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.)

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.

Keys and Symbols Reference