Three UT Arlington Linguistics & TESOL students

Department of Linguistics & TESOL | The University of Texas at Arlington

Prospective Students

The Degrees section of our site has information about the different requirements for the Ph.D., the two M.A. degrees, the graduate certificate, and the undergraduate minor available through the Department of Linguistics & TESOL at the University of Texas at Arlington. (Please note that while many of the degrees have rolling admission, starting in 2009, new Ph.D. Linguistics students will be admitted for the fall semester only — students will not be admitted into the Ph.D. program for the spring or summer terms.)

Here are two sources of information to read before you apply to any of the programs:

When you are ready to apply, follow this checklist to make sure you have submitted all the necessary documents:

Linguistics and TESOL Application Checklist

  • Submit the online application.
    (It's the same form for all degree plans—on the form you will check the box to specify whether you are applying to be an MA, PhD, Special Student, or Certificate Student.)
  • Pay the application fee.
  • Have official transcripts sent in from all your previous schools.
  • If you are not a native speaker of English, you'll also need to submit TOEFL or IELTS scores.

That's all you need for Graduate Certificate and Special Student applications. For MA and PhD work, please send these additional required materials that should be sent directly to the Department of Linguistics and TESOL (mailing address here):

  • Three letters of recommendation by people who can attest to your ability to do graduate work.
    (While your recommenders may include this form, PhD applicants must also have personalized letters written by academics in their previous degree program or research projects.)
  • Statement of academic and/or career plans explaining why you selected this program.
    (If you did not fill this section out at the end of the online application, then send in a 250-300 word statement directly to the department.)
  • GRE scores.
    (Send scores from general test, which will include Verbal, Quantitative and Analytical Writing sections).

The final items are required only of PhD applicants:

  • An academic writing sample (e.g. a research paper) of 20 pages or less.
  • International students (even those who have earned a BA or MA at an English-medium institution) must submit scores for either the iTOEFL or IELTS.

If, along the way, you have any questions for our department, send an email to the graduate adviser (see our Contact page).

At the bottom of this page you'll find additional information about the application process: common problems with applications, how you'll be notified of your application's status, and the department's timeline for degree completion.

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Financial Aid

Announcement about Financial Aid
If you're applying to the PhD program and wish to be considered for financial aid, your application must be submitted to the Graduate School on or before the last day of January. (Financial aid is not guaranteed to all applicants who submit their applications by the deadline; however, late applicants who are accepted to the program may not be eligible for financial assistance.)

Take a look at our Financial Aid page for more information about fellowships and appointments available to graduate students in the Department of Linguistics & TESOL.

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Student Life

In addition to the student services information found at UT Arlington's Student Organizations page, check out the Lingua pages at this site. Lingua, UT Arlington's linguistics student group, hosts an annual student linguistics conference and regular social and academic gatherings of UT Arlington Linguistics and TESOL students.

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About Linguistics & TESOL

If you'd like to read more about linguistics, see the Linguistics as a Discipline page. We also encourage you to go to the Linguistics Links page of Lingua, our student linguistics organization, and to look at the linked resources at the bottom of the undergrad page.

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Additional Information about Applying

Reasons for Delays in Processing an Application

Before applying, you should check the Graduate School's Prospective Students page for information. The most frequent problems that will delay your application are:

  1. Applying late. Check deadlines! If you submit your application after the published deadline, we can't guarantee that you'll be accepted in enough time to take classes.
  2. No Application Fee. Even if you have submitted an application, it won't be processed until you have submitted the required application fee. (Many students are forgetting to do this, especially those who apply on-line.)
  3. Unofficial transcripts. All transcripts sent as part of your application file must be sent directly to the UT Arlington Graduate School from the institution issuing the transcript. A transcript that arrives at UT Arlington indirectly (e.g. from you) – even if it's in a sealed envelope – will likely be rejected by the Graduate School.
  4. Invalid transcripts. All transcripts must be in English or accompanied by a certified translation.
Notification of Application Status

Once you have submitted the application, application fee, transcripts and departmental requirements (recommendation letters, GRE scores, statement of academic and career goals) it will take several weeks for the applicaton materials to be processed. After your application has been assessed, you will receive a letter and email from the Graduate School stating the admission decision.

Degree Timelines
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