Apply to the Computational Linguistics M.A. Program

APPLICATION DEADLINE: April 15 for international students
                                                       June 1 for domestic students

Apply:  SLATE Graduate Admissions

For admission to the M.A. program in Computational Linguistics, the following are normally required:

Bachelor's degree and official transcripts

A bachelor's degree is required. Students must present evidence that such a degree will be awarded by the time they begin graduate work.

Requirements for submitting Official School Transcripts:

Official transcripts are valid when they are issued by the school you attended. They have an official seal/stamp and an official signature by an appropriate academic administrative officer. They are sealed by the university. Official electronic transcripts, sent by authorized delivery agents, are also accepted. Photocopied documents are NOT official. Final transcripts state that a degree has been conferred and provide the date of conferral.

If you are in the process of completing a degree, please send an official transcript that shows your progress to this point. You will need to send a final, official transcript once your degree is conferred. Transcripts that do not show a degree awarded will not delay application processing, but failure to submit final documentation about conferral will result in a registration block.

Applicants with domestic credentials must submit an official transcript from each undergraduate college or university attended, regardless of whether a degree was conferred.  Applicants must also submit an official transcript from each college or university relating to graduate level work, regardless of whether a degree was conferred. 

Applicants with international credentials must submit an official English translation of all coursework showing a complete course-by-course record, GPA, degree, and institution, in addition to the original documents. SBU graduate admissions personnel will evaluate coursework, GPA, degree requirements and institutional equivalence. In some instances where the coursework, degree equivalency, GPA, and/or institution cannot be verified, a course-by-course evaluation from one of Stony Brook University's approved NACES members listed below, may be requested from the applicant. 

1. World Education Services (WES)
2. International Education Evaluations, Inc. (IEE)
3. Education Credential Evaluators (ICE)

Unofficial copies for both domestic and international credentials are acceptable for an admission decision to be made. If admitted, the applicant must submit final official transcripts/evaluations sent directly from the college/university or evaluation agency as noted above. 

College-level courses completed outside the United States and recorded on official transcripts will be evaluated for transfer credit, provided that the institution where the courses were taken is accredited by the Ministry of Education in that country. International transfer students who have completed college level courses outside the United States may be requested to submit proof of accreditation by the Ministry of Education or provide a WES evaluation.

Official transcripts can be mailed to:

Office of Graduate and Health Sciences Admissions, Stony Brook University, HST, Level 2 - Rm. 271.  11794-8276

Electronic transcripts can be sent to gradadmissions@stonybrook.edu

Academic records from international universities that are not in English must be accompanied by an official English translation. Academic records must be translated by an authoritative party:- We will accept translations from any of the accredited agencies that can be viewed at www.atanet.org or naces.org. We will also accept translations from SBU faculty members or the institution from which the degree was conferred.

 If your official transcript (or mark sheet) does not specifically state that a degree (or its equivalent) has been conferred, you will also need to submit an official (attested) diploma or an official certification of degree(s) awarded.

Educational systems that cannot be compared to the United States must be evaluated by a US credentials evaluation service before admission can be finalized. The transcript evaluation service accepted by Stony Brook University is World Education Services (WES), which can be accessed at http://www.wes.org/ .

Cumulative GPA ≥ 3.0
A minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 (or its foreign equivalent) on a four-point scale. If you have attended graduate school and obtained a master’s degree, and the GPA is over 3.0, then the GPA of the undergraduate school can be below 3.0 for regular admission.

Three (3) letters of recommendation
Letters of recommendation from three former instructors are required. If the applicant already has pertinent work experience, e.g. as part of a software development team, some of these letters can also be from employers who are qualified to comment on the candidate’s qualifications.  Your letters of recommendation are generated through SLATE at the time of the application; the recommender can then reply electronically. 

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
Those applying are not required to submit a GRE score. 

Writing sample
The writing sample may take one of two forms:

a short paper written for a previous course, ideally related to language, mathematics, or computation, or

a 2-page document describing a completed or ongoing programming project, including a link to an online repository hosting the code 

Personal Statement

Curriculum Vitae or Resume

TOEFL Score
Non-native speakers of English must have obtained a minimum score of 600 (paper), 250 (computer), or 100 (iBT) on the TOEFL test.

Acceptance
Students must be accepted by both the Department of Linguistics and the Graduate School.

For general information on the admissions process, see the Graduate bulletin.