Master's Program

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Required Courses

All MA students must complete 30 credits, including the following five required courses: LING 5030: Linguistic Phonetics, LING 5410: Phonology, LING 5420: Morphology and Syntax, LING 5430: Semantics and Pragmatics, and LING 5570: Diachronic Linguistics. Required courses count for 15 credits, and electives count for the remaining 15. 

Year One

Year Two

Note: This is a sample schedule. Electives may be taken in any semester.

Students have the option to either write an MA thesis or take the comprehensive exam in order to complete the MA degree requirements.

MA without Thesis

The MA without thesis plan requires 30 semester hours of course work plus the comprehensive examination. A specialization or certificate is possible. The 30 credit hours include the 5 required courses described above and approximately 5 electives (15 credit hours). Up to 6 credits may be taken outside Linguistics.

MA with Thesis

A thesis is not required for the MA; however, a student may elect to write a thesis. A thesis is prepared under the guidance of an MA thesis committee consisting of the thesis advisor, a second reader in the Department and a third member (possibly external to Linguistics).

The MA with thesis plan requires 30 semester hours of course work, including at least four and at most six hours of thesis credits. The 30 semester hours include the 5 required MA courses described above (15 credits) and 9 hours of elective courses within Linguistics (which must include at least 4 and at most 6 MA thesis credits); up to 6 credits may be taken outside Linguistics.

A student following the thesis plan must also pass an oral examination that consists principally of a defense of the MA thesis. For detailed information about the Linguistics MA thesis, read about MA thesis procedures. If you do not defend and file the MA thesis, you will not be allowed to apply any thesis credits you have accumulated toward the 30 credits needed to obtain the MA.