Linguistics at the University of Georgia is interdisciplinary by nature. In addition to core faculty who have appointments in the Department of Linguistics, a large number of affiliated faculty members are housed in other departments. All faculty teach linguistics courses, mentor students, and conduct research in various subfields of linguistics.
Our graduate program provides both a strong grounding in core areas of linguistics as well as the opportunity for specialization within the broad areas of: Phonetics and phonology Syntax, semantics, and morphology Pragmatics and discourse analysis Psycholinguistics Computational and corpus linguistics Sociolinguistics and language variation Historical (Indo-European) linguistics Language acquisition
Director of Graduate Studies linggrad@uga.edu Graduate Program Administrator Amy Smoler asmoler@uga.edu linguistics@uga.edu 706.542.5099 https://www.linguistics.uga.edu
34 hours (for students who have completed an M.A.) - 49 hours (for students who have not completed an M.A.)
Apply directly to the UGA Graduate School and include the following (you will be prompted to submit contact information for recommenders and other items listed below as part of the online application process): Three Letters of recommendation Letters from professors and other academic sources are highly preferred, though other letters will be accepted. Letters will be solicited from your recommenders via email through the Graduate School's online application process.
CV or Résumé Since we wish to consider all applicants for all University-wide fellowships, scholarships, and assistantships, applicants should provide a résumé listing their previous educational and research experience.
Statement of Purpose Compose a brief essay of about 500 words which indicates why you want to study Linguistics at the University of Georgia.
Writing Sample: The writing sample should be on a topic in linguistics, ideally illustrating the type of research that you plan to pursue at UGA and demonstrating some of the necessary skills for this work. It will normally be a final paper that you have previously submitted for a linguistics course. Submissions must be in English.
Academic transcript(s). Successful applicants for the M.A. and Ph.D. programs typically have undergraduate GPAs well above 3.0. Applicants with graduate records are expected to have earned at least a 3.5 GPA in previous graduate coursework. Note that an applicant's degree(s) need not be in Linguistics, but formal coursework or experience relevant to Linguistics is strongly preferred. Applicants will have the opportunity to upload unofficial, scanned transcripts as you apply on the Graduate School's website. If further unofficial transcripts are required, applicants should contact the Graduate School them to gradadm@uga.edu. In the event that applicants are recommended for admission, they will be asked to provide official transcripts to the Graduate School.
International students: For students whose primary language is not English, proof of English proficiency is required. Students need to submit official university documents according to the UGA Graduate School requirements. Students will also have to show certificate of finances upon acceptance to the program. International students must provide proof that they can fund their education before they can be offered admission. You will be prompted to submit this documentation during the Graduate School's online application process.
Application deadline is January 1 for the following fall.
| LING 8101 ** | Linguistics Colloquium | 1 |
**LING 8101 must be taken for three semesters; it is offered in the spring every year
| LING 8021 | Phonetics and Phonology | 3 |
| LING 8150 | Generative Syntax | 3 |
Note: These courses are required only for students who did not complete an M.A. in Linguistics or have not previously taken an equivalent graduate-level course.
Choose 1 to 2 courses from the following:
(Students who did not complete an M.A. in Linguistics will select two courses; students who completed an M.A. in Linguistics will select one course)
| LING 4022/6022 | Advanced Phonetics and Phonology | 3 |
|
LING 4105/6105
Analytical Thinking
Communication
Critical Thinking
|
Psycholinguistics | 3 |
|
LING 4160/6160
Analytical Thinking
Critical Thinking
|
Compositional Semantics | 3 |
|
LING 4570/6570 *
Analytical Thinking
|
Natural Language Processing | 3 |
| LING 8120 | Morphology | 3 |
| LING 8160 | Advanced Generative Syntax | 3 |
| LING 8170 | Seminar in Syntax/Semantics | 3 |
| LING 8180 | Seminar in Phonetics/Phonology | 3 |
| LING 8580 * | Seminar in Computational Linguistics | 3 |
*Only one of these courses can be used to fulfill this requirement.
