Graduate School Bulletin

Requirements for the Ph.D. in Linguistics

In addition to the requirements of the Graduate School, the following are required:

A. Course requirements: Students must complete a minimum of 60 credits; 30 of them before advancing to candidacy.

Required Courses (12 credits)

• LIN 521 Syntax I
• LIN 621 Syntax II
• LIN 523 Phonology I
• LIN 623 Phonology II

Electives (minimum of 18 credits)

Linguistics 500 and 600 level courses may be taken as electives. With permission from the Program Director, courses from other departments may also be counted as electives

B. Qualifying papers: Students must write and defend two (2) qualifying papers . Each qualifying paper must be of publishable quality in order to be accepted by the department.

C. Advancement to candidacy: Advancement to candidacy takes place upon the successful completion of the following: the required courses in A and the qualifying paper requirement in B.

D. Dissertation: Students must write and defend an acceptable dissertation.

Please refer to the Linguistics Doctoral Student Handbook for a more detailed discussion of procedures and expectations.

Requirements for the M.A. in Linguistics

The MA LIN is a 30 credit Masters program aimed at students interested in pursuing linguistics beyond the BA level, but not yet ready for, or not planning to go on to, the PhD. The curricular focus of the MA LIN is on theoretical rather than applied linguistics. Students interested in applied or computational linguistics at the MA level are encouraged to consider the MA TESOL or MA Computational Linguistics program.

The MA LIN is a coursework degree, consisting of 12 credits of required courses and 18 credits of electives.

A. Core courses: (12 credits, required):

LIN 521 Syntax I
LIN 621 Syntax II
LIN 523 Phonology I
LIN 623 Phonology II

B. Electives: minimum of 18 credits of Linguistics 500 and 600 level courses*

*Courses from other departments may also be counted as electives with permission from the Program Director.

Requirements for the M.A. in Computational Linguistics

The MA in Computational Linguistics is a 36-credit coursework degree consisting of multiple components.

A. Core courses: (12 credits, required):

• LIN 521 Syntax I
• LIN 522 Phonetics or LIN 523 Phonology I
• LIN 537 Computational Linguistics 1
• LIN 637 Computational Linguistics 2

B. Formal methods: (1 of the following: 3 credits):

• LIN 538 Statistics,
• LIN 539 Mathematical Methods in Linguistics

C. Advanced Linguistics: (1 of the following not taken as another requirement: 3 credits)

• LIN 522 Phonetics,
• LIN 523 Phonology I
• LIN 621 Syntax II,
• LIN 623 Phonology II,
• LIN 624 Morphology and Word Formation,
• LIN 625 Semantics

D. Electives* (4 of the following not taken as a Core or Linguistics course above = 12 credits):

Electives can be taken in Linguistics or other departments, with approval of the Program Director.

E. Final project. Students must also complete a final project as part of LIN 595. (6 credits)

Courses that appear in more than 1 category multiple cannot be used to satisfy multiple requirements at once. For example, if LIN 522 is taken as part of the core sequence, it cannot be used to satisfy the linguistics requirement.

Requirements for the M.A. in TESOL

The MA in TESOL is a Master’s program in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. 

Master of Arts in TESOL (48 credits)

The 48-credit track is designed for those who have little or no previous coursework in education or formal classroom teaching experience and leads to the MA-TESOL degree and the initial New York State certification for teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (preK-12). The MA-TESOL consists of approximately four semesters of study (excluding summer session) for the full-time student and a somewhat longer period of time for the part-time student.

A. Coursework

This degree and certification program consists of 48 credits distributed among the areas listed below. All courses are three credits except for the one-credit fieldwork courses (LIN 579 taken twice, and LIN 578).

Linguistics and Foundation (15 credits):

LIN 522 Phonetics

LIN 527 Structure of English

LIN 530 Introduction to General Linguistics

LIN 541 Bilingualism

LIN 532 Second Language Acquisition

and two of the following (6 credits):

LIN 526 Analysis of an Uncommonly Taught Language

LIN 542 Sociolinguistics

LIN 555 Error Analysis

LIN 571 TESOL Pedagogy: Curriculum Design and Evaluation

LIN 572 Course Design: Theory and Practice

Any other TESOL-related course approved by the Program Director

Professional Preparation (18 credits):

CEE 505 Education: Theory and Practice

CEF 547 Principles & Practices of Special Education

CEE 565 Human Development

LIN 524 TESOL Pedagogy: Theory and Practice

LIN 529 TESOL Pedagogy: Language & Literacy Development Through Content Areas

LIN 579 Field Experience N-12 (1 credit course, taken twice)

LIN 578 Field Experience in Educational Contexts (1 credit course)

B. Field Experience and Clinical Practice

Students are required to complete 100 clock hours of field experience (LIN 579) related to coursework prior to student teaching. These experiences include ESOL classroom observations, practicing skills for interacting with parents, and experiences with students who are English language learners.

Supervised Student Teaching (9 credits):

LIN 574 Managing Instruction, Assessment, and Resources

LIN 581 Supervised Student Teaching Grades N-6

LIN 582 Supervised Student Teaching Grades 7-12

Teacher Candidates are placed in partner schools and are required to complete 75 days of full-time student teaching under the supervision of a NYS Certified Cooperating Teacher. During this experience, candidates assume the professional responsibilities of the teacher. Students are responsible to provide their own transportation to local school districts. See this webpage for more information about the student teaching requirement for initial certification.

LIN 574, 581, and 582 are co-requisites and cannot be taken until completion of all other course and ancillary requirements. As part of LIN 574, 581, and 582, students are required to submit the TCWSSL (Teacher Candidate Work Sample for Student Learning).

Final Project

Students are required to submit a professional portfolio at the completion of the program.

C. Teacher Certification

In order to be recommended for New York State certification, students must complete all courses required for the MA and achieve a minimum grade of B in all pedagogy courses. In addition, transcripts must indicate completion of at least two years (12 credits) of college-level study of a language other than English. Non-native speakers who are seeking New York State certification must achieve a speaking component score of 28 (iBT) or the equivalent.

All teacher candidates must complete the following NYS Teacher Certification Exams:

Educating All Students (EAS)

Content Specialty Test (CST) – ESOL

See this webpage for more information about the current New York State initial certification requirements.

Application Procedure for the MA TESOL 48 credit track

Applicants must have completed an undergraduate degree in a liberal arts or science major with a minimum GPA of 3.00 in the overall bachelor's degree. Applicants must demonstrate, through their application and recommendations, that they possess the temperament and disposition to be an effective teacher.

Applications and instructions are available on the MA-TESOL program website (https://linguistics.stonybrook.edu/TESOL/ma-tesol/requirements-2). A completed application consists of: Completed Graduate School application with a non-refundable application fee; Three letters of recommendation; Official copies of all previous college transcripts; Curriculum Vitae (Resume); A statement of purpose.

English proficiency (for students whose native language is not English):

• Minimum total score: 90 (iBT TOEFL) or 6.5 (IELTS).
• Minimum speaking component scores: 22 (iBT TOEFL) or 6.5 (IELTS).

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

Admission is competitive and no single factor will exclude anyone from being admitted. Similarly, no single factor will ensure admission.

Applications and supporting documentation for the fall semester must be received by June 1. International students must apply by April 15.