fully funded phd linguistics 2022

Doctoral Program

The Ph.D. program emphasizes rigorous theoretical work that has at its base a firm empirical foundation in language data. 

Students are provided with a broad-based background in linguistics, teaching experience in the classroom and other forums, and opportunities for original and high-quality research.  Our Ph.D. students write dissertations on a wide range of topics spanning and bridging many subareas of the field.  See our Ph.D. Alumni  page for dissertation titles and job placement information.

Overview of the Program

Through the completion of advanced coursework and strong methodological and analytical training, the Ph.D. program prepares students to make original contributions to knowledge in linguistics, to articulate the results of their work, and to demonstrate its significance to linguistics and related fields.  At every stage in the program, students are encouraged to present and publish their research and to develop active professional profiles. 

Students generally complete the program in five years

• Coursework in core areas of linguistics, chosen by each student in consultation with faculty advisors to build the foundation that best suits their interests and goals.
• Fall Quarter: Includes seminar to introduce students to the research of faculty in the department
• Winter Quarter: Includes participation in small research groups or in one-on-one apprenticeships
• Spring Quarter: Includes beginning to work on the first of 2 qualifying research papers

Years 2 and 3

• Balance shifts from coursework to development of research skills
• Students complete two qualifying papers and then selects a principal advisor and committee for their dissertation by the end of year 3.

Years 4 and 5

• Devoted to dissertation and advanced research

Teaching Experience

As they move through the Ph.D. program, students also gain teaching experience by serving as teaching assistants in their second, third, and fourth year of graduate study. They also have access to the many programs provided by Stanford's Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning , including the varied resources of the Teaching Commons .

Offers of admission to the Linguistics Ph.D. program include funding for the full five years of doctoral study, including tuition and stipend, regardless of citizenship. 

We also encourage our applicants to apply for as many external fellowships and scholarships as they are eligible for; a compilation of funding opportunities for Linguistics graduate students can be found on our  Fellowship and Funding Information page .  Applicants should note that the deadlines for these fellowships are typically in the fall of the year prior to admission.

In addition, the  Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS) program is designed to build a multidisciplinary community of Stanford graduate students dedicated to finding creative solutions to the world's greatest challenges. Join dozens of  Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences students  who gain valuable leadership skills in a multidisciplinary, multicultural community as  Knight-Hennessy Scholars . KHS admits up to 100 applicants each year from across Stanford’s seven graduate schools, and delivers engaging experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders ready to address complex global challenges. As a scholar, you join a distinguished cohort, participate in up to three years of KHS's leadership program, and receive full funding for up to three years of your PhD studies at Stanford. Candidates of any country may apply. KHS applicants must have earned their first undergraduate degree within the last seven years, and must apply to both a Stanford graduate program and to KHS. Stanford PhD students may also apply to KHS during their first year of PhD enrollment. If you aspire to be a leader in your field, we invite you to apply. The KHS application deadline is October 9, 2024. Learn more about  KHS admission .

Additional information is available about the student budget , Stanford graduate fellowships , and other support programs .

Outside the classroom, there are many opportunities, both formal and informal, for the discussion of linguistic issues and ongoing research, including colloquia, workshops, and reading groups.

Partnership Opportunities

Although not part of the formal doctoral program, there are numerous opportunities for research and development work at the Center for the Study of Language and Information and  off-campus at local companies.  

Admissions Information

Postgraduate study

PhD Psycholinguistics scholarship

The Department of Language and Linguistic Science is pleased to offer one fully funded PhD scholarship for the PhD Psycholinguistics programme, for a student whose main supervisor is in Language and Linguistic Science.

• Funding: £15,609+ per annum, plus tuition fees at UK (home) rate
• Academic year: 2022/23
• Open to: International (including EU) and UK (home) students
• Qualification level: Postgraduate research
• Number available: One

The scholarship includes:

• UK (Home)-rate tuition fees for three years (international applicants would need to fund the difference between the  UK and international rate )
• A UKRI-aligned stipend for three years, full time (£15,609 per year tax-free in 2021/22)

Open to International (including EU) and UK (home) students.

Open to students in the Department of Language and Linguistic Science.

Your main supervisor must be in Language and Linguistic Science. (If your main supervisor is in Education or Psychology, please see the PhD funding pages in those departments.)

Application deadline: Tuesday 19 April 2022, 5pm BST

Submit your  online application  before the deadline. You must consult with your proposed supervisor at least one month before the deadline.

Individuals with the strongest academic record, summary research proposal (in terms of rigour and clarity), and endorsement from their potential supervisor, as well as clarity of the proposed research to the Department and to the  Psycholinguistics programme , will be shortlisted and offered an interview on 3 or 4 May 2022.

Interview performance will contribute to selection of the successful candidate. We expect that the successful candidate will be offered the award by mid-May 2022.

Contact details

Heather Marsden [email protected]

Ph.D. Programs

The Department of Linguistics offers four concentrations leading to the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Linguistics (see list below). No matter the concentration, our faculty work closely with students, guiding their research and supporting their passions.

• Applied Linguistics
• Computational Linguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Theoretical Linguistics

Applicants to the Ph.D. program are encouraged to identify prospective research advisors, at least one of whom should be in the concentration to which they apply.

After entering the program, Ph.D. students may elect to add a minor in a second one of these concentrations [new policy effective Spring 2023].

An interdisciplinary (second) concentration in Cognitive Science is also available to Ph.D. students.

Master’s in Passing

If, in their course of the Ph.D. program, a doctoral student meets all of the requirements of a M.S. degree in Linguistics, he or she may apply to receive a “Master’s in Passing.” Please consult section IV.D.3 of the Graduate School Bulletin for full details about the “in passing” or “terminal” Master’s degree.

Funding and Aid

PhD students who matriculate in Summer 2020 and after will be guaranteed to have funding support from the University of Chicago, external sources, or a combination of the two for the duration of their program to include the following:

● Full tuition coverage ● Annual stipend ● Fully paid individual annual health insurance premiums

The goal of the University’s commitment to ensuring that students are supported is to allow students to prioritize their studies and prepare for rewarding careers. Funding is contingent on remaining in good academic standing and making progress toward completing degree requirements.

Students in the Division of the Humanities who entered their PhD program in Summer 2016 or later, and who are still enrolled in 2022-2023 will be fully incorporated into this new funding model, and will receive at least the guaranteed stipend level (subject to applicable taxes), full tuition coverage, and fully paid health insurance premiums for the duration of their program, as long as they remain in good academic standing.

Students who matriculated before Summer 2016 will receive at least the funding they were offered at the time of admission and may be eligible for additional funding, such as dissertation completion fellowships. Over the past several years, the Division of the Humanities has increased investments in funding to support students in degree completion.

Additional fellowships and awards are available to support language study, conference travel, and research travel. 

Research and Dissertation Funds

University of chicago internal fellowships and grants.

The following are internal fellowships that students may apply for. Additional information is available at the  Division of the Humanities’ website .

