Graduate Program

Degrees Offered

  • Master of Arts in Linguistics (M.A.)
    Concentration: Native American Languages of the Southwest.
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics (Ph.D.)
    Concentration: Speech and Hearing Sciences.

Shared-Credit Undergraduate/Graduate Degrees Program

The Department of Linguistics offers a Shared-Credit Undergraduate/Graduate Degrees Program. The program enables completion of the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Linguistics and the M.A. in Linguistics in a shorter timeframe than it would take to complete both degrees separately. Students completing an undergraduate minor in Linguistics may also seek admission to the program. See the Linguistics - Undergraduate Program section of this Catalog for specific information and requirements.


Application Deadlines

  M.A. Ph.D.
Fall semester:  March 31 December 15
Spring semester: October 31 None accepted
Summer semester: March 31 None accepted


All applications seeking financial aid must be received by December 15.


Master of Arts in Linguistics

The Department of Linguistics offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) in Linguistics with flexibility in selection of an area of study. This degree is offered under Plan I (thesis) or Plan II (non-thesis) according to the regulations set forth in the Graduate Program section of this Catalog, except that a minimum of 12 credit hours of 500-level courses is required.

Minimum prerequisites for pursuing the M.A. in Linguistics are 12 credit hours of basic linguistics, including introductory linguistic analysis, phonetics, phonological analysis, and grammatical analysis. Deficiencies in these prerequisites may be made up after admission to the program but such coursework may not be counted toward the degree.

Candidates for the master's degree must complete 21 credit hours of core coursework, including 3 credit hours in each of the following areas: phonology (LING 502, 503), morphosyntax (LING 512), psycholinguistics (LING 560, 565, 567, 568), sociolinguistics (LING 533, 534, or a seminar on a relevant topic), language change (LING 546), and two of the following three areas: discourse/syntax (LING 523, 529, or a seminar on a relevant topic), cognitive linguistics (LING 519, 525, or a seminar on a relevant topic), and typology (LING 513, 517, 548, or a seminar on a relevant topic). The remaining required credit hours are selected by the candidate, with the approval of the Graduate Advisor.

Plan I students complete 24 credit hours of coursework, plus master's thesis, and are required to undergo an oral examination of the thesis.
Plan II students complete 32 credit hours of coursework and are required to take a written comprehensive examination.

Concentration in Native American Languages of the Southwest

The Department of Linguistics offers the M.A. in Linguistics with a concentration in Native American Languages of the Southwest. The program is designed so as to take advantage of the resources in the Departments of Linguistics, Native American Studies, and Anthropology, as well as in the College of Education and Human Sciences. The concentration is designed to fit with the department’s interest in functional grammar and sociolinguistics.

Plan I (thesis): Complete 24 credit hours of coursework in linguistics plus at least 8 thesis credit hours.
Plan II (non-thesis): Complete 32 credit hours of coursework in linguistics.

The candidate chooses one of three focus areas:

  • field research on Native American languages;
  • issues in bilingual education;
  • Navajo studies.

Four courses in the chosen focus area and one course from either of the other two focus areas are required.


Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics

Admission to the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Linguistics is highly selective. The following criteria must be met: 1) completion of coursework equivalent to the University of New Mexico M.A. in Linguistics with an average of "B+" or better; 2) Pass with Distinction on the University of New Mexico M.A. Comprehensive Exam or equivalent, and the submission of a research paper of publishable quality; and 3) willingness of a University of New Mexico Linguistics faculty member to serve as the student’s mentor.

The Ph.D. program requires a minimum of 48 credit hours of graduate coursework. This may include up to 30 credit hours of appropriate courses from the M.A. but at least 18 credit hours must be work beyond the M.A. At least 24 credit hours must be completed at UNM and at least 18 credit hours must be at the 500- or 600-level.

Requirements

1.  a graduate phonology course (LING 502 or 503);
2.  an advanced course in phonetics or phonology (a seminar in phonetics or phonology);
3.  a course in three of the following four areas:
     •  discourse/syntax (LING 523, 529, or a seminar on a relevant topic);
     •  cognitive linguistics (LING 519, 525, or a seminar on a relevant topic);
     •  sociolinguistics (LING 533, 534, or a seminar on a relevant topic);
     •  typology (LING 513, 517, 548, or a seminar on a relevant topic);
4.  at least one methods course;
5.  three advanced seminars in the areas of preparation for the comprehensive examination.

These required courses include some that were required for the M.A. and courses taken for that degree may be included as fulfilling the requirements for the Ph.D. as well.

Required Research Skills

  • reading, writing, and conversational ability in a language other than the student’s native language (this requirement may be fulfilled by four semesters of college language courses with a grade of "B" or better);
  • knowledge of the structure of a non-Indo-European language;
  • coursework in statistics up to and including analysis of variance or the equivalent.

Before advancing to candidacy, Ph.D. students are required to complete one qualifying paper and submit it to a refereed journal once it is approved by a committee of qualified faculty, and to prepare and present a dissertation prospectus.

Concentration in Speech and Hearing Sciences

The Department offers a concentration in Speech and Hearing Sciences for students in the doctoral program interested in combining the study of speech and hearing sciences with linguistics.

Requirements for students who have a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology: (LING 502 or 503), 504, 522, 523, 531, 533, 567.

Requirements for students who have a master’s degree in Linguistics: LING 506, (560 or SHS 530); SHS 507, 510, 536, 550; one additional SHS course on disorders.

