Ph.D. Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. program requires a minimum of 60 credits. Students are required to take the core courses as soon as they can in their program and maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0. In their first three years, they will satisfy requirement (A) and (B):

A.  Coursework

• Required Courses   (12 credits)
  • i.  LIN 521 (Syntax I)   
  • ii. LIN 621 (Syntax II) 
  • iii.  LIN 523 (Phonology I)   
  • iv.  LIN 623 (Phonology II)
• Elective Courses   (minimum of 18 credits)  
  • Electives may include courses in other departments. The student’s choice of elective is decided in conjunction with faculty and must be approved by the doctoral program director.
• 30 additional credits
  • This includes 9 credits of dissertation research each semester after other coursework is complete.

B.  Qualifying Papers (QPs)

• Two papers of publishable quality in distinct areas of linguistics 
• Deadlines: QP1: the end of the 4th semester, QP2: the end of the 6th semester
• Public presentation of one of these papers is required.  
• Submission for journal publication of one of these papers is required.

C.  Dissertation

• Dissertation proposal discussion
• Oral dissertation defense

D.  Language Requirement

Students are required to demonstrate knowledge of two foreign languages other than their mother tongue. This requirement may be satisfied by any of the following methods:

• Submission of an analytic paper demonstrating knowledge of the structure of the language.
• Satisfactory completion of a course in the structure of a language.
• Satisfactory performance on a standardized exam designed to measure language proficiency.
• Satisfactory completion of two years of college-level instruction in the language.