Department of Linguistics

1)     Requirements for the Accelerated M.A. in Linguistics with a track in Language and Communication

The M.A. in Language and Communication prepares students to use linguistics, especially the areas of discourse analysis (including narrative analysis and cross cultural communication), sociolinguistics, and pragmatics in the workforce. The degree will prepare students for careers in fields such as human resources, education, mediation and arbitration, technical and scientific writing, management, international communication, diversity training, counseling, advertising, marketing, usability testing, public relations, and media/ public opinion research. The MLC also offers broad training in the analysis of language and communication, with possible foci on language and health care, language and the law, language and business.
 
Overall requirements:

10 courses (30 credits)Other than the two required courses (LING 401 and the Proseminar), there is flexibility in all course requirements. 

Required Courses
LING 401: General Linguistics (may be waived only if student has a background in Linguistics).

MLC Proseminar: a professional socialization course designed to illustrate how to use linguistics in professional contexts. Offered in the Spring semester, but participation is required in events throughout the year (click here and /or contact the Assistant Director for further information about the proseminar).

3 additional courses, to be selected from the following:

Approaches to Discourse
Discourse Analysis: Conversation
Discourse Analysis: Narrative
Discourse Markers
Ethnography of Communication
Intercultural Communication
Introduction to Sociolinguistics
Pragmatics
Sociolinguistic Field Methods
Sociolinguistic Variation

Electives
4- 6 courses (depending on Master's Thesis option), to be selected from the above list (with permission from advisor) or from the following list:

American Dialects
Approaches to discourse analysis
Computational Tools for Linguists
Corpus Linguistics
Cross-disciplinary Discourse Analysis
Discourse Markers
Intertextuality
Language and Aging
Language and Gender
Language and Identity
Language and Law
Language and Medical Discourse
Language and Religion
Language and the Internet
Language and the Media
Language in the USA
Linguistics and Education
Linguistics and Writing
Linguistics in the Professions
Multimodal Discourse
Statistics for Linguists

Alternative courses, which reflect the needs and interests of individual students, may be selected under the guidance of the faculty advisor. They may include courses in other departments or schools within Georgetown, as well as courses at area universities (e.g. American, George Mason, George Washington) through the Washington Area Consortium of Universities.

2) Admission to the Accelerated MLC program

a)    Only Linguistics majors (or a student with a double major in Linguistics and another major) with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 overall and in the Linguistics major are eligible.
b)    Students must apply to the Accelerated MLC program by January 1 of their third undergraduate year (in order to select appropriate fourth-year courses).
The application consists of a completed Graduate School application form, a copy of the student’s undergraduate transcript, three letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, and a writing sample. (Applicants do not have take the GRE or pay an application fee.)
c)    Applications to the Accelerated MLC program are reviewed in the same pool as all graduate applicants.
d)    Accepted students must complete a plan of study with their advisor and/or the Director of Undergraduate Studies before preregistration in the spring of their third year.

e)    The requirements of the Accelerated MLC program are the same as those for the regular MLC program with 2 exceptions:       

a.    The MLC requirements can be satisfied more quickly. This is because two graduate courses (LING 350 or higher) are taken during the fourth year in addition to the AB degree requirements (38 courses, 120 credits). These two courses may then be applied to the MLC degree.

b.    Unlike the students in the regular MA program with the MLC degree—who can choose between taking 8 courses (24 credits) plus Master's Thesis or 30 credits—students in the Accelerated  MLC must complete 30 credits.