Master of Arts in Linguistics
at the University of
Texas at Arlington
NOTE: Effective in the Spring Semester 2007, the M.A. Comprehensive Exam will be based on the Revised Degree Requirements, regardless of the student’s cyber-advising track. As such, all students are advised to take LING 5347: Pragmatics as soon as possible.
(effective for students entering
Fall 2006)
View
the Department's Current Policies on Admission.
The objective of the M.A. Program is
to provide students with a solid foundation in linguistic analysis. To this
end, the centerpiece of the M.A. program is the M.A. LING Core. Regardless of
degree option, every student tin the M.A. Program will be exposed to the
fundamental concepts of our field. Beyond the Core, students should select
courses that fit their particular interests and career goals. Emphases within
the M.A. Program include grammatical analysis, sociolinguistics, and sound
studies. Students interested in issues of literacy and translation may elect to
spend one or two semesters studying at the Graduate Institute of Applied
Linguistics (GIAL),located in South Dallas (near Duncanville); while UTA and
GIAL do not cross-list courses, special arrangements have been made between the
two institutions for transfer credits. Contact the UTA M.A.
LING Advisor for details.
M.A. Thesis Degree Plan: 31 credit hours,
including 24 hours of graduate-level course work plus one hour thesis writing
course (LING 5100) plus six hours thesis credit (LING 5698). Students
requiring leveling courses must add nine (9) hours, for a total of 40 hours.
M.A. Non-Thesis Degree Plan: 36 credit hours of
graduate-level course work plus comprehensive written examination on the
coursework. Students requiring leveling courses must add nine (9) hours, for
a total of 45 hours.
Leveling
Courses: Students with no prior
study in linguistics (as indicated by an official transcript) must complete the
following three leveling courses:
§
LING
5300: Linguistic Analysis
§
LING
3330: Phonetics and Phonology
§
LING
3340: Grammar and Morphology
Students
who must take the leveling courses must earn a grade of ‘A’ or ‘B’ in each to be allowed continued enrollment in
the program, regardless of their performance in any other linguistics courses.
Students
who present documentation of comparable coursework (with grades no lower than a
‘B-’) may have the leveling course requirement waived
from their program of work. The M.A. Advisor in Linguistics will be charged
with evaluating previous coursework and making decisions about leveling course
waivers.
Core
Courses: All
students must complete one course from each of the following six areas (18
credits):
1. Language
in Context: LING
5310: Sociolinguistics
>alternate
courses:
• LING 5311: Sociolinguistics of Society
• LING 5314: Comparative and Historical Linguistics
• LING 5351: Spoken Discourse
2.
Sound
Structure: LING
5320: Phonological Theory
3.
Grammatical
Structure: LING 5330:
Formal Syntax
4.
Meaning
and Use: LING
5347: Pragmatics
5.
Language
Diversity: LING
5380: Field Methods
> alternate course:
• LING 5360: Non-Western Linguistic Structures
6.
Capstone
Course: LING
5370: Survey of Linguistic Theories
> alternate course:
• LING 5372: Readings in Linguistics
Elective
Courses: The
selection of courses beyond the core depends on the degree option that a
student chooses.
Thesis
Option: Students
should select courses that will most directly contribute to their understanding
of their research project. Consult with the M.A. Linguistics Advisor.
Non-Thesis
(Comprehensive Exam) Option: Students are required to supplement their knowledge of core
areas (1) through (4) by taking one course from each of the following areas:
1. Language in Context: Any
course listed above under ‘Core Courses, Area (1)’; also
LING 5312: Language and Gender
2. Sound Structure: LING
5321: Advanced Phonological Theory
LING
5322: Laboratory Phonology
LING
5334: Morphology
3. Grammatical Structure: LING 5331: Advanced
Formal Syntax
LING
5333: Functional Typological Grammar
LING
5334: Morphology
LING
5335: Language Universals & Typology
4. Meaning and Use: LING
5332: Discourse Grammar
LING 5345: Semantics
LING 5350: Text Analysis
LING 5351: Spoken Discourse
M.A.
Comprehensive Examination
(Non-Thesis option)
The M.A. Comprehensive
Examination should be taken during the final semester of study; exceptions to this
policy must be approved by the Graduate Advisor. The examination covers
material from the first areas listed in the “Core Courses” section (above):
First
Half (Morning)
Part I, Language in Context
Part
II, Sound Structure
Second
Half (Afternoon)
Part
III, Grammatical Structure
Part IV, Meaning
& Use
The
Comprehensive Examination is given twice each year, in the fall semester (early
November) and the spring semester (early April); a specific exam date will be
announced at the beginning of each semester.
A passing grade on the M.A. Comprehensive Exam is defined as follows: of the
twelve evaluations received for the entire examination (i.e. three evaluations
for each of the four
sections), at least nine must be either Low Pass, Pass or High Pass. Moreover,
if a student receives three failing grades for the same question (i.e.,
completely fails one entire part of the exam), then
the student will have failed the entire examination. A student who fails the exam and is granted permission to be
re-examined must sit for the entire exam again; no "partial exams"
will be administered.
View the Department's Current
Policies on Admission.
Return to the “Prospective
Students” Page
Return
to the U.T. ARLINGTON Linguistics Home Page