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships

Foreign Language and Area Studies  fellowships are for Ph.D. students in their first five years or two-year M.A. students in their second year who must study certain languages for their programs. In 2024-2025, the University will be accepting applications for languages in two world areas: Middle East and East Asia. The FLAS program provides funding for study on campus during the academic year and on campus or elsewhere (domestic or abroad) during the summer.

Humanities CMES, MAPH TLO, and doctoral students who will register for qualifying language courses in the year of the fellowship are strongly encouraged to apply for an Academic Year FLAS. Master's students receive a $20,000 stipend, tuition aid (amount dependent on their program), and student services fee coverage. PhD students receive a $5000 stipend supplement.

Summer award benefits for all students: $2,500 stipend and up to $5,000 in tuition for the applicant's language program of choice.

Applications  are available on the  UChicagoGRAD website Questions?  Contact  Maggie Kurkoski  (UChicago GRAD) at  [email protected] 

For more information, please review the  UChicagoGRAD FLAS website . 

The following internal fellowships require nomination by the department.

Hanna Holborn Gray Fellowship

The Division of the Humanities is able to award two Hanna Holborn Gray Dissertation Completion Fellowships during the 2024-25 academic year to a rising 6th year or 7th year doctoral student who is sufficiently advanced in the writing of their dissertation that they are expected to complete the dissertation during the time they hold the award. This fellowship recognizes the student’s academic achievement and will enable the student to devote full attention and effort towards completing the dissertation.

Students who have applied for other Divisional Dissertation Completion Fellowships will be considered for this award, which will provide a stipend (generally higher than the minimum stipend available), tuition, the required student services fee, and University student health insurance premium. The terms of the fellowship prohibit students from engaging in any remunerative activity during the period of the fellowship. The sole exception to this prohibition to this rule is that fellows may undertake a modest teaching assignment in spring quarter if it is in fulfillment of their pedagogical training plan per the student teaching policy, and when it is clear from the fellow’s progress on the dissertation that teaching will not delay completion of the degree. Requests to undertake a teaching assignment must be made in writing to the Dean of Students, and are subject to departmental approval as all teaching must be in fulfillment of the pedagogical training plan. 

As with our other Divisional Dissertation Completion Fellowships, the student who holds a Hanna Holborn Gray Fellowship in 2024-25 must graduate in Summer 2025 or before. If they do not defend, complete the dissertation, and graduate during the fellowship year, they will be withdrawn from their program at the end of the summer quarter.

Franke Residential Dissertation Completion Fellowships

Each year the Franke Institute for the Humanities awards approximately four Residential Dissertation Completion Fellowships. There is no separate application for a Franke Residential DCF, but to be considered for these fellowships students must commit to being in residence during the fellowship year, and attend meetings with other Franke fellows. These fellowships differ from other DCFs in a number of ways, and include enhanced support and participation in various activities at the Institute .  

Humanities Division Dissertation Completion Fellowships

The Division of the Humanities is able to award approximately 24 Dissertation Completion Fellowships to doctoral students who are sufficiently advanced in the writing of their dissertation that they are expected to complete the dissertation during the time they hold the award. These fellowships recognize the student’s academic achievements, and enable the student to devote full attention and effort towards completing the dissertation.

Fellowships will provide tuition, the required student services fee, University student health insurance, and a stipend. For students under the new funding model, fellowships will include a financial bonus. The terms of the fellowship prohibit students from engaging in any remunerative activity during the period of the fellowship. The sole exception to this prohibition to this rule is that fellows may undertake a modest teaching assignment in spring quarter if it is in fulfillment of their pedagogical training plan per the student teaching policy, and when it is clear from the fellow’s progress on the dissertation that teaching will not delay completion of the degree. Requests to undertake a teaching assignment must be made in writing to the Dean of Students, and are subject to departmental approval as all teaching must be in fulfillment of the pedagogical training plan.

Please Note: Students who hold a Dissertation Completion Fellowship in 2024-2025 must graduate by or before Summer 2025. Students who do not defend, complete the dissertation, and graduate during the fellowship year will be withdrawn from their program at the end of the Summer 2025 quarter.

Eligibility for all 2024-2025 Dissertation Completion Fellowships: Some fellowships may only be held by students up to and including the sixth year in their program; others may only be held by students up to and including the seventh year; the few other fellowships may be held by students up to and including the eighth year of their program. If there are questions about your registration year, please contact [email protected].

The following terms and conditions apply for all dissertation completion fellowships: 1. Without exception, students must be admitted to candidacy before they can apply for these fellowships.  2. Students who have held or currently hold any dissertation completion fellowship (whatever the title of the fellowship: dissertation write-up, completion, etc.) from any internal or external sources are not eligible for consideration. 3. Students pursuing a joint degree program should submit the DCF application through their home department only. 4. Students must defend, complete the dissertation, and graduate in Summer 2025 or before. If this does not occur, the student will be withdrawn at the end of the Summer 2025 quarter.

Departmental Application Deadlines A student’s home department must nominate them for this competition. Students must adhere to their departmental deadlines for application submission.

Application Materials

Each student must complete the online application, which includes submitting the following documents: 1. The timeline for completion of dissertation writing and defense, with the student and the dissertation committee attesting to the feasibility of granting of the degree by Summer 2025. 2. Statement of purpose (3-5 pages single-spaced), describing the dissertation project. The narrative statement should include a work plan. The statement should discuss the significance of this work within the student’s specific and general fields and the contribution this project will make to the field(s) with which it engages.  Please remember that the fellowship review committee will include faculty members from across the Division and thus the candidate must explain terms and contexts that might not be familiar to those outside the field or subfield. 3. A curriculum vitae (C.V.). 4. A copy of one approved chapter of the nominee's dissertation for reference by the fellowship review committee. 5. Letters from two members of the student’s dissertation committee, attesting to the quality of the work and also to the ability of the student to complete and defend the dissertation in the Summer 2024 quarter or before.  These letters should be uploaded by the faculty member.

Department chairs who are nominating students for DCFs, will provide a brief summary of the nominated students as well as a ranked order of the nominees. This should be emailed to [email protected].

Please note that at this time, students who hold a  Divisional  Dissertation Completion Fellowship in year 6 and complete their program in that year and who apply to the Teaching Fellows in Humanities (TFH) application process will be selected to receive a TFH position the following year.

Linguistics Department Funds

The following are funds internal to the Linguistics Department that graduate students can apply for.

Research fund in honor of Rella Cohn:

The Department of Linguistics offers an annual fund for graduate student research, made available thanks to a generous endowment from the family of  Rella I. Cohn.  This fund provides financial support for a small number of graduate student research projects annually.  Funds may be used to support any aspects of student research, including (but not limited to) fieldwork expenses, research-related travel, and payment of conference registration fees.  We will consider requests for reimbursement of past conference travel, or travel to a future conference to which the student has been accepted; we cannot consider requests for travel to conferences if the student has not yet been accepted to present at the conference.

Applications for Rella Cohn funds will be accepted  every quarter (including the summer) in order to fund future activities (typically carried out on the following quarter). Application materials include a one-paragraph description of the project, an itemized budget (including discussion of what you could do with partial funding), a current CV, and a list of current and pending support for this project.