Requirements for all students in the concentration: a second graduate course in phonetics and phonology (LING 502 or 503); LING 529; and the following: graduate-level courses in statistics, research methods (not SHS 506), and three seminars in the areas of specialization for the comprehensive examination (specific courses must be approved by the Committee on Studies). Students in the concentration must also meet all other requirements for the Ph.D. in Linguistics.


Courses

LING 1996. Topics. (1-6, no limit Δ)



LING 2110. Introduction to the Study of Language and Linguistics. (3)



LING 2151. Language of Advertising. (3)



LING 2996. Topics. (1-6, no limit Δ)



LING 301. Introduction to Linguistic Analysis. (3)



LING 302. Phonetic Analysis. (3)



LING 303. Introduction to Phonetics. (3)



LING 304 / 504. Phonological Analysis. (3)



LING 322 / 522. Grammatical Analysis. (3)



LING 331 / 531. Language in Society. (3)



LING 334 / 534. Language and Gender. (3)



LING 359. Language and Culture. (3)



LING 367 / 567. Psychology of Language. (3)



LING *401–*402. Topics: American Indian Languages. (3, may be repeated three times Δ; 3, may be repeated three times Δ)



LING 412 / 512. Morphosyntax. (3)



LING 413 / 513. Linguistic Field Methods. (3)



LING 415 / 515. Native American Languages. (3)



LING 417 / 517. Typology and Universals. (3)



LING 425 / 525. Semantic Analysis. (3)



LING 429 / 529. Discourse Analysis. (3)



LING 433 / 533. Sociolinguistic Variation. (3)



LING 435 / 535. Language Contact. (3)



LING 446 / 546. Introduction to Language Change. (3)



LING 449. Middle English Language. (3)



LING 460 / 560. Child Language. (3)



LING 469L / 569L. Experimental Psycholinguistics. (3)



LING 490 / 590. Topics in Linguistics. (3, no limit Δ)



LING 495. Undergraduate Problems. (1-6 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



LING 498. Reading and Research for Honors. (3)



LING 499. Honors Thesis. (3)



LING 502. Current Approaches to Phonology. (3)



LING 503. Usage-based Phonology. (3)



LING 504 / 304. Phonological Analysis. (3)



LING 510. Statistical Methods in Linguistics. (3)



LING 512 / 412. Morphosyntax. (3)



LING 513 / 413. Linguistic Field Methods. (3)



LING 515 / 415. Native American Languages. (3)



LING 517 / 417. Typology and Universals. (3)



LING 519. Cognitive Linguistics. (3)



LING 522 / 322. Grammatical Analysis. (3)



LING 523. Functional Syntactic Theories. (3)



LING 525 / 425. Semantic Analysis. (3)



LING 529 / 429. Discourse Analysis. (3)



LING 531 / 331. Language in Society. (3)



LING 533 / 433. Sociolinguistic Variation. (3)



LING 534 / 334. Language and Gender. (3)



LING 535 / 435. Language Contact. (3)



LING 546 / 446. Introduction to Language Change. (3)



LING 548. Grammaticization. (3)



LING 554. Seminar in Linguistic Theory. (3, no limit Δ)



LING 560 / 460. Child Language. (3)



LING 565. Seminar in Thought and Language. (3)



LING 567 / 367. Psychology of Language. (3)



LING 568. Seminar in Psycholinguistics. (3, may be repeated three times Δ)



LING 569L / 469L. Experimental Psycholinguistics. (3)



LING 590 / 490. Topics in Linguistics. (1-3, no limit Δ)



LING 595. Graduate Problems. (1-6 to a maximum of 24 Δ)



LING 599. Master's Thesis. (1-6, no limit Δ)



LING 697. Qualifying Paper. (3-9, may be repeated once Δ)



LING 699. Dissertation. (3-12, no limit Δ)



NAVA 1110. Navajo I. (3)



NAVA 1120. Navajo II. (3)



NAVA 1150. Navajo Medical. (3)



NAVA 2110. Intermediate Navajo I. (3)



NAVA 2120. Intermediate Navajo II. (3)



NVJO 311 / 511. Navajo Verb System I. (3)



NVJO 312 / 512. Navajo Verb System II. (3)



NVJO 315 / 515. Advanced Navajo. (3)



NVJO 401 / 501. Navajo Linguistics. (3)



NVJO 495. Undergraduate Problems. (1-6 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



NVJO 501 / 401. Navajo Linguistics. (3)



NVJO 511 / 311. Navajo Verb System I. (3)



NVJO 512/312. Navajo Verb System II. (3)



NVJO 515 / 315. Advanced Navajo. (3)



NVJO 595. Graduate Problems. (1-6)



SIGN 2125. Introduction to Signed Language. (3)



SIGN 2130. Fingerspelling. (3)



SIGN 2150. Lexical Semantics for Transliteration. (3)



SIGN 2210. American Sign Language I. (3)



SIGN 2220. American Sign Language II. (3)



SIGN *305. Structure of American Sign Language. (3)



SIGN *310. American Sign Language III. (3)



SIGN 320. American Sign Language IV. (3)



SIGN *352. Language and Culture in the Deaf Community, Part 1. (3)



SIGN 355. Deaf History and Literature. (3)



SIGN *360. The Interpreting Profession. (3)



SIGN 411. Consecutive Interpretation. (3)



SIGN 412. Simultaneous Interpreting. (3)



SIGN 418. Signed Language Interpreting Research. (3)



SIGN 419. Practicum in Signed Language Interpreting. (1-3 to a maximum of 4 Δ)



SIGN 495. Undergraduate Problems. (1-6 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



Course Search:




Keyword Search:

Office of the Registrar

MSC11 6325
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131

Phone: (505) 277-8900
Fax: (505) 277-6809