Admission to the graduate program 

The graduate program in linguistics only admits students whose goal is the Ph.D. degree in linguistics, or who are admitted to another Ph.D. program at the University of Wisconsin. A student who has been accepted into the program is awarded an MA upon the completion of the required core courses listed below with a minimum GPA of 3.25, and by demonstrating knowledge of one language other than English in a manner described below.
 

    Program of study

New graduate students must attend the orientation program during the first week of the fall semester. Every student must choose an advisor in the intended field of specialization by the end of the second semester at the latest. The student and the advisor are responsible for establishing a course of study which is appropriate for the student's research goals, and which complies with departmental requirements.

Any exceptions to the requirements must have the approval of the student's advisor and the Degree Programs Committee. The committee makes the final decision on the basis of a brief written request from the student which bears the signature of the advisor to indicate the advisor's approval.

Students are reminded that it is their responsibility to satisfy all of the Graduate School's requirements.
 

    Course requirements

The following core courses are required: phonetics (306), phonology (310), syntax (330), historical linguistics (302), morphology (322), semantics (340).

In addition, students are required to take the writing seminar (800), and 4 advanced courses (Linguistics 350- 979). Of these four, 3 must be seminars in the Linguistics Department. If advanced courses in other departments are appropriate for the student's chosen field of study, the student must petition the Degree Programs Committee with the advisor's approval.

The student's course sequence is determined by the student and the student's advisor. The default is a program that includes 310 and 330 in the first semester, 302 and 340 in the second semester, and 800 in the third semester.

If a student wishes to be waived out of a required course because of previous study, the request must be approved by the faculty member designated by the Degree Programs Committee for that area. The student must submit a written request to the Degree Programs Committee which bears the relevant faculty member's signature of approval.
 

    Language requirements

Knowledge of three languages is required. One must be English. The second must be a non-Indo-European language or a modern Indic language. The third must be determined in consultation with the advisor according to the student's research goals. In some areas, for example historical linguistics, a reading knowledge of French and German is indispensable. Students must complete their language requirements before their second prelim exam.

The language requirements can be satisfied in the following ways:

1) By being a native speaker of the language,

2) by taking two semester courses with a minimum grade of B,

3) by taking a field methods course (Linguistics 426 or 427),

4) by taking a Structure of a Language course (Linguistics 571),
 
5) by taking an advanced course or a seminar which is designed to discuss data from a particular language in    detail, when this course is designated as appropriate by the Degree Programs Committee on the advice of the faculty teaching the course,

6) by taking tests administered by language departments or the University of Wisconsin Extension and getting a passing grade,

7) by presenting transcripts showing that three years (18 credits) of college-level work in the language have been completed no more than three years before admission to the Department of Linguistics, with grades of B or better in both of the last two semesters of course work.
 

    Admission to candidacy
 
A student will be admitted to candidacy upon satisfying the following three requirements: 1) completion of preliminary examinations in two areas, 2) advanced course work in a third area, and 3) approval of the dissertation proposal.
 

    Preliminary Examinations
 
Preliminary examinations consist of two research papers in two different areas approved by the advisor of the student. The first prelim will evaluate the student's capability for original research and strength of argumentation. The second prelim paper must, in addition, be of publishable quality. Each prelim paper will be evaluated by a committee of two faculty members. In all likelihood, the student will have two different committees for the two papers. Each paper will be presented publicly and will be followed by an oral defense. The oral defense of the second paper will be accompanied by an oral defense of the student's dissertation proposal. Even if the committee evaluating the second prelim paper does not include the student's advisor, the advisor will attend that meeting for the evaluation of the dissertation proposal. Prelim papers and the dissertation proposal must be submitted to the committee members at least two weeks before the scheduled oral defense.
 

    Satisfactory Progress
 
A student admitted into the Ph. D. program must be making satisfactory progress in order to continue in the program. Satisfactory progress is defined by the department as complying with the following timetable.
 
1) The first prelim paper is defended at the latest by the end of the fourth semester of study.
 
2) The second prelim paper and the dissertation proposal are defended at the latest by the end of the sixth semester of study.
 
3) Language requirements and course requirements are satisfied by the end of the semester in which the second prelim paper is defended.
 
If a prelim committee decides after the oral defense of a prelim paper that the paper is not acceptable, the student is placed on probation and may submit a revised version or a different paper before the end of the following semester. If this paper also fails, the student is dropped from the program.
 
In general, students must take at least two advanced courses in an area before they can submit prelim papers of acceptable quality. They must therefore plan their course work carefully in order to meet the prelim deadlines.

Students are expected to maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.67 after their third semester. If they do not, they are dropped from the program. Exceptions may be approved by the Degree Programs Committee under unusual circumstances.