Rella Cohn received her Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Chicago in 1995, with a dissertation on Yiddish names. This work, published in 2008 as Yiddish Given Names: A Lexicon by Scarecrow Press, provides both a linguistic history of Yiddish first names and insights into the structure and history of Yiddish more generally.

Graduate Research Aid Initiative in Linguistics (GRAIL): The Department of Linguistics offers GRAIL funds for graduate student research, including attendance at workshops, conferences, summer schools and training, funds needed for fieldwork, lab work, access to collections or archives, etc. In years when the LSA Linguistics Summer Institute is held, we give priority to funding students to attend the Institute. Applications for GRAIL funds will be accepted  every quarter (including the summer) , in order to fund future activities (typically carried out on the following quarter). Application materials include a one-paragraph description of the project, an itemized budget (including discussion of what you could do with partial funding), a current CV, and a list of current and pending support for this project.  

Conference Funding

Dissertation Research Travel Awards  are available for students who have been advanced to candidacy.  Application deadline: rolling  

The Division of the Humanities Conference Reimbursement Grant provides up to $400 in  reimbursement  to doctoral and masters students for eligible travel expenses to present their work at an academic conference.

Eligibility: Doctoral or masters students in the Division of the Humanities who present a conference paper (or, for MFA students, in an exhibition). Doctoral students may receive the grant a maximum of  three  times in their graduate careers, but only once in any given academic year (academic years begin in Summer quarter). Master’s students may receive the grant a maximum of  one  time in their graduate careers.

Eligible expenses:

Airfare (economy or coach only) Train fare (economy or coach only) Bus fare Gas fare (based on mileage) Car rental

All conference grant reimbursements must be supported by adequate documentation, which consists of four parts: receipts, proof of participation (such as a program or letter of invitation), a completed Humanities Conference Grant Application Form, and a completed Student Certification for Business Related Travel Reimbursement.  More detailed instructions, as well as the two forms required, can be found below.

Requests for reimbursement will not be processed until all supporting documentation is received.   All application materials should be submitted electronically to  [email protected] .

Students who receive their reimbursement prior to attending a conference must provide proof of attendance following the conference. This should be submitted to  [email protected] , and may include a final conference program or booklet (scanned copy or link) showing conference participation or schedule of events. Pictures or other documentation may also be accepted.

Should your plans change and you do not attend the conference, any funds received prior to the event will need to be paid back to the Division by check or money order. Please contact [email protected] or reply to this email for instructions should this occur. Failure to return money from this grant is considered theft and is a University policy violation, which would be addressed by Area Discipline per the Student Manual.

The Graduate Council Fund   provides financial support for academic, professional, and social events created by and intended for UChicago graduate students. The fund supports events that foster intellectual, professional, and social engagement across the graduate student community, targeted to both niche and broad audiences.

Funding is not guaranteed. Registered Student Organizations (RSO’s) and other organizations can only receive funding for one initiative per academic year. Applicants are encouraged to apply for funding in advance. Applications will be reviewed quarterly as long as funding remains. The Graduate Council Fund will open for applications  Thursday, September 5, 2024.

CLS also offers funds for conference travel. Each grad student is entitled to reimbursements of up to $500 per academic year for conference-related expenses (travel, hotel, registration, etc.). There is no limit on the number of conferences that can make up this $500, but left-over funds from previous years do not roll over into the new academic year. Requests for reimbursements for a given year must be made by the start of the fall quarter of the following year at the latest. Requests for reimbursements made after that will count towards the funds available for the new academic year. For more information, you can contact current CLS officers.

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Applied Linguistics

Application options include:

Course Overview

Applied linguistics aims to investigate real-world phenomena in which language plays a central role. At MPhil/PhD level, we aim for you to make the transition into a fully fledged, independent academic researcher, with the skills necessary to present your research orally as well as in writing, in addition to pushing back the frontiers of knowledge. Such independence is achieved through good scholarship, which includes original thought, the proper use of references, background material, methodology and accountable reporting procedures.

Once equipped with the generic and discipline-specific tools for carrying out research, you will pursue your particular research interests, supported by regular meetings with your supervisor and presentations and attendance at MPhil/PhD seminars.

An MPhil/PhD is an advanced postgraduate research degree that requires original research and the submission of a substantial dissertation of 60,000 to 100,000 words. At Birkbeck, you are initially registered on an MPhil and you upgrade to a PhD after satisfactory progress in the first year or two. You need to find a suitable academic supervisor at Birkbeck, who can offer the requisite expertise to guide and support you through your research. Find out more about undertaking a research degree at Birkbeck .

Our current research centres around: bilingualism and multilingualism; child language development; second language acquisition; psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics; corpus linguistics; sociolinguistics; cross-cultural pragmatics; discourse and conversation analysis; intercultural communication; language teaching; and translation theory.

Key information

Applied linguistics mphil/phd: 7 years part-time, on campus, starting 2024-25.

• October 2024
• January 2025

Applied Linguistics MPhil/PhD: 4 years full-time, on campus, starting 2024-25

Applied linguistics mphil/phd: 7 years part-time, on campus, starting 2025-26.

• October 2025
• January 2026

Applied Linguistics MPhil/PhD: 4 years full-time, on campus, starting 2025-26

Find another course:

• Applied linguistics has been taught by experienced specialists at Birkbeck since 1965. Our centre of teaching and research excellence in applied linguistics has contributed greatly to the field over the years.
• We are an Institutional Member of the British Association for Applied Linguistics and an affiliated member of the International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA) .
• We are home to the Centre for Multilingual and Multicultural Research , and the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Taylor and Francis).
• Birkbeck’s research excellence was confirmed in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework  with 83% of our research rated world-leading or internationally excellent.

Entry Requirements

A good Master's degree in a relevant subject.

Some relevant work experience is desirable, but not essential.

A good research proposal will also be required.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests.

If you don't meet the minimum IELTS requirement,  we offer pre-sessional English courses, foundation programmes and language support services  to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.

Visit the International section of our website to find out more about our  English language entry requirements and relevant requirements by country .

Visa and funding requirements

If you are not from the UK and you do not already have residency here, you may need to apply for a visa.

The visa you apply for varies according to the length of your course:

• Courses of more than six months' duration: Student visa
• Courses of less than six months' duration: Standard Visitor visa

International students who require a Student visa should apply for our full-time courses as these qualify for Student visa sponsorship. If you are living in the UK on a Student visa, you will not be eligible to enrol as a student on Birkbeck's part-time courses (with the exception of some modules).

For full information, read our visa information for international students page .

Please also visit the international section of our website to find out more about relevant visa and funding requirements by country .

Please note students receiving US Federal Aid are only able to apply for in-person, on-campus programmes which will have no elements of online study.

Applied Linguistics MPhil/PhD: 7 years part-time or 4 years full-time, on campus, starting in academic year 2024-25 or 2025-26

Academic year 2024–25, starting october 2024, january 2025, april 2025.

Part-time home students: £2,539 per year Full-time home students: £4,786 per year Part-time international students : £7,525 per year Full-time international students: £14,885 per year

Academic year 2025–26, starting October 2025, January 2026, April 2026

To be confirmed

Students are charged a tuition fee in each year of their course. Tuition fees for students continuing on their course in following years may be subject to annual inflationary increases. For more information, please see the College Fees Policy .