Choose 1 course(s) from the following:
| LING 4175/6175 | Second Language Acquisition | 3 |
|
LING 4690/6690
Analytical Thinking
|
Historical Linguistics | 3 |
|
LING 4710/6710
Analytical Thinking
Social Awareness & Responsibility
|
Languages in Contact | 3 |
| LING 4770/6770 | Historical Sociolinguistics | 3 |
| LING 4860/6860 | Sociolinguistics | 3 |
| LING 8680 | Seminar in Historical Linguistics | 3 |
| LING 8980 | Seminar in Language Variation and Sociolinguistics | 3 |
| ENGL(LING) 6886 | Text and Corpus Analysis | 3 |
| LING 9300 | Doctoral Dissertation | 1-9 |
The program of study must include at least 4 courses (12 hours) in a primary area of concentration and 3 courses (9 hours) in a secondary area of concentration, to be determined in consultation with the student’s Major Professor and the Graduate Coordinator. The courses in the primary and secondary areas of concentration may be drawn from courses used to satisfy the requirements in (b)-(d) above and from elective courses.
Students must demonstrate two research skills, as described below. Any undergraduate courses taken to fulfill the research skills requirement cannot be included in the graduate program of study. Students with a primary area of concentration in Historical Indo-European Linguistics must demonstrate a reading knowledge of both French and German, as described in (1) below. All other students must choose one of the options in (1) and one of the options in (2) below.
(1) Reading knowledge of a modern foreign language. This requirement may normally be satisfied in one of three ways: Receiving a passing grade on a departmental foreign language translation test. These tests are offered once a semester by Romance Languages, Germanic and Slavic Studies, and other departments. Earning a grade of B or higher in any UGA foreign language course at the intermediate (2000) level or above. Earning a grade of B or higher in a translation course, such as GRMN3500 Techniques of Translation, FREN2500 French for Reading Knowledge, or SPAN2500 Spanish for Reading Knowledge. For students who are native speakers of a language other than English, please consult with the Graduate Coordinator about satisfying this requirement.
(2) One of the options below:
|
LING 4400/6400
Analytical Thinking
Critical Thinking
|
Quantitative Methods in Linguistics | 3 |
| LING 4410/6410 | Experimental Methods in Linguistics | 3 |
| STAT 6210 | Introduction to Statistical Methods I | 3 |
Choose 21 to 27 credit hours from the following:
(Students who have not completed an M.A. in Linguistics will select 27 hours; students who completed an M.A. in Linguistics will select 21 hours)
Elective courses selected with the approval of the Major Professor and Graduate Coordinator
| GRSC 7001 * | GradFIRST: First-year Research and Scholarship Training Seminar | 1 |
* GRSC 7001 must be a section taught by a Linguistics faculty member, unless special permission is granted to take a different version of this course.
Students selected for Teaching Assistantships should complete:
| GRSC 7770 | Graduate Teaching Seminar | 1-3 |
Select additional courses, as needed, in consultation with an advisor to meet the minimum number of required credit hours for this program.
Graduates have gone on to academic careers as research and teaching faculty at top-ranked universities and liberal arts colleges. Other graduates pursue successful non-academic careers in industry, government agencies, and other areas.
Qualified students will be nominated by the Graduate Program Committee for applicable Graduate School funding, such as the Presidential and Doctoral Fellow awards. Students also are encouraged to seek outside fellowships and scholarships (e.g., NSF Graduate Research Fellowships).
Students are encouraged to pursue research opportunities outside of Athens, when appropriate and in consultation with their committees.
Students are encouraged to pursue internship opportunities when they facilitate their professional development.
Students are encouraged to present their research at conferences, professional meetings, and symposia. The Graduate School has funds available to defray travel expenses for students who present at academic conferences. Students also are encouraged to write grant proposals to help fund their research and to develop grant-writing skills. Students are expected to publish their research findings in peer-reviewed journals.
The Linguistics Society at the University of Georgia (LSUGA, https://www.linguistics.uga.edu/lsuga) is open to all graduate students in the department. In 2014, LSUGA began hosting a yearly conference, the Linguistics Conference at UGA (LCUGA). The organization also publishes two journals. All papers presented at LCUGA are eligible for publication in the Conference Proceedings. The other publication, the peer-reviewed UGA Working Papers in Linguistics, highlights current research by linguistics graduate students and faculty all over the world. LSUGA hosts regular social events and other activities.
Other Linguistics programs in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences include: MA Linguistics MA Romance Languages (Romance Linguistics) PhD Romance Languages (Hispanic Linguistics, Romance Linguistics) MA Spanish (Hispanic Linguistics)