Doctor
of Philosophy in Linguistics
at
the University of Texas at Arlington
NOTE: Effective in the Spring
Semester 2007, the Ph.D. Diagnostic Exam will be based on the Revised Degree
Requirements for all students, regardless of their cyber-advising track.
Continuing students are thus 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
primary objective of the Ph.D. Program in Linguistics at UT Arlington is to
train professionals with a common grounding in linguistic research (with an
emphasis on data collection and management), as well as research expertise in
two specialized areas of linguistics. The degree prepares graduates for
employment in field work, field program administration, literacy consultation and
language planning, teaching, work in industry and other forms of employment
appropriate to professional linguists.
Coursework
Leveling
Courses: Students with no prior
study in linguistics (as indicated by an official transcript) must complete the
following three leveling courses:
1.
LING
5300: Linguistic Analysis
2.
LING
3330: Phonetics and Phonology
3.
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
'B-'in each case) have the leveling course requirement waived from his/her
program of work. The Ph.D. Advisor in Linguistics will be charged with
evaluating previous coursework and making decisions about leveling course
waivers.
Theoretical
Core Courses: All
students must complete one course from each of the following four areas (12
credits):
1. Language
in Context: LING
5310: Sociolinguistics
>
alternate courses:
- LING 5311:
Sociolinguistics of Society
- LING 5314: Comparative & 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
Students who have completed any of the Theoretical Core Courses listed above as part of their previous training (e.g., by having earned an M.A. in linguistics at UTA or elsewhere) must substitute an advanced course in the same core area. (See “Area of Specialization” below for advanced courses in each of the four areas.). Under no circumstances may the requirement for 12 credits of Theoretical Core Courses be waived.
Professional
Development Courses:
All students must complete the following four courses (12 credits):
1. LING 5380 (Field
Methods)
2. LING 5381 (Computer and Natural Language)
3. LING 6300 (Professional
Writing for Linguistics) [Graded P/F/W/X]
4. Advanced Methodology course --choice:
a. LING
6380 (Advanced Field Methods) or
b. LING 6381 (Research Design and Statistics)
(or an approved course in
research design or statistics offered by another department)
Students who have completed any of the Professional
Development Courses listed above as part of their previous training (e.g., by
having earned an M.A. in linguistics at UTA or elsewhere) must substitute another graduate-level course consistent
with their overall plan of study and research. The substitution must be
approved by the Ph.D. Advisor in Linguistics. Under no circumstances may the requirement for 12 credits of
Professional Development Courses be waived.
Area
of Specialization:
Students must establish an area of specialization and within that area complete
two additional courses (6 credits). The areas (and the approved courses) are:
1.
Language in Context: LING
5310: Sociolinguistics
LING
5311: Sociolinguistics of Society
LING
5312: Language and Gender
LING
5314: Historical and Comparative Linguistics
LING
5351: Spoken Discourse
2.
Sound Structure: LING
5314: Historical and Comparative Linguistics
LING
5321: Advanced Phonological Theory
LING
5322: Laboratory Phonology
LING
5334: Morphology
3.
Grammatical Structure: LING
5314: Historical & Comparative Linguistics
LING
5331: Advanced Formal Syntax
LING
5333: Functional Typological Grammar
LING
5334: Morphology
LING
5335: Language Universals & Typology
4. Meaning and Use: LING
5314: Historical and Comparative Linguistics
LING 5332: Discourse Grammar
LING 5345: Semantics
LING 5350: Text Analysis
LING 5351: Spoken Discourse
5.Literacy
& Translation: LING
5340: Principles of Translation
LING 5341: Principles of Literacy
LING 5350: Text Analysis
A literacy-oriented course in READ (College of Education)
6.Open
Specialization: Upon
approval from the Ph.D. Advisor, students may craft their own area of
specialization, provided that the courses within the specialization constitute
a coherent body of inquiry consistent with the student’s plan of study and
research. Doctoral students already holding an M.A. in Linguistics may choose an
area of specialization outside of the department. Examples include (but are not
limited to):
-Anthropology:
ANTH 5330, 5369, 5370
-Computer
Science: CSE 5360, 5361, 5363, 5366
-English:
ENGL 5334, 5354, 5355
-TESOL:
LING 5301, 5302, 5303, 5304, 5306
-Education:
READ 5316, 5350, 5355, 5357, 5361
-Other
courses as approved by the linguistics faculty.
Doctoral students without an M.A. in
Linguistics are prohibited from selecting an area of specialization outside of
the department. Exceptions to this policy must be approved the Linguistics
Graduate Studies Committee.
Dissertation
Research (12
credits)
1.