If you’ve studied at Birkbeck before and successfully completed an award with us, take advantage of our Lifelong Learning Guarantee to gain a discount on the tuition fee of this course.

Fees and finance

PhD students resident in England can apply for government loans of over £26,000 to cover the cost of tuition fees, maintenance and other study-related costs.

Flexible finance: pay your fees in monthly instalments at no extra cost . Enrol early to spread your costs and reduce your monthly payments.

We offer a range of studentships and funding options to support your research.

Discover the financial support available to you to help with your studies at Birkbeck.

International scholarships

We provide a range of scholarships for eligible international students, including our Global Future Scholarship. Discover if you are eligible for a scholarship .

Our research culture

Our academic staff are concerned with real-life issues in which language and communication play a central role rather than conventional descriptive or theoretical linguistics, or research and teaching of syntax, morphology, phonology, phonetics or linguistics of a particular language.

Training and methodology

You will be given training in  research methods , and will also have access to a wide range of generic research training courses offered by the College Research School and the Bloomsbury Postgraduate Skills Network. You will also have the opportunity to present your work annually for discussion by fellow students and staff at seminars.

You will be asked to attend research workshops in your first year and research seminar presentations throughout the programme.

PhD student experience

You will be expected to actively engage in the dissemination of your work via PhD seminars and at appropriate College, university and external venues, such as the  British Association for Applied Linguistics  meetings and other forums. You will also be encouraged to publish work in appropriate journals and will be given guidance in doing so.

You will be required to present a seminar on your own research at least once a year.

The progress of research students is monitored through an annual review, usually held in June. You will be required to present an annual report on the progress of your work and discuss your plans for completion with your supervisors and the chair of the review panel.

Find out more about our  student support and facilities  and  our vibrant research culture .

What is it like to be a PhD student with us?  Read a PhD student's blog .

Follow these steps to apply to an MPhil/PhD research degree at Birkbeck:

• Check that you meet the entry requirements, including English language requirements, as described on this page.
• Find a potential supervisor for your MPhil/PhD research. You can look at the Find a Supervisor area on this page for an overview, or  search our Experts’ Database  or  browse our staff pages  for more in-depth information. You may also find it helpful to  view the research projects of our current students . 
• Contact the academic member of staff - or the department they teach in - for an informal discussion about your research interests and to establish if they are willing and able to supervise your research. (Please note: finding a potential supervisor does not guarantee admission to the research degree, as this decision is made using your whole application.) Find out more about the supervisory relationship and how your supervisor will support your research .
• Draft a research proposal. This needs to demonstrate your knowledge of the field, the specific research questions you wish to pursue, and how your ideas will lead to the creation of new knowledge and understanding. Find out more about writing a research proposal .
• Apply directly to Birkbeck, using the online application link on this page. All research students are initially registered on an MPhil and then upgrade to a PhD after making sufficient progress. Find out more about the application process, writing a research proposal and the timeframe .

Application deadlines and interviews

You can apply at any time during the year. Entry months for the programme are October, January and April of each year.

If you wish to apply for funding, you will need to apply by certain deadlines. Consult the websites of relevant bodies for details.

Apply for your course

Apply for your course using the apply now button in the key information section .

Finding a supervisor

A crucial factor in assessing applications for postgraduate study in applied linguistics and communication is the correlation between the applicant’s intellectual and research interests and those of one or more potential supervisors. 

Find out more about the research interests of our academics:

• Professor Jean-Marc Dewaele, LicPhilRom, LicDroitEurop&Internat, PhD : second language acquisition; interlanguage; individual differences, multilingualism and emotion; sociopragmatics; psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics in foreign language production.
• Jackie Jia Lou, BA, MSc, PhD : language, space and place; linguistic and semiotic landscapes; urban discourse; transnational migration; sociolinguistic ethnography.
• Professor Marjorie Lorch, BA, PhD : neurolinguistics; psycholinguistics; cross-linguistic studies of language use and language disorders; brain structure and language behaviour; nineteenth-century study of the language faculty.
• Professor Lisa J. McEntee-Atalianis, BA, PhD : aphasia; sign language/deaf studies and sociolinguistics; ethnolinguistic vitality; social psychological studies in Cyprus and the autochthonous Greek-Orthodox community of Istanbul; language policy and discourse practices in a London agency of the United Nations; sign language/deaf studies; sociolinguistics of the Greek diaspora; institutional/workplace discourse and identity; English as a global language.
• Professor Bojana Petric, BA, MA, PhD : academic discourse; genre analysis; source use and citing; academic/professional literacies; disciplinary/interdisciplinary socialisation; EAP/ESP materials and course design; writer voice and identity; writing for international academic publishing; writing development and writing pedagogy; language teacher identity; teacher cognition; language teaching materials; advanced language capacities; qualitative approaches to the study of language learning and teaching.

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PhD in Linguistics

The Department of Linguistics invites applications from students interested in pursuing a fully-funded PhD program in linguistics focusing on cross-disciplinary training and collaboration.

The faculty in the Department of Linguistics are grounded in the traditional fields of formal linguistics, employing empirical methodologies to examine data and topics in experimental syntax, semantics, pragmatics, phonetics, laboratory phonology, and morphology in collaboration with researchers in allied fields. Our work incorporates contemporary issues and practices in language documentation, corpus linguistics, dialect variation and psycholinguistics.

Linguistics is a core member of Rochester's Center for Language Sciences , which also includes researchers in computer science , philosophy , and related departments, such as biomedical engineering , brain and cognitive sciences , as well as departments at the Eastman School of Music . At Rochester, cross disciplinary collaborative work is the norm.

Interdisciplinary engagement

Many of our students have benefited from engaging in interdisciplinary work with other departments at the University of Rochester. These departments include computer science, philosophy, biomedical engineering, and brain and cognitive sciences, and might include diverse fields such as anthropology or music theory at the Eastman School of Music.

For more information, please contact [email protected] .

The PhD Handbook in Linguistics

A description of the PhD program, the requirements for the program, a list of the graduate courses and course descriptions, a timeline, and two sample schedules are found in the downloadable PhD Handbook . If you have any more questions, please contact Aaron White , Director of Graduate Studies.

For information about linguistics faculty and their research, visit their web pages:

• Maya Ravindranath Abtahian
• Nadine Grimm
• Scott Grimm
• Joyce McDonough
• Asia Pietraszko
• Aaron White

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PhD Program

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The PhD program is for those interested in advanced research training and developing expertise in an area of their choice.

Program Overview

Our department covers a broad range of research topics, with substantial coverage of phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. We approach these topics from several different research traditions and backgrounds, with particular strengths in formal-theoretical linguistics, experimental and field linguistics, acquisition, and computational approaches to the study of communicative behaviour.

