Regulations for Graduate Study
in the Department of Linguistics
at New York University
As of December, 2008
The information contained here sets forth the regulations of the Department of Linguistics. It is intended to complement GSAS regulations, and students are advised to consult the GSAS Rules & Procedures Manual (http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/OASL/gsasppm.pdf).
Table of Contents
1. Programs and Requirements
Admission: The applicant should have a demonstrated strength in one of the areas that the research in the department focuses on and, ideally, a solid background in core areas of linguistics. Entering students should have a reasonable command of at least one foreign language. The Graduate Record Examination is required of all applicants. Admission is based on an evaluation of the full completed GSAS application, including the applicant's academic record, writing sample, scholarly recommendations, and required test scores. Applications are only accepted for admission in the Fall semester.
The graduate program in linguistics is a Ph.D. program, for students interested in a career in research. All applicants must apply directly for this program; applications are not accepted for a stand-alone MA degree. The M.A. degree may be awarded to students in the Ph. D. program upon completion of the requirements outlined below.
Transfer credits: The department does not normally transfer credits for previous graduate course work. In exceptional circumstances, a small number of graduate credits may be transferred. The student will be advised by the Director of Graduate Studies concerning equivalencies. Requests for transfers of credits for particular courses must be made within the student's first year in the department.
While the graduate program in linguistics is a Ph.D. program, it offers continuing students the option of receiving a Master of Arts degree during their studies for the doctorate. The department does not admit students for a stand-alone M.A. degree. Students in the Ph.D. program who complete the following requirements may, at their option, apply for the M.A. degree, but are not required to do so as a prerequisite for the Ph.D.
1.1. M.A. Degree Requirements
Satisfactory completion of graduate studies totaling at least 32 points of approved courses (at least 24 in residence at New York University), including the four basic courses required of all Ph.D. students (G61.1210, G61.1310, G61.1340, G61.1510), and two of the following five courses (G61.2310, G61.1220, G61.1410, G61.2370, G61.2540; see Ph.D requirements below).
Reasonable proficiency in a foreign language of clear relevance to the student's research, subject to approval by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). (For evaluation of language proficiency, see below under Doctor of Philosophy.)
An article-quality paper in which the student demonstrates the ability to carry out original research. This is the student's first qualifying paper; the Ph.D. degree requires a second one. The rules and timetables for the two qualifying papers are spelled out together in item 3 of the Ph.D. requirements. (Students who are leaving the program without completing the Ph.D. may, with the approval of their advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies, substitute another substantial paper or a written comprehensive examination instead of a qualifying paper.)
1.2 Doctor of Philosophy
- a. Course requirements
- b. Foreign language requirements
- c. Qualifying papers
- d. The dissertation proposal
- e. The dissertation defense
- b. Foreign language requirements
For the Ph.D., the student is required to complete a total of 72 points of approved courses (of which at least 32 must be completed in residence at NYU). Coursework in related fields must be approved in advance by the Director of Graduate Studies.
The following courses are required of all students:
| G61.1210 | Phonology I | 4 points | ||
| G61.1310 | Syntax I | 4 points | ||
| G61.1340 | Semantics I | 4 points | ||
| G61.1510 | Sociolinguistics | 4 points |
In addition, students must fulfill breadth and area requirements, as follows.
Breadth requirements: All students are required to take 3 of the following 4 courses: Syntax II (G61.2310), Phonology II (G61.1220), Historical Linguistics (G61.1410), and Field Methods (G61.2540).
Area requirements:For students wishing to specialize in syntax or semantics the area requirements are Syntax II (G61.2310) and Semantics II (G61.2370); Semantics II must be taken in the same year as Semantics I. Area requirements for those wishing to specialize in phonetics or phonology are Phonology II (G61.1220) and a course in Phonetics. Students wishing to specialize in sociolinguistics are required to take Sociolinguistic Field Methods (G61.2540) and Linguistic Variation (G61.2530); the Department also recommends that these students take Linguistic Anthropology (G14.1040) and at least one other course in linguistic anthropology from the following: Ethnographic Methods (G14.2700), Identity and Language (G14.3392), or Linguistic Field Methods (G14.3394). For students wishing to specialize in neurolinguistics, the Department recommends the Seminar in Neurolinguistics (G61.3710) and another appropriate course in this area.
Students are not required to choose a specialization when they enter the program. When they choose, or change, their specializations, the DGS will advise them about how to comply with the area requirements.
