Graduate Degrees in Linguistics

Linguistics

The Department of Linguistics at the University of Colorado Boulder is a major center of interdisciplinary research in cognitive-functional linguistics, computational linguistics, language documentation, psycholinguistics and experimental linguistics, and sociocultural linguistics.

The department has a strong commitment to excellence in research, teaching and advising at the graduate level, and offers a Master of Arts (MA) and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in linguistics. In collaboration with the Department of Computer Science, we also offer a Master of Science (MS) in computational linguistics, analytics, search and informatics. Students may pursue both master’s degrees as part of their respective Bachelor’s–Accelerated Master’s (BAM) degree programs.

Degree Types

MS ᐧ MA ᐧ PhD

Degree Options & Application Requirements

Linguistics Computational Linguistics, Analytics, Search & Informatics

Linguistics

Master of Arts

The goal of this master's program is to provide students with sufficient knowledge of linguistics to enable them to work in industry and organizations, where knowledge of linguistics helps in problem-solving.
- 3–4 semester program
- 30 credit hours
- Thesis and nonthesis options
- Applicants should hold a recognized baccalaureate degree and should have considerable knowledge of a language other than their native language.
- Students may earn this degree as part of the Bachelor's–Accelerated Master’s degree program, which allows currently enrolled CU Boulder undergraduate students to earn a bachelor's and master's degree in a shorter period of time.

Application Deadlines & Requirements

To learn about the upcoming term application deadlines, please visit the Graduate School website.

For program details, review the course catalog for the MA in linguistics.

Doctor of Philosophy

The goal of the linguistics doctoral program is to prepare graduates to design and conduct original, empirically based research within a theoretical framework. Doctoral students prepare for careers in academic research and teaching, or applied work in business or other organizations.
- Applicants should hold a recognized baccalaureate degree. They should have considerable knowledge of a language other than their native language.
- 30 credit hours of coursework
- 30 dissertation credit hours
- As a PhD preliminary examination, students submit a data-based research paper early in the second year in the PhD program.
- The comprehensive examination requirement is completed in two steps: the completion of a synthesis paper followed by the defense of a dissertation prospectus.
- All PhD students must demonstrate the ability to read linguistic literature in a language other than English.
- Students should select a specialization and begin their own research as early as possible. The department offers specializations in:
  - Sociolinguistics
  - Phonetics
  - Semantics
  - Syntax
  - Morphology
  - Laboratory Phonology
  - Conversation Analysis
  - Historical Linguistics
  - Typological Comparison
  - Native American and Indigenous Linguistics
  - Linguistic Anthropology
  - Psycholinguistics
  - Corpus Linguistics
  - Language Development
  - Cognitive Linguistics
  - Computational Modeling of Language Knowledge

Application Deadlines & Requirements

To learn about the upcoming term application deadlines, please visit the Graduate School website.

For program details, review the course catalog for the PhD in linguistics.

Computational Linguistics, Analytics, Search & Informatics

Master of Science

This interdisciplinary degree provides a solid foundation in both computer science and linguistics graduate coursework, as well as several courses focused on data-driven linguistics, computational linguistics and information processing. The training is aimed at preparing students for careers in areas such as predictive text messaging, search engines, question-answering, interactive virtual agents and machine translation.
- Students must complete at least 32 hours of approved graduate study, including a 2-credit capstone course focused on a publishable research project, which will run in conjunction with an internship or a CU-based research project.
- Students may earn this degree as part of the Bachelor's–Accelerated Master's (BAM) degree program. For more information, see the Accelerated Master's tab for the associated bachelor's degrees:

Application Deadlines & Requirements

To learn about the upcoming term application deadlines, please visit the Graduate School website.

For program details, review the course catalog for the MS in computational linguistics, analytics, search and informatics.

Research Areas

Language Documentation
Psycholinguistics & Experimental Linguistics
Computational Linguistics
Functional Syntax and Construction Grammar
Sociocultural Linguistics
Interactional Linguistics and Conversation Analysis
Colorado Research in Linguistics (CRIL)

Learn More About Research Areas at CU Boulder

Funding Opportunities

We understand funding opportunities play a major role in helping you to decide whether a program is right for you. At CU Boulder, PhD students are supported through research and teaching assistantships. Students are also encouraged to apply for their own sources of funding.

Explore General Funding Explore Department-Specific Funding

Graduate Student Resources

Student success is best met with holistic support and resources. CU Boulder offers robust resources, programming and opportunities to help students establish meaningful connections, adjust to graduate student life and find assistance when they need it. Whether it’s academic, social, or health and wellness support, the university provides an array of resources to meet the diverse needs of our students.

Graduate Student Organizations