Program Requirements

Students in the PhD Linguistics program must complete coursework under the following requirements:

• LING 508: Phonetic Theory and Analysis (3 credits)
• LING 510: Phonological Theory and Analysis (3 credits)
• LING 520: Syntactic Theory and Analysis (3 credits)
• LING 525: Semantic Theory and Analysis (3 credits)
• First-year breadth courses may be waived if equivalent courses have been taken elsewhere.
• LING 505A: Issues in Morphological Theory and Analysis (3 credits)
• LING 511 : Topics in Phonology (3 credits)
• LING 513: Topics in Phonetics (3 credits)
• LING 521: Topics in Syntax (3 credits)
• LING 527: Topics in Semantics (3 credits)
• More than one section of LING 530 can be counted towards this requirement, with each three-credit section counting as one course.
• LING 531: Field Methods in Linguistics I (3 credits)
• The remaining six credits can be completed with either LING 532, LING 518, and/or an appropriate methods-related course within in Linguistics or in a different department

The first-year breadth courses and methods courses (except Field Methods) are waived if equivalent courses have been taken elsewhere, subject to an evaluation of the relevant syllabus.

First-year graduate students who do not have sufficient background for the first-year graduate courses (this is most typically an issue for LING 525 and LING 508) are expected to take the appropriate undergraduate courses (e.g., LING 325, LING 313) prior to registration in the graduate course.

Here are three sample course sequences that students usually take:

Sequence 1: 

Term 1: Breadth: LING 510, LING 520; Depth: LING 503

Term 2: Breadth: LING 508, LING 525; Depth: LING 511

Term 3: Depth: LING 513; Methods: LING 518, LING 531

Term 4: Depth: LING 530; Depth/Methods: LING 532

Sequence 2: 

Term 1: Breadth: LING 510, LING 520; Depth: LING 530

Term 2: Breadth: LING 525; Depth: LING 505A, LING 521

Term 3: Depth LING 527; Methods: LING 518, LING 531

Term 4: Depth/Methods LING 532

Sequence 3: 

Term 1: Breadth: LING 510; Depth: LING 503; Methods: 3 credits in statistics

Term 3: Depth LING 513; Methods: LING 518, LING 531

Term 4: Depth LING 530; LING 530

Qualifying papers

The QP process is an opportunity to develop, strengthen, and broaden research skills. Whether a student chooses the one-QP or two-QP option and the specific topic(s) are decisions students discuss and make in discussion with their committee. Discussions of what constitutes appropriate scope should take place within the committee.

Two-QP option (default): Students who select to write two QPs are acknowledging that they would benefit from the experience of engaging in two separate research topics under the guidance of a committee. Each committee must have three members, but each QP will have two readers. (The third member may be the Graduate Advisor.) The length of these QPs is to be the scope of a discipline-specific conference proceedings paper.

One-QP option: Students who select to write one QP are eager to engage more deeply with a single topic and set of research methods. Under this option, QPs will have three readers. The scope of this QP is to be appropriate for a journal manuscript, which is discipline specific. 

While QPs may feed into dissertation projects, there is no established expectation that they will or will not.

No defences, but QP presentations. Under neither of these options will students be required to defend their QPs. But, developing presentation skills is important to a scholar’s development. Students are required to present each QP. Such a presentation is a presentation and not a defence. The evaluation of a presentation is thus formative, and not summative. A QP does not need to be presented upon completion, but rather it is up to the committee to decide the presentation timing that is appropriate for a student. To facilitate this, there will be a Graduate Student Research Day at the end of every term, and all students will be invited to present.

As part of the Qualifying Paper process, and before beginning work on the paper, a student must have a short proposal for each paper approved by the supervisory committee. The proposal must establish the specific area and problem(s) to be addressed and cite a few key references from the literature which will be surveyed. The committee will normally respond to the proposal within 2 weeks of its submission. The Qualifying Paper proposal should follow the formatting guidelines of an abstract for the Annual Conference of the Canadian Linguistic Association, with the following addition: without exceeding the one-page length limit, the proposal should include a short budget (if there will be costs associated with completing the Qualifying Paper), budget justification and funding source (faculty member’s grant, outside grant, private funds, etc.). Also note that the content for a proposal will normally be more speculative than a conference abstract. Once approved, the Qualifying Paper proposal should be electronically filed with the Grad Admin and circulated electronically to the Department.

The final paper will be submitted to UBC Working Papers in Linguistics and must follow the UBCWPL style guidelines for length and formatting.

Dissertation

The dissertation marks the culmination of the PhD program. A dissertation should be an original and independent research project which makes some contribution to knowledge in the special area elected by the student.The dissertation marks the culmination of the PhD program. A dissertation should be an original and independent research project which makes some contribution to knowledge in the special area elected by the student.

By the end of a student’s third year, the student must submit to the Graduate Advisor a dissertation prospectus, along with the appropriate approval form signed by the members of the dissertation committee, and circulate the prospectus electronically to the Department. The content of a dissertation prospectus should be along the lines of an NSERC Discovery Grant or a SSHRC Insight Grant; it should have the following components:

• Summary (1 page maximum)
• Detailed description (6 pages maximum)
• Bibliography
• Budget (if there will be costs associated with completing the dissertation research)
• Budget justification (as appropriate)

Dissertations should be prepared in accordance with the thesis formatting regulations required by Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Dissertations which do not meet the standards specified may be rejected. Documentation should follow the style guide of the Canadian Journal of Linguistics, Language, or the American Psychological Association.

The completed dissertation will be read by a specialist from outside the University, arranged by the Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at least three months before the candidate expects to take the final oral examination. The student’s research supervisor and the Graduate Advisor will forward a list of names of specialists who might serve as External Examiner using the Doctoral Dissertation Form. When the dissertation has been approved for submission to the External Examiner, the candidate will take the final oral defence. This is a formal, public examination, chaired by an appointee of the Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, and attended by the members of the examining committee and other interested persons.

Students nearing the final stages of thesis writing should familiarize themselves with the timeline to the oral dissertation defense . During the weeks prior to the oral examination, students are strongly encouraged to give a practice oral presentation, ideally during a departmental research seminar slot. Practice orals should follow the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies format, allowing 30 minutes for a presentation, and a longer period for questions. While examining committee members are not prohibited from attending, practice orals should not be viewed as an opportunity to prepare students for specific questions that students will be asked by committee members at the official defence.

The candidate submits an electronic copy of the final dissertation to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. The electronic copy will be deposited in the cIRcle on-line repository, and linked from the department website. The final oral exam may be held at any time of the year (except from mid-December to mid-January) provided that the examining committee can be assembled.

Language requirement

In order to graduate, students must have a sound knowledge of one language other than English. They must fulfill this language requirement by the time of their thesis prospectus submission.

The language to fulfill this requirement is expected to be chosen on the basis of its relevance for the student’s research program, in consultation and by approval of the student’s supervisory committee. Relevance can be determined by a variety of factors such as the following:

• The language is the object of the student’s research, or is closely related to the language of research; for example, where a student’s research focuses on Yoruba, knowledge of Yoruba could fulfill the requirement, or where the student’s research is on St’at’imcets, knowledge of Halkomelem could fulfill the requirement.
• There is a significant and relevant linguistic literature in the language; for example, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, and Russian could fulfill the requirement.
• The language serves as a medium for conducting linguistic research relevant to the student’s program of research; for example, Hausa could fulfill the language requirement for a student conducting research on a language of northern Nigeria.