For the Ph.D. degree, the student must demonstrate reasonable proficiency in one language other than English which is of clear relevance to the student's research, subject to approval by the Director of Graduate Studies. (A language used to satisfy the M.A. language requirement can satisfy the PhD requirement as well.) Proficiency can be demonstrated either by earning a grade of B or better in at least the fourth term of a college foreign language course completed not more than two years before the student's admission to the Graduate School of Arts and Science, or by passing the appropriate Graduate School of Arts and Science foreign language proficiency examination. When proficiency is demonstrated in some other way (e.g., when a student presents an undergraduate degree from a foreign university where the language in question is the medium of instruction for the student's course of study), the director of graduate studies may forward to GSAS a request for a waiver of the foreign language examination.
For the Ph. D. degree, students must submit qualifying papers in two different areas of linguistics. A qualifying paper (QP) is called ÒqualifyingÓ because by it a student demonstrates that she/he is qualified to do a dissertation. It contains original thought, a command of the literature, sound linguistic analysis and argumentation, and clear presentation.
Length of the paper. Each paper must be no more than 50 double-spaced pages in length (tables, charts, spectrograms, footnotes, and bibliography included).
Selection of a qualifying paper committee. Each qualifying-paper committee consists of a committee chair and two other faculty members. It is the student's responsibility to obtain the consent of the committee chair and members to participate on the committee. The committee should be fully constituted before the start of the semester in which work on the QP is to begin.
The timetable for submission. The student submits the first QP in the fourth semester of the student's career and the second QP in the fifth semester. If one of the QPs contains an extensive experimental or fieldwork component, one semester is added to that QP's timetable. Thus, if it is the first QP, it is due in the fifth semester (and hence the second QP is due in the sixth semester), while if it is the second QP that adds an extensive experimental/ fieldwork component, it is due in the sixth rather than the fifth semester. This alteration of timetable must be agreed upon by the student's adviser, QP committee chair, and the DGS no later than the beginning of the semester in which the QP would otherwise be due.
Proposals. Before undertaking a QP, students must prepare a two-page proposal of their QP consisting of an abstract and a reading list. For QPs with extensive experimental or fieldwork content, this proposal must include a timetable indicating what work is to be done and when, extending across both semesters of work. The student is then expected to adhere to this timetable. For QPs conducted during the spring semester, the proposals must be delivered to the committee chair in the last week of the fall semester; for QPs conducted during the fall semester, they are due the first week of the fall semester. Students receive prompt feedback from the QP committee members on the proposal.
Deadlines. A substantial first draft of the QP must be submitted by the beginning of the tenth week of spring semester (ordinarily the first week after the spring break), or the ninth week of fall semester. The student's committee reviews the paper with the student within three weeks of submission. This evaluation results in a finding that the paper is either acceptable, acceptable upon revision, or unacceptable. If the paper is found to be Òacceptable upon revision,Ó the student will have four weeks to complete the revisions to the satisfaction of the committee.
Students are expected to submit acceptable QPs on time. If a student's paper is either not submitted on time or submitted but not deemed acceptable by the student's committee, or if the student fails to complete acceptable revisions required by the committee within the prescribed time limits, then the student is placed on academic probation. To be removed from probation and return to good academic standing, the student must submit an acceptable QP as soon as possible; when this happens, the student's QP timetable is adjusted by one semester. However, a student who fails to submit an acceptable QP by the end of the semester following the one in which the QP was originally due will be terminated. Probation in connection with Qualifying Papers is only possible once in the student's career. If a student is put on probation for any reason in connection with the first QP, then for the second QP, failure to submit on time, or submission of a paper which is not ultimately passed by the committee will be grounds for termination.
Note also that the Graduate School requires completion of qualifying requirements for doctoral candidates by the end of the third year of study, which means that students must complete and pass both QPs by the end of the third year. Failure to do so is grounds for termination. Therefore, if students have taken an extra semester for a QP with extensive experimental work or field work, there is no room to also have a semester of probation; conversely, if they have taken an extra semester on probation completing a QP, there will be no extra semesters remaining in which to do experimental work/fieldwork.
Changing topics. If a student's first submission is not accepted, the student is permitted to change the topic or even the area of linguistics, provided that the student's two acceptable qualifying papers are in two different areas of linguistics. Changing the topic does not alter the student's timetable or the student's status relative to academic probation or termination. If a student changes the topic or area after the first submission is not accepted, the second submission is precisely that, a second submission of the first QP.
Choosing an advisor and a committee. After a student has completed the second qualifying paper, the student begins work on a dissertation proposal. Once the student has selected the area in which she/he wishes to write a dissertation, the student should meet with her/his potential dissertation advisor and obtain that faculty member's agreement to serve in that capacity. Together the student and the dissertation advisor will explore potential topics for the dissertation.
Students are expected to choose the dissertation advisor by the end of the first week of the seventh semester. This person is responsible for working with the student to make sure that the dissertation proposal is completed in a timely fashion.
