The MA in English concentration in linguistics is theoretically oriented and provides a solid foundation in the major subfields of linguistics: phonology, syntax, and semantics. The concentration combines courses in linguistics with courses in some related area of language study, such as teaching English as a second language, bilingual education, or foreign language teaching. This course of study is designed to prepare students for teaching in one of these fields or for doctoral work.
Most graduates teach language—they are ESL instructors at colleges, adult education programs, and in public school systems. Linguists are also employed in hospitals as speech and language therapists. They might hold positions in industry as computational linguists, dealing with language understanding by machines. Other career opportunities include automatic translation, speech recognition, and brand-name creation.
The graduate certificate in teaching English as a second language can be earned concurrently.
Degree Requirements (Catalog Year 2012-2013)
Students in this concentration must complete the foreign language proficiency required of all students pursuing the MA in English and the requirements below.
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Six core courses (18 credits): LING 690, 691, 692, 785, 786, 787
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Four elective courses (12 credits)
In consultation with an advisor, students choose courses that reflect one or more areas of language study. Electives can be in such areas as linguistics, the teaching of reading or writing, literary criticism, bilingual education, or a foreign language, and may include 6 credits of thesis.
Total: 30 Credits
Requirements may be different for earlier catalog years. See the University Catalog archives.