Students may fulfill the language requirements in various ways:

• Certain departments at UBC periodically schedule reading knowledge examinations. This exam evaluates a student’s language competence based on the translation of a text (approximately 1000 words) relating to the student’s field of study. A minimum second class standing (B- or better) must be obtained on this exam in order to satisfy the Foreign Language Requirement. For further information on such examinations, contact the appropriate departments.
• If you speak a language natively, your native proficiency can be accepted by the supervisory committee.
• If you have completed a program of post-secondary language study (a minimum of 12 credits or equivalent). A minimum second class standing (B- or better) must be obtained for these credits in order to satisfy the Foreign Language Requirement.
• For other languages, it may be necessary to establish an ad hoc mechanism for conducting an evaluation of the student’s knowledge. In such cases, the student should make a written request to their supervisory committee, including a proposal for how such an examination can take place, and including a proposal for a qualified examiner. Students considering this option should be aware that the requirements (including the required level of competence in the language and how to demonstrate it) may vary extensively from case to case, depending on the norms of the language community involved.

Continuous enrolment

Until their MA thesis prospectus has been approved, all MA students are expected to maintain a regular, active, physical presence in the Department. This can include participation in lab/project/reading groups, attending colloquia, research seminars or other ad hoc departmental events, meetings with their supervisor, committee members or other researchers in relevant areas. Certain circumstances may necessitate a student’s absence during some of this period (e.g. for field work); such absences should be discussed with the supervisory committee.

At all stages of the program, a student and their supervisor should be in regular contact and communication. At the thesis/dissertation stage, such contact should happen at least once a month (again, barring extenuating circumstances), either through in-person meetings, videoconferencing, or communication/reporting over email.

Supervision

A Research Supervisor is appointed for a student before the beginning of their first year in the program. The Graduate Advisor and the Research Supervisor, in consultation with the incoming student, will establish a three-member Temporary Supervisory Committee no later than the end of the first week of the first term.

Prior to registration for the second year, the Temporary Supervisory Committee shall be dissolved and a new Supervisory Committee shall be established. A MA Supervisory Committee consists minimally of the Research Supervisor and two additional members. Normally the members of the supervisory committee are from the Department of Linguistics; if the students committee includes members from outside the Department of Linguistics, a majority must be departmental members. Establishing a Research Supervisor is the joint responsibility of the student and the Graduate Advisor.

Both new and continuing MA students will have a meeting with their Supervisory Committee during the last week of August or in early September. At this meeting students can discuss their course work and other aspects of their program. Incoming students are requested to bring with them copies of the calendars of course offerings from the institutions they previously attended (other than UBC). At the end of April or the beginning of May, all students will meet with their Supervisory Committee to discuss the year’s progress and to plan further work. Any changes in a graduate student’s program must be approved by the Supervisory Committee.

The Graduate Advisor, in advising students, makes every effort to ensure that they have satisfied all the requirements for the degree — language requirements, course work, etc. However, it is ultimately every student’s responsibility to ensure that at the time he/she applies for the degree he/she has met all the requirements. Separate records of a student’s program and progress are kept by the Faculty of Graduate Studies; these records are obtained from information provided by the Graduate Advisor and are used to determine a student’s ultimate eligibility for graduation.

Annual evaluation

The Faculty will meet in April or May each year to discuss the progress of each student in the PhD program. The student’s supervisor will inform them of the results of the evaluation. If a student is not making satisfactory progress, they will either be required to withdraw from the program immediately or will be placed on probation and told what conditions must be fulfilled to obtain a satisfactory standing. If a student on probation has not fulfilled these conditions by the end of the following semester, they will then normally be required to withdraw from the program.

Quick Links

Fully funded four-year PhD studentships in Natural Language Processing at University of Edinburgh

October 21, 2021

UKRI CENTRE FOR DOCTORAL TRAINING IN NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING

Based at the University of Edinburgh: in conjunction with the School of Informatics and School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences.

Deadlines :

·       Non UK :     26 th  November 2021 ·       UK :            28 th  January 2022

Applications are now sought for the UKRI CDT in NLP’s penultimate cohort of students, which will start in September 2022.

The CDT in NLP offers unique, tailored doctoral training comprising both taught courses and a doctoral dissertation over four years. 

Each student will take a set of courses designed to complement their existing expertise and give them an interdisciplinary perspective on NLP.  

The studentships are fully funded for the four years and come with a generous allowance for travel, equipment and research costs.

The CDT brings together researchers in NLP, speech, linguistics, cognitive science, machine learning and design informatics from across the University of Edinburgh.   Students will be supervised by a world-class faculty comprising almost 60 supervisors and will benefit from cutting edge computing and experimental facilities, including a large GPU cluster and eye-tracking, speech, virtual reality and visualisation labs. 

The CDT involves a number of industrial partners, including Amazon, Facebook, Huawei, Microsoft, Naver, Toshiba, and the BBC.  Links also exist with the Alan Turing Institute and the Bayes Centre.

A wide range of research topics fall within the remit of the CDT:

·       Natural language processing and computational linguistics

·       Speech technology

·       Dialogue, multimodal interaction, language and vision

·       Information retrieval and visualization, computational social science

·       Computational models of human cognition and behaviour, including language and speech processing 

·       Human-Computer interaction, design informatics, assistive and educational technology 

·       Psycholinguistics, language acquisition, language evolution, language variation and change

·       Linguistic foundations of language and speech processing.

The next cohort of CDT students will start in September 2022 with applications being invited now.  Around 12 studentships are available, covering maintenance at the UKRI rate (currently £15,609 per year) plus tuition fees.  

Studentships are open to all nationalities and we are particularly keen to receive applications from women, minority groups and members of other groups that are underrepresented in technology.  Applicants in possession of other funding scholarships or industry funding are also welcome to apply – please provide details of your funding source on your application.

Applicants should have an undergraduate or master’s degree in computer science, linguistics, cognitive science, AI, or a related discipline; or have a breadth of relevant experience in industry/academia/public sector, etc.      

Further details, including the application procedure, can be found at:  https://edin.ac/cdt-in-nlp

Application Deadlines

Early application is encouraged but completed applications must be received  at the latest  by:

26 th  November 2021 (non UK applicants) or 28th January 2022 (UK applicants).

Please direct any enquiries to the CDT admissions team at:  [email protected] .

CDT in NLP Virtual Open Day

Find out more about the programme by attending the PG Virtual Open Week 9 th  November 2021, 2-3pm.  Click here to register:  Computing, Data Science & Informatics | The University of Edinburgh

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DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS

Graduate Program

Northwestern University’s English Language Programs (ELP) offers English classes, tutoring, and workshops.

