Linguistics, MA

Admission Requirements

LINGUISTICS (LIN) Deadlines (for Fall admission):

• M.A. Linguistics: May 1

For admission to all graduate program in the Department of Linguistics, the following, in addition to the minimum Graduate School requirements,are normally required:

1. Baccalaureate Degree: Students must present evidence that such a BA or BS degree will be awarded by the time they begin graduate work. A final transcript is required prior to registration.
2. Minimum grade point average of 3.0: A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher (or its foreign equivalent) on a 4-point scale is required.
3. Recommendations: Three letters of recommendation are required.
4. Graduate Record Examination (GRE): The GRE is not required for the MA LIN, the MA CompLing, the MA TESOL, and the PhD in Linguistics.
5. Curriculum Vitae (CV)
6. Writing Sample:

MA LIN and PhD: The writing sample should be a paper written for a previous course taken in linguistics, or if that is not available, a paper on any subject is acceptable.

1. Foreign Language Requirement:

MA programs: Native speakers of English must provide evidence of at least one year (or six credits) of study of one language other than English at the college level with a grade of C or better. Students who are seeking New York State certification will need to satisfy additional requirements for foreign language study before receiving certification.

1. English proficiency (for students whose native language is not English):

• PhD, MA LIN, MA Comp Ling: 250 (computer), 90 (iBT TOEFL) or 6.5 (IELTS).
• MA TESOL:
• Minimum total score: 90 (iBT TOEFL) or 6.5 (IELTS).
• Minimum speaking component scores: 22 (iBT TOEFL) or 6.5 (IELTS).

Please note that non-native speakers who are seeking New York State certification must achieve a speaking component score of 28 (iBT) or the equivalent.

Note: For all programs, students who do not meet the above requirements may be admitted conditionally. Their status will be reviewed after their first semester of graduate study.

Degree Requirements

The MA LIN is a 30 credit Masters program aimed at students interested in pursuing linguistics beyond the BA level, but not yet ready for, or notplanning to go on to, the PhD. The curricular focus of the MA LIN is on theoretical rather than applied linguistics. Students interested in appliedor computational linguistics at the MA level are encouraged to consider the MA TESOL or MA Computational Linguistics program.

The MA LIN is a coursework degree, consisting of 12 credits of required courses and 18 credits of electives.