Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science

Linguistics And Cognitive Science (MA, PhD) (BS/MA and BA/MA option)

Telephone: (302) 831-6806; Fax: (302) 831-6896
http://www.ling.udel.edu/ling/
Faculty Listing: http://www.lingcogsci.udel.edu/people/faculty

The Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science offers programs leading to the MA degree in Linguistics and Cognitive Science and the PhD in Linguistics. In addition, the department offers the option of a combined BS/MA in Cognitive Science/Linguistics and Cognitive Science (this is not an option for Speech Pathology) and a combined BA/MA in Linguistics/Linguistics & Cognitive Science. The MA in Linguistics and Cognitive Science is a flexible degree, allowing students to design programs of study in areas of theoretical linguistics, cognitive science, and applied linguistics (including teaching English as a second language). Areas for PhD specialization include theoretical linguistics (syntax, semantics, phonology, morphology), psycholinguistics (first and second language acquisition, language processing, neurolinguistics), endangered and under-described languages (linguistic field methods, language typology, language documentation), and applied linguistics.

Requirements For Admission

Students with a BA/BS or MA/MS in linguistics or in an appropriate field may apply. (Students without a degree in linguistics proper may be asked to take additional courses to meet minimum training in linguistics.) Applicants are required to submit a completed application, a writing sample, three letters of recommendation, GRE scores (a minimum of 299 on verbal and quantitative combined is normally required; the analytical score is also considered), official transcripts of all previous work, and a personal statement describing interests and objectives. Foreign students whose language of education is not English must also submit TOEFL scores. A minimum of 100 on the computer-based/IBT TOEFL is normally required. Foreign students whose native language is not English and who are awarded a teaching assistantship must attend the ELI TA training offered by UD before assuming their assistantship duties.

Admission is selective and competitive based on the number of well-qualified applicants and the limits of available faculty and facilities. Those who meet stated minimum academic requirements are not guaranteed admission, nor are those who fail to meet those requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is available for PhD students only and takes the form of teaching assistantships, graduate assistantships, and research assistantships. Conditions on funding are stated in the Graduate Guidelines available from the department’s Director of Graduate Studies and on the department website (https://www.lingcogsci.udel.edu/grad/admission-requirements).

Combined BS/BA and MA Option

Qualified undergraduate students in the BS in Cognitive Science or BA in Linguistics, as well as students completing a Bachelors degree in related fields like Anthropology, Computer and Information Science, Foreign Languages, Philosophy and Psychology (and other fields by application) may apply for the Combined BS/BA and MA option. Whereas the traditional programs for the BS/BA and MA degrees involve 4 years of undergraduate work and 2 years of graduate work, the Combined BS/BA and MA option enables students to earn both degrees in a 5-year period. Students who complete the Combined BS/BA and MA program will graduate with both a Bachelor of Science (or Bachelor of Arts) degree in the chosen subject and a Master of Arts degree in Linguistics and Cognitive Science. Students who are candidates for the Combined BS/BA and MA option, and who complete the requirements for the BS or BA but fail to complete the additional MA requirements, will receive the BS or BA degree. This combined degree is not applicable for an MA in Speech Pathology.

a. Admission into the Combined BS/BA and MA Program

Students may apply for admission to the Combined BS/BA and MA program at the end of the sophomore year. The application process requires submission of a completed graduate application form online for review by the Departmental Graduate Studies Committee. Initial admission will be based upon the student’s ability to meet the following recommended entrance criteria:

- Combined mathematics and verbal SAT scores of at least 1200
- An undergraduate GPA of at least 3.25
- Completion of all core courses for the BS/BA other than CGSC 485
- Submission of a writing sample, based on work completed in a Cognitive Science course

Admission is competitive so meeting the minimal requirements for admission does not guarantee admission nor does the failure to meet a requirement result in an automatic rejection. The GRE is not required for admission to the Combined BS/BA and MA program by UD undergraduates.

b. Maintaining Status within the Program

Upon admission into the program and prior to the start of the junior year of study, the student will meet with his graduate advisor and submit a planned program of study, including all elective courses, to the Graduate Studies Committee. Planned programs of study are due by the end of fall semester of the student’s junior year.

Continuation in the Combined BS/BA and MA program is contingent upon maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 in undergraduate courses with CGSC and LING designations and in graduate coursework. Satisfactory progress includes
following the prescribed program of study.

Each student’s progress and GPA will be evaluated at the end of each academic year by the student’s advisor and the Graduate Studies Committee. Students who fail to meet the minimum GPA requirements or fail to show progress toward the degree will be dropped from the Combined BS/BA and MA program. They may, however, continue in the undergraduate major unless their undergraduate progress is unsatisfactory according to the rules in effect for the BS/BA program.

d. Course Overlap

In the event that a student in the Combined BS/BA and MA option completes a required graduate course as an undergraduate, and elects to count that course toward the bachelors degree, he will be required to substitute another graduate course, the choice requiring approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. When a student completes a 400-level undergraduate course that has content very similar to that of a parallel 600-level graduate course, he must petition the Director of Graduate Studies to substitute another graduate course for the 600-level course in question.

e. Revisions to Planned Program of Study in Combined BS/BA and MA Option

Students who wish to make changes to their program of study must first obtain permission from their advisor. The advisor must then make a written request to the Graduate Studies Committee to revise the program of study.

Programs

Master’s

Linguistics And Cognitive Science (MA)

Doctorate

Linguistics And Cognitive Science (PhD)

Certificate

Cognitive Science Certificate

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