Department of Linguistics

All M.A.T., M.S., and Ph.D. students are required to have in-depth knowledge of a foreign language. (Students in the MLC program do not have a language requirement.) A foreign language is a language other than the student’s native language: Students whose native language is not English may present English as a foreign language. In addition, all Ph.D. students must demonstrate proficiency in the use of a research tool.

Foreign language proficiency is required in linguistic research for either or both of the following two reasons:

•As a medium: The language is needed so that the student can conduct teaching, research, or other professional activities using the language, or

•For linguistic analysis: The language is needed so that the student can carry out linguistic analysis using data from that language.

Many students will already have sufficient proficiency in a foreign language to satisfy the requirement before beginning their graduate program. If not, there are several ways to gain proficiency, and the way in which a student fulfills the language requirement depends on whether they need the language mainly as a medium or mainly for linguistic analysis.

For details on how to fulfill the language requirement and the research tool, please refer to the Linguistics Department's Graduate Student Handbook. Please also refer to the Graduate School's Bulletin which details the procedures for requesting a language scholarship.