patterns that occur in languages of the world, how common they are and where they come from.