LING-MA - Linguistics (MA)
Download as PDF
Program Overview
Master of Arts in Linguistics
The MA program develops students' knowledge of linguistics, preparing them for a professional career or doctoral study in linguistics or related disciplines. This is achieved through completion of basic breadth and more advanced coursework. Students may also choose to gain experience with independent research in Linguistics through the completion of an optional research project.
See Graduate Degrees for the university’s basic requirements for the MA degree.
Admissions Information
Please see the Department of Linguistics website for admissions information.
Coterm Admissions Information
Please see the Department of Linguistics website for admissions information.
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
Program Requirements Overview
The MA degree requires the completion of 45 units, at least 36 of these must be in Linguistics.
The coursework must include five basic courses as described in the Course Requirements section; these courses must be completed with at least a B and taken for four units.
The overall coursework grade point average (GPA) must be at least 3.0 (B). A GPA of less than 3.0 indicates that a student may not be performing at the level expected of an MA student in the program.
At least 30 units taken towards the 45 units of degree program coursework must be taken for a letter grade.
No more than two courses should be at the 100 level and no course should be below the 100 level.
If the student can make a compelling case, the department may allow up to 9 of the 45 units to be in a department other than Linguistics. Courses from outside the department must have explicit linguistic content; furthermore, if the student is simultaneously enrolled in a degree program in another department, not all of these 9 units can be earned in that department.
Course Requirements Overview
The basic breadth courses are divided into Groups I and II, which in turn are divided into subgroups, e.g., Phonetics and Phonology, Morphology, Computational Linguistics, etc.
Students are required to take a total of five courses from Groups I and II.
The courses must be from 4 different subgroups, at least from 1 subgroup within Group I and from 1 subgroup within Group II.
The fifth course must be drawn from one of these 4 subgroups, providing more depth in one subgroup.
Students may take more courses in any given subgroup as additional courses.
One further course providing exposure to current research in a subfield of linguistics (1 unit, S/NC); see the Linguistics MA Program Proposal form for the current list.
Some of these course have prerequisites within their subgroup.
- 1208072
- 2194591
- 1208111
- 2257151
- 1208151
- 1208511
- 1408391
- 2275692
- 2011662
- 1208821
- 1208931
- 2219341
Some of these course have prerequisites within their subgroup.
- 2085113
- 1209042
or any additional LINGUIST course numbered 281-289
- 2183663
- 2079791
- 1209311
- 2124032
- 2034061
Students who are planning to apply to a PhD program in Linguistics are strongly encouraged to take at least one graduate-level introductory course in each of the following three areas: (i) Phonetics and Phonology, (ii) Syntax and Morphology, and (iii) Semantics and Pragmatics. It is also highly recommended that they take a class in research methods relevant to their key areas of interest.
Department Coterminal Requirements
Coterminal master’s degree candidates are expected to complete all master’s degree requirements as described in this Bulletin. Coterminal Master's Degrees describes university requirements for the coterminal master’s degree. Graduate Degrees describes university requirements for the master’s degree.
If a co-term student uses any courses listed in Group I and Group II of the required courses, whether with an undergraduate or graduate course number, towards their undergraduate degree, they cannot use these courses towards the MA requirements. Students may take further courses in the relevant subgroups of Groups I and II instead.
The university requires that the MA program advisor be assigned in the student’s first graduate quarter even though the undergraduate career may still be open. The university also requires that the Master’s Degree Program Proposal be completed by the student and approved by the department by the end of the student’s first graduate quarter.
The student may elect to carry out a research project under the supervision of a faculty member in the Department of Linguistics. The write-up of the project must be approved by this advisor and a second reader. The second reader should be chosen in consultation with the project advisor and may be a faculty member in Linguistics or in another Stanford department. The approved write-up must be submitted to the Assistant Director of Student Services no later than the university thesis deadline in the quarter in which the student plans to graduate.
Students may register for up to 8 units of directed research (LINGUIST 398 Directed Research or LINGUIST 390 MA Project) in conjunction with this project.
- 1210481
- 1210611