Graduate School Bulletin

Spring 2025

Admission requirements for Linguistics Department

LINGUISTICS (LIN) Deadlines (for Fall admission):

  • Ph.D:December 1
  • M.A. Linguistics: May 1
  • M.A. Computational Linguistics: May 1
  • M.A.  TESOL: July 15

For admission to all graduate program in the Department of Linguistics, the following, in addition to the minimum Graduate School requirements, are normally required:

  1. Baccalaureate Degree: Students must present evidence that such a BA or BS degree will be awarded by the time they begin graduate work. A final transcript is required prior to registration.
  2. Minimum grade point average of 3.0: A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher (or its foreign equivalent) on a 4-point scale is required.
  3. Recommendations: Three letters of recommendation are required.
  4. Graduate Record Examination (GRE): The GRE is not required for the MA LIN, the MA CompLing, the MA TESOL, and the PhD in Linguistics.
  5. Curriculum Vitae (CV)
  6. Writing Sample

MA LIN and PhD: The writing sample should be a paper written for a previous course taken in linguistics, or if that is not available, a paper on any subject is acceptable.

MA CompLing: The writing sample may take one of two forms: (a) a short paper written for a previous course, ideally related to language, mathematics, or computation, or (b) a 2-page document describing a completed or ongoing programming project, including a link to an online repository hosting the code.

  1. Foreign Language Requirement:

PhD program : Proficiency in a foreign language equivalent to two years of college work is required.

MA programs: Native speakers of English must provide evidence of at least one year (or six credits) of study of one language other than English at the college level with a grade of C or better. Students who are seeking New York State certification will need to satisfy additional requirements for foreign language study before receiving certification.

  1. English proficiency (for students whose native language is not English):
  • PhD, MA LIN, MA Comp Ling: 250 (computer), 90 (iBT TOEFL) or 6.5 (IELTS).
  • MA TESOL:
    • Minimum total score: 90 (iBT TOEFL) or 6.5 (IELTS).
    • Minimum speaking component scores: 22 (iBT TOEFL) or 6.5 (IELTS).

Please note that non-native speakers who are seeking New York State certification must achieve a speaking component score of 28 (iBT) or the equivalent.

Note: For all programs, students who do not meet the above requirements may be admitted conditionally. Their status will be reviewed after their first semester of graduate study.