Proposal: LING 6391: Research in Linguistics; includes oral exam (Ph.D. Comprehensive
Examination).
- Students enrolling in LING 6391 must have completed at least 24 credits in
the Ph.D. Program, and must have already made arrangements with a faculty
member to serve as his/her dissertation supervisor.
- LING 6391 must be repeated for credit until the student has successfully
defended his/her dissertation proposal; only then will the student be
considered for advancement to candidacy.
- Students who have completed all required coursework, need to prepare their
dissertation proposal, but must be enrolled in more than 3 credits (e.g., for
visa or employment purposes), may enroll in LING 6691 or 6991.
2.
Dissertation: LING 6999; includes oral exam (Ph.D. Dissertation
Defense)
The format of the dissertation defense is as follows:
Part 1: Candidate gives a public
lecture on his/her research (~ 1 hour)
Part 2: Candidate confers in
private with the dissertation committee
Additional Requirements
Foreign
language requirement: This is a three-part requirement to be fulfilled using either two
(2) or three (3) foreign languages other than English.
1. Research
language:
a. Evidence
of 4 semesters of undergraduate-level study with passing grades; or
b. Translation
exam (see advisor); or
c. Other
(determined by the student’s dissertation committee).
2. Spoken
(or signed) language:
a. Evidence
of 4 semesters of undergraduate-level study with passing grades; or
b. Conversation
exam (see advisor); or
c. Other
(determined by the student’s dissertation committee).
3. Structural
Knowledge of a Non-Western Language (NWL):
a. Completion
of LING 5360 (or comparable course from another university); or
b. Substantial
documented research paper covering at least two core theoretical areas (e.g.
phonology and syntax, syntax and semantics, etc.) in one language; or
c. Master's
thesis on a NWL, provided that the work demonstrates a comprehensive knowledge
of the language’s grammar.
Notes:
§
English may not be used to fulfill any part of the Foreign
Language Requirement.
§
“Non-Western” is defined as follows: Non-Romance,
Non-Germanic, Non-Slavic, and Non-Hellenic. All other branches of the
Indo-European family (e.g. Gaelic, Indo-Aryan, Armenian) are considered
“Non-Western,” as are all other languages outside of Indo-European.
§
The knowledge to presented for area (3) must be in a single
language; partial linguistic study of multiple languages is not sufficient.
§
Students who have earned a bachelor’s or master’s degree from a
university at which the medium of instruction is a Non-Western language will
automatically have completed requirements (1) and (2) but not (3); meeting the
structural knowledge component requires documented academic study of the
language in question.
Diagnostic
Examination: All doctoral students must sit for the Diagnostic Examination prior
to the completion of 27 credits in the program. Students who have completed 27
credits in the program but have not yet attempted the Diagnostic Examination
will not be allowed to take additional courses until the examination has been
passed. (For those students studying full time, the Ph.D. Diagnostic
Examination is usually taken at the end of the second or third semester.)
The
examination covers material from four theoretical core areas of linguistics (as
defined 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 Diagnostic 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 Ph.D. Diagnostic 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 eight must be either Pass or High
Pass; moreover, no more that one of the twelve evaluations may be a Fail. 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.
Doctoral students who have already passed this
examination as part of their M.A. requirements at UTA must have passed at the
Ph.D.-level; if they have not done so, they must sit for the examination again
and receive a passing grade at the doctoral level. All other students must sit
for the examination, regardless of their previous experience and education.
Comprehensive
Examination: In the Linguistics Doctoral Program, the “Dissertation Proposal
Defense” (see “Dissertation Research,” above) functions as the Comprehensive
Examination. Students who unconditionally pass the Dissertation Proposal
Defense must file a “Doctoral Comprehensive Examination Report” with the
Graduate School.
Professional Activity Requirements: All doctoral students
are required to develop professional experience by actively participating in
the intellectual life of our discipline. To this end, all students must meet
the following minimal requirements. (Students are strongly encouraged to go
beyond these requirements.)
A.
Two oral presentations at organized conferences or colloquia for
which presentations are competitively selected on the basis of abstract
evaluation. The two papers must represent research on two different topics
(e.g. one in phonology and another in translation). Students must supply the
Ph.D. Advisor with proof of participation in the conference (letter of
acceptance, copy of the acceptance letter, etc.)
B.
Two research papers.
a.
One paper must be submitted to an organization for review.
b.
The second paper may be a research paper submitted for review, a
book review, or an M.A. thesis in linguistics.
> At least one of
these papers must be accepted for publication in a professionally recognized
venue.
> Co-authored
presentations / publications may not be used to satisfy these requirements.
View the Department's Current
Policies on Admission.
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