The student and the dissertation advisor will also work out the composition of the student's dissertation committee; in addition to the dissertation advisor, it will consist of four faculty members, at least three of whom will come from within the Department. A full committee for the dissertation should be chosen by February 1 of the eighth semester.
The content of the proposal. The dissertation proposal is to be a maximum of fifty double-spaced pages, including footnotes, tables, charts, spectrograms, and bibliography. It should demonstrate a command of the literature, the significance of the dissertation, i.e. the contribution that it will make to the field, the structure of the proposed dissertation, and the student's ability to carry out linguistic analysis of a quality appropriate for a dissertation. Students may incorporate one (or both) of the qualifying papers into the dissertation proposal if appropriate. Similarly, it is fully expected that large sections of the dissertation proposal will go directly into the dissertation.
The timetable for submission. Students are expected to complete the dissertation proposal by the third Monday in April of the eighth semester and defend the proposal by the end of the fourth year. A date for the defense will be determined in conjunction with the committee members. A proposal defense can have three outcomes: "accepted", "accepted pending satisfactory revisions", and "rejected". If the proposal is not accepted (in either form) by the end of the fourth year, the student will be put on Academic Probation.
It is expected that all students will submit their proposals no later than their eighth semester. However, if the student completed a QP that was given an extension of one semester, then the date of completion of the proposal and the proposal defense may be extended to the end of the ninth semester with permission of the dissertation advisor and the DGS. If the proposal of a student who is given permission to take an extra semester is not accepted by the end of the ninth semester, he or she will be put on Academic Probation. (But note that the timetable for dissertation proposals is not adjusted for a student who had earlier been on Academic Probation for failure to have a QP accepted in the semester in which it was due.)
If the student's proposal is not submitted and fully accepted (i.e. no further revisions necessary) by the end of the student's first semester on Academic Probation, then the student will be terminated.
Evaluation of the proposal. Once a student submits a proposal, it is evaluated by the student's committee. There will also be an oral defense scheduled in consultation with all of the committee members. If the committee finds the proposal acceptable, then the student may proceed to work on the dissertation. If the committee does not find the proposal acceptable, it will notify the student as to what changes it recommends. The student may then submit a revised proposal in the following semester.
Completion of other requirements. Ordinarily a student whose dissertation proposal has been accepted has already completed the language requirements and all coursework for the Ph.D. other than the final course taken in the fifth year. A student who has reached this level and has not yet met these requirements is encouraged to do so at once.
Students with an approved dissertation proposal will proceed to ÊÊwrite the dissertation under the supervision of the dissertation ÊÊadvisor, and with the advice of the members of the dissertation ÊÊcommittee. When the committee members agree that the dissertation is ÊÊready to be defended, a final oral examination will be scheduled for ÊÊthe defense of the dissertation. Passing this defense and receiving the committee'sÊapproval of the dissertation are the final departmental requirementsÊfor the Ph.D.
Full-time status. To qualify for full-time status, Ph.D. students enroll in courses according to the following schedule. The three courses completed in the fourth and fifth years should be seminars; rather than reading courses.
| Fall | Spring | |
| First Year: | 12 pts | 12 pts |
| Second Year: | 12 pts | 8 pts |
| Third Year: | 8 pts | 8 pts |
| Fourth year: | 4 pts | 4 pts |
| Fifth year: | 4 pts |
2. Departmental Felloships, Prizes, and Awards
A comprehensive list of University, Graduate School, and departmental fellowships, prizes, and awards appears in the Financing Graduate Education section of the GSAS Application for Admission and Financial Aid.
3. Courses
Specific information as to which courses are offered each term and when they meet is published each term in the University's class schedule. Not all of the courses listed below are offered each year. Those who are not graduate students in this department should seek the instructor's permission before enrolling in a course.
Linguistics as Cognitive Science. G61.0048 Marantz. 4 points.
Field Methods G61.0044 Prerequisites: an introductory linguistics course and one course in either syntax or phonology. Collins, Gouskova. 4 points.
Phonology I G61.1210 Gafos, Gouskova. 4 points.
Phonology II G61.1220 Prerequisite: G61.1210 or permission of the instructor. Gafos, Gouskova. 4 points.
Syntax G61.1310 Baltin, Collins, Kayne. 4 points.
Semantics I G61.1340 Barker, Szabolcsi. 4 points.
Historical Linguistics G61.1410 Costello. 4 points.
Sociolinguistics G61.1510 Blake, Guy, Singler. 4 points.
African American English G61.1520 Blake. 4 points.
Introduction to Programming for Linguists G61.1830 Dougherty. 4 points.
Acoustic Phonetics G61.2110 Davidson. 4 points.