• Learn more about  ELP

Annette D'Onofrio , Director of Graduate Studies

Rob Voigt , Admissions Officer

The Ph.D. program in Linguistics at Northwestern emphasizes the integration of theory with advanced experimental and computational methods. The program has state-of-the-art laboratory facilities , and all admitted students are fully funded . The active involvement of 19 affiliated faculty in other departments and schools provides a wide range of interdisciplinary opportunities , including courses, colloquia, and research involvement. After completing the first-year core curriculum, students have ample opportunity to pursue their individual interests through course electives and projects. The hallmark of the program is integrative research, crossing levels of the language system as well as traditional disciplinary boundaries. Alumni of the program are primarily employed as faculty members or researchers in universities, or as language systems experts in high-tech corporations.

The successes of our Ph.D. program were recently recognized by The National Research Council's ranking of research-doctorate programs.

The graduate program also offers an M.A. degree. This degree is primarily pursued as an honors option for B.A. students , or by Ph.D. students who decide to make a career change after entering the program.

• Information for prospective graduate applicants
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PhD in Linguistics

As one of the top four graduate programs in theoretical linguistics, the close-knit PhD in linguistics program prepares you to conduct individual creative research as early as possible in your graduate career, working very closely with faculty. You’ll concentrate your study in the area of syntax, semantics, phonology, phonetics, psycholinguistics, language acquisition, morphology, or computational linguistics. Upon graduation, you’ll be well prepared to become a professor in the field of theoretical linguistics at universities around the world.

Application information & deadlines

December 20, 2023, linguistics.

Conduct creative research with faculty in specialty areas including syntax, semantics, and phonology in a top graduate program in theoretical linguistics.

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Graduate Program

The graduate program in Linguistics at Berkeley combines mentoring from faculty members in the department, coursework, research training, and professional development opportunities.

Faculty expertise in the department spans an unusually diverse range of endeavors. The graduate program accordingly includes a broad range of advanced seminars, along with coursework focusing on analyzing linguistic structure (e.g. syntax, semantics, phonology, phonetics), language ecologies (language variation and change, language and cognition), and methods (including field methods, archival research, experimental and corpus-based analyses, and computational modeling).

Graduate students have published their research in numerous journals, including Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Glossa , Natural Language & Linguistic Theory, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America , Language Documentation & Conservation , Linguistic Inquiry , and Phonology ; and regularly present their work at conferences, including the Annual Meeting on Phonology , the Manchester Phonology Meeting , New Ways of Analyzing Variation , the Cognitive Science Society Conference , the CUNY Conference on Sentence Processing , LabPhon , the Acoustical Society of America Meeting , the Linguistics Society of America ,  NELS , Sinn und Bedeutung , the Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas , among others.

Graduate students actively participate in working groups, reading groups, and other activities, including Fieldwork Forum, Phorum, Syntax & Semantics Circle, and TABLE .  These groups contribute to the strength of the program as hubs of intellectual exchange, professional networking, and community building.

Graduate students in the Linguistics department are eligible to apply to two Graduate Designated Emphases : the Designated Emphasis in Indigenous Language Revitalization , and the  Designated Emphasis in Cognitive Science .

Our graduates build exciting careers in research labs, for-profit businesses, non-profits, government agencies, and higher education, among others.

Detailed description

The particulars of this program, describing the exact course requirements, details about the exams and required research papers are available in the  Linguistics Graduate Program description  (updated 2023). This document changes from time to time. Get previous versions of the program description for 2022 ,  2020 ,  2019 ,  2018 , and 2017 .

Alternatively, use our A–Z index

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PhD Linguistics / Overview

Year of entry: 2025

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• Bachelor's (Honours) degree at 2:1 or above (or overseas equivalent); and 
• Master's degree in a relevant subject – with an overall average of 65% or above, a minimum mark of 65% in your dissertation and no mark below 55% (or overseas equivalent)

Full entry requirements

Apply online

Please ensure you include all  required supporting documents  at the time of submission, as incomplete applications may not be considered.

Application Deadlines

For consideration in internal funding competitions, you must submit your completed application by  13 January 2025.

If you are applying for or have secured external funding (for example, from an employer or government) or are self–funding, you must submit your application before the below deadlines to be considered. You will not be able to apply after these dates have passed.

• For September 2025 entry:  30 June 2025
• For January 2026 entry:  30 September 2025

Programme options

Programme overview.

• Access expert supervision across an exceptional breadth of research areas in Linguistics.
• Join a vibrant and lively international centre for Linguistics with an active postgraduate research community.  
• Alongside an exceptionally large cluster of experts on English language, we have particular strengths in Romance, Germanic, and Austronesian languages, as well as the languages of Latin America and Africa.
• 92% of our research activity was recognised as 'world leading' or `internationally excellent' REF2021.

Our virtual week took place October 2024 – to find out about future sessions to explore postgraduate research opportunities across the university, please visit our study fairs and events page.

To stay up-to-date with future events and recorded sessions in the Faculty of Humanities, please join our postgraduate research email update list .

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2025, the tuition fees are as follows:

• PhD (full-time) UK students (per annum): TBC International, including EU, students (per annum): £22,000
• PhD (part-time) UK students (per annum): TBC International, including EU, students (per annum): £11,000

Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.

Please note for the majority of projects where experimentation requires further resource: higher fee bands (where quoted) will be charged rather than the base rate for supervision, administration and computational costs. The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive and, therefore, you will not be required to pay any additional bench fees or administration costs.

All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of the course for UK/EU students (fees are typically fixed for International students, for the course duration at the year of entry). For general fees information please visit: postgraduate fees . Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your project.

Scholarships/sponsorships

There are a range of scholarships, studentships and awards to support both UK and overseas postgraduate researchers, details of which can be found via the links below.

To apply for University of Manchester funding, you must indicate in your application the competitions for which you wish to be considered. The deadline for most internal competitions, including AHRC NWCDTP and School of Arts, Languages and Cultures studentships is 13 January 2025.

All external funding competitions have a specified deadline for submitting the funding application form and a separate (earlier) deadline for submitting the online programme application form, both of which will be stated in the funding competition details below. 

You will need to be nominated by your proposed supervisor for a number of our scholarships. Therefore, we highly recommend you discuss these funding opportunities with your supervisor first, so they can advise on your suitability and ensure you meet nomination deadlines.

For more funding information, visit our funding page or use our funding database to search for scholarships, studentships and awards you may be eligible for.

• ESRC North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP) PhD Studentships 2025 Entry
• AHRC North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership (NWCDTP) PhD Studentships 2025 Entry
• School of Arts, Languages and Cultures PhD Studentships 2025 Entry
• China Scholarship Council - The University of Manchester (CSC-UoM) Joint Scholarship Programme 2025 Entry
• School of Arts, Languages and Cultures New Generation PhD Studentships 2025 Entry
• President's Doctoral Scholar (PDS) Awards 2025 Entry
• Trudeau Doctoral Scholarships 2025 Entry
• Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (High Income Countries)
• Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (Least Developed Countries and Fragile States)

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Programmes in related subject areas

Use the links below to view lists of programmes in related subject areas.

• Linguistics and English Language

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You can find regulations and policies relating to student life at The University of Manchester, including our Degree Regulations and Complaints Procedure, on our regulations website .

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Linguistics (PhD)

Program description.

