Graduate Programs

Explore our Graduate Programs

As scientists, we seek to explain why the many language patterns we identify take the form that they do, and to understand how linguistic structure arises. Graduate students in the Department of Linguistics work with leading scholars whose research ranges from field linguistics to lab-based experimental approaches, sociolinguistics, and applied linguistics.


students working on group activity in classroom

Master’s Degree in Language Teaching Studies

This 11-month intensive graduate program is a terminal degree for teachers of English and/or teachers of other languages. Only under exceptional circumstances do we admit students to work toward an MA in General Linguistics.

LTS prepares leaders in language education. In this era of globalization, the program serves the evolving needs of both majority and minority language learners. Students can specialize in more than one language, including minoritized languages such as the Indigenous languages of the Pacific Northwest. 

LTS Master's Degree Requirements (prior to Fall 2024) 

LTS Master’s Degree Requirements (a/o Fall 2024) 
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Doctorate Degree in Linguistics

Tailored to the individual student’s needs and professional goals, the PhD program in Linguistics combines a foundation in functional linguistic theory with a strong preparation in empirical research methods, both in laboratory and field settings. The PhD program cuts across the College, with support from the fields of East Asian and Romance Languages, Psychology, Neuroscience, Anthropology, and Computer Science.

Our strengths include:

  • Descriptive linguistics
  • Language revitalization
  • Historical/typological/areal linguistics
  • First and second language acquisition
  • Second language teaching
  • Laboratory phonology and phonetics
  • Sociolinguistics
  • Corpus linguistics

Cecilia Staggs

The Influence of Social Information on Speech Intelligibility

“The goal of my study is to analyze the ways that language ideologies within the US Latino community interact with social expectations related to speech production, and ultimately influence how intelligible listeners perceive a speaker to be. Intelligibility refers to a listener’s ability to transcribe the speech and has been found to be susceptible to factors external to the speech stream like language ideologies and listeners’ expectations.”

—Cecelia Staggs, PhD candidate, 2025


Funding your Graduate Studies

Explore the best ways to get help paying for school. Find costs and funding information for the MA in Language Teaching Studies, support for the PhD program in Linguistics, and general support at the college and university level.

Funding and Research Support


linguistics graduate student cohort group photo
Resources for the Graduate Community

Events

How to Manage Stress, Rejection & the Haters in Your Midst
Nov14
How to Manage Stress, Rejection & the Haters in Your Midst Nov 14
Book Disciplines Workshop Series: Revising the Dissertation and Other First Book Problems
Nov14
Book Disciplines Workshop Series: Revising the Dissertation and Other First Book Problems Nov 14
Herchurch: Utopian Thinking at the Intersection of Feminism, Lutheranism, and Paganism
Nov14
Herchurch: Utopian Thinking at the Intersection of Feminism, Lutheranism, and Paganism Nov 14
Ascent to Europa: NASA’s Mission to Jupiter’s Ocean Moon
Nov14
Ascent to Europa: NASA’s Mission to Jupiter’s Ocean Moon Nov 14 Museum of Natural and Cultural History
Start in the Workplace, the Politics will Follow
Nov14
Start in the Workplace, the Politics will Follow Nov 14 Ford Alumni Center
Women in Economics Club
Nov14
Women in Economics Club Nov 14 Allen Hall
Creative Writing Reading Series Presents: Jason Brown, Fiction
Nov14
Creative Writing Reading Series Presents: Jason Brown, Fiction Nov 14 J Michaels Books
International GE Time Together
Nov15
International GE Time Together Nov 15 Susan Campbell Hall
The Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Academic-Adjacent Job Search
Nov15
The Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Academic-Adjacent Job Search Nov 15 Allen Hall
University Theatre Presents "Frankenstein: Playing with Fire"
Nov15
University Theatre Presents "Frankenstein: Playing with Fire" Nov 15 Miller Theatre Complex