Experimental Techniques in Speech and Phonetics Research G61.2120 Prerequisites: G61.1210 and G61.2110, or permission of the instructor. Davidson. 4 points.
Laboratory Phonology G61.2220 Prerequisite: G61.1220 or permission of the instructor. Davidson, Gafos, Gouskova. 4 points.
Syntactic Theory and Analysis G61.2310 Prerequisite: G61.1310 or permission of the instructor. Baltin, Collins, Kayne. 4 points.
Using Wolfram's Cellular Automata as Models of Human Communication G61.1825 Dougherty. 4 points.
Grammatical Relations in Syntax G61.2360 Prerequisite: G61.1310 or permission of the instructor. Postal. 4 points.
Semantics II G61.2370 Prerequisite: G61.1340 or permission of the instructor. Barker, PylkkŠnen, Szabolcsi. 4 points.
Indo-European Grammar and Phonology G61.2410 Costello. 4 points.
Sanskrit Grammar and Phonology G61.2420 Costello. 4 points.
Languages in Contact G61.2450 Prerequisite: G61.1410, G61.1510, or permission of the instructor. 4 points.
Indo-European Syntax G61.2460 Costello. 4 points.
Pidgin and Creole Languages G61.2510 Singler. 4 points.
African Languages and Caribbean Creoles G61.2520 Singler. 4 points.
Linguistic Variation G61.2530 Guy, Singler. 4 points.
Sociolinguistic Field Methods G61.2540 Blake. 4 points.
Gender and Language G61.2550 Prerequisite: G61.1510 or permission of the instructor. 4 points.
First-Language Acquisition G61.2610 Prerequisite: G61.2310 or permission of the instructor. Davidson. 4 points.
An Introduction to Computational Modeling of Recursion:
Coordination, Subordination, and Embeddings G61.2820 Dougherty. 4 points.
Problems in the Structure of a Selected Foreign Language G61.2930 With permission, may be repeated for credit. 4 points.
Seminar in Phonetics G61.3110 Prerequisites: G61.1210 and G61.2110, or permission of the instructor. With permission, may be repeated for credit. Davidson. 4 points.
Seminar in Phonology G61.3210 Prerequisite: G61.1220 or permission of the instructor. With permission, may be repeated for credit. Davidson, Gafos, Gouskova. 4 points.
Theoretical Issues Across Subfields of Linguistics G61.3220 Prerequisite: background in one of the following: introductory syntax semantics, phonology, or sociolinguistics. 4 points.
Seminar in Syntax G61.3320 Prerequisite: G61.2310 or permission of the instructor. With permission, may be repeated for credit. Baltin, Collins, Kayne, Marantz, Postal. 4 points.
Seminar in Semantics G61.3340 Prerequisite: G61.2370 or permission of the instructor. With permission, may be repeated for credit. Barker, PylkkŠnen, Szabolcsi. 4 points.
Recurring Themes in Generative Grammar G61.3350 Baltin, Postal. 4 points.
Seminar in Historical Linguistics G61.3410 Prerequisite: G61.1410 or permission of the instructor. With permission, may be repeated for credit. Costello. 4 points.
Seminar in Linguistic Reconstruction G61.3420 Prerequisite: G61.1410 or permission of the instructor. With permission, may be repeated for credit. Costello. 4 points.
Seminar in Sociolinguistics G61.3510 Prerequisite: G61.1510 or permission of the instructor. With permission, may be repeated for credit. Blake, Guy, Singler. 4 points.
Seminar in Neurolinguistics G61.3710 Prerequisite: graduate status in linguistics, psychology, or neuroscience, or permission of the instructor. PylkkŠnen. 4 points.
Seminar on Computational Models of Language G61.3820 Prerequisite: G61.1830 or permission of the instructor. With permission, may be repeated for credit. Dougherty. 4 points.
Variable Content Courses
Directed Reading in Linguistics G61.3910 Prerequisite: permission of the director of graduate studies. May be repeated for credit. 1-6 points.
Ph.D. Dissertation Research G61.3930 Prerequisite: permission of the director of graduate studies. May be repeated for credit. 1-6 points.
Cross-Listed Courses
These courses may be counted toward degree requirements as set forth above.
Anthropology
Linguistic Anthropology G14.1040 4 points.
Ethnographic Methods G14.2700 4 points.
Identity and Language G14.3392 4 points.
Linguistic Field Methods G14.3394 4 points.
English
Development of the English Language G41.2044 4 points.
Philosophy
Philosophy of Language I G83.2296 4 points.
Psychology
Language Acquisition G89.2214 3 points.
Seminar in Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior G89.3250 3 points
Last Modified: March 9, 2009