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Linguistics offered by the Department of Linguistics in the Faculty of Arts is a research-intensive program that emphasizes specialized and well-researched learning opportunities. The program's objective is to equip students with skills in self-direction, visionary thinking, and scientific communication to pursue professional opportunities in academia or industry.

The program may also be taken with a Language Acquisition option where students focus their thesis on the research area of language acquisition.

Keywords: Theoretical linguistics, experimental linguistics, computational linguistics, quantitative methods, linguistic field work, language acquisition, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, linguistics

Unique Program Features

• The program which provides training in the fundamentals of theoretical and experimental linguistics also offers a competitive funding package (covering living expenses, tuition and fees) for the length of the program (i.e., five years);
• Students benefit from access to a rich research landscape in cognitive science where many Faculty members are associated with leading research centers including the Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM) and Mila - Quebec AI Institute;
• The Department has several labs for conducting research including rooms for elicitation, running experiments including in sound booths and with an eye-tracker, and access to high performance computing infrastructure.

University-Level Admission Requirements

• An eligible Bachelor's degree with a minimum 3.0 GPA out of a possible 4.0 GPA
• English-language proficiency

Each program has specific admission requirements including required application documents. Please visit the program website for more details.

Visit our Educational credentials and grade equivalencies and English language proficiency webpages for additional information.

Program Website

PhD in Linguistics website

Department Contact

Graduate Program gradprogram.linguistics [at] mcgill.ca (subject: PhD%20in%20Linguistics) (email)

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Application deadlines.

Note : Application deadlines are subject to change without notice. Please check the application portal for the most up-to-date information.

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Consult our full list of our virtual application-focused workshops on the Events webpage.

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PhD Program

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The Department of Linguistics is pleased to announce that we are accepting admissions for the PhD program. The application deadline is December 1 for entry the following fall. For more information about the program and the application process, please see below and the Frequently Asked Questions page. If you consider applying to our program, or have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Amanda Huensch,  [email protected] .

We only accept PhD students with specialization in areas in which the core faculty have expertise. These areas include phonetics/phonology, second language acquisition, sociolinguistics, and Hispanic linguistics. Students can receive enhanced training in statistical modeling and data science and are also welcome to take courses in other departments and at Carnegie Mellon University.

Students with a B.A. or B.S. degree may apply for admission to the PhD program. Such students may also earn an MA degree on the way to obtaining the PhD.

Because PhD students follow highly individualized programs and work closely with their professors, only a limited number of applicants can be admitted to the doctoral program at a time.

The School of Arts and Sciences requires a minimum of 72 credits beyond the baccalaureate for a PhD degree; credits earned for the MA will of course count toward this total. Students who received their MA degree in the department can normally use all earned credits toward the PhD degree; entering students may transfer a maximum of 30 credits, provided the course work is the equivalent of that taught in the department. In the rare case of a student entering without the equivalent of the linguistics core courses for the MA in applied linguistics, those courses must first be completed.

View course descriptions at the University's Graduate Catalog.

Current MA students who wish to move to the PhD program upon completion of their MA degree need not submit a completely new application. They must, however, write a letter to the director of graduate studies requesting that they be considered for the PhD program. In this letter, they should indicate what subfield their PhD research will focus on and which faculty member(s) they would like to work with. Students must discuss the possibility of doing the PhD with the faculty member(s) before applying. If students wish to be considered for admission to the PhD program, they must submit this letter before February 1 of the academic year before they intend to enter the PhD program. The students should clearly state whether financial aid is being requested.

Knowledge of other languages

No foreign language prerequisite is needed to apply to the graduate program. However, by end of the PhD program, students should have knowledge of other languages as described in the Department's Graduate Student Handbook.

Preliminary Screening Exam

The preliminary screening exam normally consists of three edited term papers submitted at the end of the third semester of study.

Comprehensive Examinations

The comprehensive examination consists of two publishable papers approximately 10,000 words in length.

Dissertation

When students have successfully completed the PhD comprehensive examination, they must prepare a dissertation prospectus and present it in a formal dissertation overview meeting. Upon approval of the prospectus, students will be admitted to candidacy for the PhD. They must then prepare and submit a dissertation that is a contribution to linguistic knowledge.

Specific information about the requirements is available for the following topics and can be found in the Graduate Student Handbook:

• Comprehensive papers
• Dissertation proposal
• More information on PhD requirements

Photo above:  PhD graduate, Dr. Matthew John Hadodo conducted ethnographic fieldwork on the Istanbul Greek community in the summer of 2016. Here is a former Greek boys' grammar school that has since been converted into a Turkish film academy. Located in the Asian side of Istanbul (Üsküdar, formerly Σκούταρι Skutari), the Neoclassical building with Doric columns also boasts a Turkish flag covering the Greek writing and the traditional Nazar or Evil Eye commonplace in the Mediterranean.

• United Kingdom
• Swansea University
• Posted on: 21 December 2022

Applied Linguistics: Fully Funded UKRI PHD Scholarship: Discourses of Trust in User-Generated Evidence (TRUE)

Job Information

Offer description.

TRUE  is a five-year research project originally selected for funding by the European Research Council, which is funded by a UKRI Frontier Research grant [no. EP/X016021/1] from July 2022-June 2027. Through an innovative interdisciplinary methodology combining legal and linguistic analysis of trials, large online experiments, and mock jury trials, TRUE will develop the first systematic account of trust in user-generated evidence (such as photos and videos recorded by witnesses on their mobile phones), in the specific context of its use in human rights accountability processes.

We are seeking to appoint a PhD student in Applied Linguistics, with a focus on CADS, to collaborate on one of the key strands of this project, which will focus on investigating laypeople’s discourse leading to their make judgments about the trustworthiness of user-generated evidence, through a series of mock jury studies. We expect the student to conduct corpus-assisted analyses of the discourse (transcripts) of mock jury deliberations, perhaps also undertaking a multimodal analysis of specific aspects of the recorded deliberation sessions. There will be considerable scope for the successful candidate to shape their own research agenda within the parameters of the broader project and its research objectives. More information about the project can be found on  www.trueproject.co.uk .

We invite interested individuals with a good undergraduate degree and Masters degree in Linguistics, especially Corpus Linguistics and Discourse Analysis, to apply for this fully-funded PhD position.

Applicants should include a 500-word research proposal, setting out a sample research question (within the scope of the TRUE project), the methods they would use to answer this research question, and the approach that would be used to analyse the data. Applicants should assume a dataset comprising between 100,000 and 500,000 words from 12 Mock jury transcripts, and 10-20 hours of video-recording material from the same mock jury settings will be made available to them for analysis.

Where to apply

Requirements.

Candidates must normally hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level and a master’s degree with a minimum overall grade at ‘Merit’. Alternatively, applicants with a UK first class honours degree (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University) not holding a master’s degree, will be considered on an individual basis. 

English Language requirements:  If applicable – IELTS 6.5 overall (with no individual component below 6.5) or Swansea recognised equivalent. 

This scholarship is open to candidates of any nationality.

Additional Information

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rate (currently £17,668 for 2022/23).

Additional research expenses will also be available. 

Please see our website for more information.

Work Location(s)

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