Program Overview
Introduction to the PhD Program in Linguistics
The UC San Diego PhD program in linguistics offers rigorous training in multiple areas of theoretical linguistics, including syntax, semantics, phonetics, phonology, and morphology. The department is particularly strong in the study of interface areas, including syntax/semantics, phonetics/phonology, and phonology/syntax. Research conducted in a variety of theoretical frameworks is integrated into the graduate curriculum.
Program Structure
Students receive a firm foundation in formal approaches to syntax and semantics. In phonology, basic training includes segmental and autosegmental phonology, constraint-based phonology, syllable theory, metrical theory, and theories of the phonology-morphology interface. The required courses of the graduate curriculum, typically completed within the first two years of the program, are devoted primarily to gaining a strong background in these core theoretical areas.
Language Study and Experimental Science
The range of languages represented in faculty research encompasses American Sign Language (ASL), Caucasian, Chinese, Finno-Ugric, Germanic, Greek, Persian, Romance, Semitic, Slavic, and Uto-Aztecan. The departmental concern with the empirical facts of language is reflected in a field methods requirement for graduate students as well as in the graduate student language requirement (conversational ability in one language other than English and reading ability in one language other than English).
Departmental Resources
The department houses laboratories devoted to experimental studies of language with emphasis on phonetics, event-related brain potentials (ERPs), computational linguistics, and signed languages. The focus of experimental research in the department is the mutual dependence between mechanisms of language processing and theories of phonology, syntax, and semantics.
Admission and Preparation
Since linguistics is a highly technical and analytic field, linguistics students will find their undergraduate training in mathematics and the natural sciences especially valuable. Undergraduate work in certain of the social sciences and humanities, particularly psychology, anthropology, philosophy, and literature, is also good preparation for linguistics. The ideal candidate for admission will have both experience with foreign languages and some knowledge of the fundamentals of contemporary linguistic theory.
Language Requirements
A candidate for the PhD must demonstrate:
- Conversational ability in one language other than English.
- A reading knowledge of any one language other than his or her native language, subject to faculty approval.
Required Courses
Candidates for the PhD must pass certain linguistics graduate courses prior to taking the qualifying examination. All graduate students must take a common core of ten courses. These are:
- LIGN 210. Phonetics
- LIGN 211. Phonology
- LIGN 220. Morphology
- LIGN 221. Syntax
- LIGN 230. Semantics
- LIGN 240. Field Methods
- LIGN 293. Research Practicum
All required courses (except 293) must be taken for a letter grade.
Elective Courses
In addition, students must successfully complete five elective graduate courses, at least three of which must be Department of Linguistics graduate course offerings. All five elective courses must also be taken for a letter grade.
Evaluations and Qualifying Examination
A graduate student is formally evaluated by the entire faculty at particular stages during the two years of graduate study. The first evaluation (at the end of the third quarter of graduate study) pertains chiefly to performance in courses. The second (or comprehensive) evaluation (at the end of the sixth quarter) determines the student's fitness to continue in the PhD program.
Candidates for the PhD must pass an oral qualifying examination that tests the student's knowledge in the area of specialization. Prior to taking this examination, the student must pass the comprehensive evaluation, satisfy all language requirements, successfully complete all required courses, and demonstrate--through a research paper--the ability to carry out independent, dissertation-level research.
Dissertation
The candidate for the PhD will write a substantial dissertation incorporating the results of original and independent research carried out under the supervision of the doctoral committee. The candidate will be recommended for the doctor of philosophy degree after having made a successful oral defense of the dissertation before the doctoral committee in a public meeting and after having the final version of the dissertation accepted by Geisel Library.
Teaching Opportunities
As part of their preparation for a future academic career, graduate students in linguistics at UC San Diego are given special opportunities to participate in teaching programs under the supervision of a professor. Depending on qualifications, students may conduct conversation or analysis classes in lower-division language courses (LLP and HLP), or may assist a professor in the teaching of an undergraduate linguistics course.
Other Degrees
Candidates for the PhD who have not previously earned a master's degree may be granted the MA in linguistics after satisfactorily completing twelve required courses and passing the comprehensive evaluation at the end of the sixth quarter.
Departmental PhD Time Limit Policies
The time a student takes to complete the PhD depends on a number of factors, including previous preparation and the amount of time spent in teaching or other job commitments. Several policies set an upper limit to the length of the program. It is expected that all degree requirements other than the dissertation will be completed by the end of the ninth quarter of graduate work; however, all must be completed by the end of the tenth quarter of graduate work.
Specialization in Anthropogeny
There is a transdisciplinary graduate specialization in anthropogeny with the aim of providing graduate students the opportunity to specialize in research and education on explaining the origins of the human phenomenon. This specialization is not a stand-alone program but aims at providing graduate students who have just embarked on their graduate careers with the opportunity to interact and communicate with peers in radically different disciplines throughout the duration of their PhD projects.
Admission to the Specialization
The Linguistics Graduate Program will advertise the specialization to those students in our programs who have an interest in human origins. Qualifying applicants will have the opportunity to enroll for the specialization.
Specialization Requirements
Students pursuing this specialization will be required to take a series of courses in addition to research rounds over four years of study. It is advised that students begin their course work in their second year.
- Course work: Introduction to Anthropogeny (BIOM 225) and Advanced Anthropogeny (BIOM 229) are each taken once, in the winter and spring of the students' second year. Current Topics in Anthropogeny (BIOM 218) is to be taken every quarter for four years.
- Research Rounds: Monthly seminars during which all participating students talk about their respective research.
Specialization in Computational Social Science
Computational Social Science (CSS) integrates large-scale data analysis with formal, causal models from social science domains, to not only improve predictions but also guide extrapolation and intervention beyond existing data. Students pursuing the specialization will find a clear path to accessing training in computational social science, a formal mechanism for recognizing their efforts, and access to a broad network of relevant scholars.
Eligibility
The graduate specialization in computational social science is only available to students currently enrolled in a PhD program at UC San Diego in the following School of Social Sciences departments: anthropology, communication, cognitive science, economics, education studies, ethnic studies, linguistics, political science, psychology, and sociology.
Requirements
In addition to the PhD requirements of their home department, admitted students are required to complete the following requirements:
- Three quarters of CSS 209. Computational Social Science Research Seminar.
- Three courses from a list of electives, at least one of which must not count toward the home department PhD requirements, with at least one of these electives drawn from the subset of "advanced data" courses.
- Appointment to the dissertation committee of at least one CSS affiliated faculty member not affiliated with the student's home department.
- Satisfactory completion of a dissertation including a technical and/or computational social science component.