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Fall 2025 Graduate Catalog

Linguistics, PhD

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Linguistics Department, College of Arts and Sciences
Degree Awarded: Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics
 
Chairperson: Francisco Ordóñez , Social and Behavioral Sciences S-233, Francisco.ordonez@stonybrook.edu
PhD Program Director: Jiwon Yun, Social and Behavioral Sciences N-255, jiwon.yun@stonybrook.edu

Department Administrator: Brian Frank, S-201 Social and Behavioral Sciences, (631) 632-7777, brian.frank@stonybrook.edu
Graduate Coordinator: Michelle Carbone, S-201 Social and Behavioral Sciences, (631) 632-7774, michelle.carbone.1@stonybrook.edu

Department Website

The Stony Brook Linguistics Department, in the College of Arts and Sciences, is a leading center for research and training in all areas of modern linguistics. The Department offers graduate training that leads to the M.A. and Ph.D. in Linguistics, the M.A. in Computational Linguistics, and the M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).

The department has a long-standing focus on theoretical linguistics, with core research areas in syntax, semantics, morphology, phonology,phonetics, and language acquisition, and particular strength in Computational Linguistics. Departmental research includes both theoretical issues- how the human language capacity is organized - and computational ones - how language is processed and computed by humans and what the computational complexity of natural language is. In addition to the full range of theoretical and computational areas of linguistics, faculty have expertise in a wide range of languages/language areas including, East Asian, Germanic, Romance, Semitic, Slavic and signed languages.

The Ph.D. program prepares students for advanced research in all branches of theoretical linguistics, especially Phonetics, Phonology,Morphology, Syntax, Semantics and Computational Linguistics. Ph.D. students also work with students and faculty in Psychology, Computer Science, Philosophy, Music, and the Institute for Advanced Computational Science (IACS). Ph.D students assist in and/or teach MA and BA courses in Linguistics.

Admission Requirements

LINGUISTICS (LIN) Deadlines (for Fall admission):

  • Ph.D:December 1

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.

1. Foreign Language Requirement:

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

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).

  • 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.

Degree Requirements

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

Course Requirements:

Students must complete a minimum of 60 credits; 30 of them before advancing to Candidacy.

Required Courses (12 credits)

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.

Qualifying Papers:

Acceptance by the department of two papers of publishable quality in distinct areas of linguistics (“Qualifying Papers”) is required. Each paper will be defended orally before a committee of at least three faculty members. The membership of the two qualifying paper committees must not be identical. Each qualifying paper requirement will be completed after the committee’s acceptance of revisions decided upon at the defense.

The final version of the first Qualifying Paper must be submitted not later than the last day of classes of the fourth semester, and the final version of the second Qualifying Paper must be submitted not later than the last day of classes of the sixth semester. Failure to meet Qualifying Papers deadline may affect the student’s priority for funding. Students who have not had both Qualifying Papers accepted by their committees by the end of the sixth semester will normally be dismissed from the program.

Public presentation of one of these papers is required, as is submission of one of the Qualifying Papers for publication in an appropriate journal.

Language Requirement:

Demonstrated knowledge of two foreign languages other than the student’s mother tongue. This requirement may be satisfied by any of the following methods:

  1. Submission of an analytic paper demonstrating knowledge of the structure of the language.
  2. Satisfactory completion of a course in the structure of the language.
  3. Satisfactory performance on a standardized exam designed to measure language proficiency.
  4. Satisfactory completion of two years of college-level instruction in the language.

Advancement to Candidacy:

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

Teaching and Research:

Students become qualified in teaching and research by working with faculty on an individual basis as teaching assistants and by participating in research projects. They have the opportunity to prepare and teach undergraduate classes during the academic year and in summer sessions.

Dissertation:

Before a student proceeds to write the dissertation, a dissertation proposal must be accepted by the department. The dissertation proposal outlines the topic and how the student plans to go about investigating this topic. The advisor will organize a discussion in which a committee considers the proposal with the student. The purpose of this discussion is to ensure that the topic is manageable and substantive.

The dissertation committee will consist of a minimum of four members, at least three from the full-time faculty in the department and at least one from outside the department (or University). The committee will be chosen in consultation with the dissertation supervisor, who will be a full-time member of the department faculty. The formal public defense of the dissertation requires the full attendance of the dissertation examining committee.

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