The Master of Arts degree in Applied Linguistics encompasses a broad range of required core courses plus the opportunity to pursue the study of one area in depth through elective courses and a thesis. A minimum of 39 semester hours is required for the MA in Applied Linguistics, of which a minimum of three and a maximum of six may be allowed for the thesis (LING 599). A minimum of 15 semester hours must be at the 500 level. More information is available in the Graduate Catalog.
Required Core Courses for the MA in Applied Linguistics (21 semester hours)
- LING 401-3 General Linguistics
- LING 402-3 Phonetics
- LING 405-3 Phonological Theories
- LING 406-3 Introduction to Historical Linguistics
- LING 408-3 Syntactic Theory
- LING 415-3 Sociolinguistics
- LING 445-3 Psycholinguistics
Elective courses may be selected from courses offered within the department or from courses taught by faculty in the Departments of Anthropology, Communication Disorders and Sciences, Computer Science, English, Foreign Languages and Literatures, Philosophy, Psychology, Speech Communication, and the College of Education. Where appropriate, students are encouraged to take courses in quantitative and ethnographic research methods taught in the Department of Educational Psychology and Anthropology.
A thesis is required of all students in the MA in Applied Linguistics program. The thesis is a written summary of a student's independent research conducted while enrolled in one of the department's MA programs. A thesis is expected to include a clear statement of the topic, identification of the particular issues to be investigated, a literature review, an explanation of the procedures followed, and an analysis and discussion of research findings. Each student writing a thesis must have a thesis committee composed of at least three faculty members, one of whom serves as chair of the committee and must be from the Department of Linguistics. The thesis must be submitted to a public oral examination by the student's committee. Detailed information regarding the thesis may be found in Thesis Policies and Guidelines, copies of which are available in the department.
