Linguistics, M.A.

Students should work out their individual program in advance of beginning the program with an advisor in Linguistics keeping the following requirements and guidelines in mind. The M.A. degree requires the completion of 45 units; at least 36 of these must be in Linguistics. The coursework must include one introductory course in each of the areas of sound structure, syntax, and semantics, as well as four courses in the student’s area of specialization. If the student can make a compelling case, the department will allow up to 9 of the 45 units required for the M.A. to be in a department other than Linguistics. Courses from outside the Department of Linguistics must have clear linguistic content or contribute methodological knowledge that will facilitate the thesis project. No more than two courses taken for the M.A. program should be at the 100 level. Students must complete a research paper supervised by a committee of three faculty (normally this requirement is fulfilled by up to 6 units of Linguistics 398, Directed Research). The primary advisor should be a regular faculty member in the Department of Linguistics; students should discuss the selection of the additional two readers with the primary reader.