The Graduate Program
Graduate Program in Linguistics
The Linguistics Program at SFSU offers a terminal Master of Arts in English with a concentration in Linguistics to students already possessing at least a BA or equivalent. This program provides students with background in the major areas of linguistics including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, metaphor, discourse analysis, field work, sociolinguistics and psycholingusitics. For more information, consult below.
- Graduate Admissions
- Graduate MA Requirements
- Graduate Culminating Experience in MA Linguistics
- Graduate Financial Aid
Graduate Admissions Information
The deadline to apply for the fall semester is April 1st. The deadline to apply for the spring semester is November 15th.
Admissions to the Master's program is based on the quality of the application alone; there are no restrictions or quotas on the number of students admitted the program each semester.
The minimum requirements for acceptance are:
- GPA of 3.0 or higher
- for applicants whose native language is not English and whose education was outside the United States, a TOEFL score of 590 for paper-based test, score of 240 or higher for a computer-based TOEFL test, and a score of 95 or higher for Internet based TOEFL test.
- The submission of a complete application.
A complete application has two parts:
1. Application to SFSU Graduate Studies office
- Apply online at: http://www.csumentor.edu/AdmissionApp/grad_apply.asp Note that beginning with Fall 2005 admissions, paper applications are no longer being accepted. If you have do not have Internet access, send a message to the Graduate Admissions Office explaining the problem and requesting a paper application: (gradstdy@sfsu.edu, 415-338-2234, 415-338-2232, address below.)
- There is $55 application fee, to be paid online or in the form of a check or money order made payable to SFSU.
- 1 copy of official, sealed transcripts from each post-secondary institution attended.
Send to:
Graduate Admissions Office,
ADM 254 San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Ave. San Francisco, CA 94132
- International applicants who are non-native speakers of English and whose education was outside of the United States must submit official TOEFL scores.
2. Application to the English Department:
- A personal statement which describes the applicant's academic interests and goals.
- 1 copy of official, sealed transcripts from each post-secondary institution attended.
Send to:
English Department
San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Ave. San Francisco, CA 94132
Graduate MA Requirements
Prerequisities:
- ENG 421 Structure of English
- ENG 424 Phonology and Morphology
- ENG 425 Language in Context
- ENG 426 Second Language Acquisition
- Six upper division/graduate units in English language literature
- Ten units of a modern European language
- A non-Indo-European language concurrent with ENG 426
Students who have already completed these courses or their approved equivalents (contact rwaksler@sfsu.edu for questions about equivalency) with letter grade B- or better in each course may be admitted to the MA Linguistics program as fully classified students.
Those applicants who have not met these requirements may be admitted and considered "conditionally classified" until completing these requirements, which should be done within the first year of residency in the program.
Core Courses (18 units)
- ENG 719 Seminar: Contemporary Semantic Theory
- ENG 723 Seminar in the Structure of English
- ENG 725 Special Topics in Linguistics
- ENG 727 Research Methods in Language Studies
- ENG 728 Seminar in Sociolinguistics
- ENG 729 Seminar in Psycholinguistics
- Electives: Choose 9 units of upper-division or graduate electives with the approval of your advisor.
- Culminating Experience (see information below for both options)
- ENG 898 Master's Thesis OR
- ENG 895: Field Study or Applied Research Project (Squibs)
Foreign Language Requirement:
All students are required to complete 10 semester units (or the equivalent) of a modern European language, as well as one semester (or the equivalent) of a non-Indo-European language*, to be taken concurrently with ENG 426 Second Language Acquisition.
These requirements may also be satisfied by examination. Units applied to the foreign language requirement are not to be included in the student's Graduate Approved Program. *Signed languages and Indo-European languages that are significantly different from those commonly taught (e.g. Sanskrit) are also acceptable to meet this requirement.
Graduate Culminating Experience in MA Linguistics
There are two options:
ENG 895 (Squibs) or ENG 898 (Thesis) [see information on each option below]
Discuss with an advisor which option is best for you.
NB: Of course, you are responsible for getting all applications filled out, signed and submitted by the deadlines. Application forms must be submitted the semester before you plan to graduate. Deadlines and forms can be found on line. Plan to start seeing your advisors to get forms signed at the very beginning of the semester, rather than waiting for the deadline and hoping for an empty appointment slot.
895: 3 squibs in different subfields of linguistics
As early as possible in the semester before you plan to graduate, plan three short investigations in three different subfields in linguistic theory. The investigations must contain analyses original to you, though not necessarily original in the field. Consult with three professors who specialize in those areas and who agree to be your advisors (i.e., one per project). Submit a written prospectus for each project to its advisor, including a schedule for completion of work.
During your final semester, consult with each of your advisors and write the three squibs. Submit a pre-final draft of each squib to the advisor for that project at least 1 month before the culminating experience deadline. (Check course schedule for date; it changes each semester.) Advisors will take one week to read and return a draft to you. Usually, a student will do one revision, producing the final draft, which will be defended in the oral exam. If necessary, one (and only one) additional revised draft may be submitted before the oral exam is taken. The final draft of each squib must be submitted to each of the three advisors at least two weeks before the oral exam date.
You are responsible for scheduling your oral exam with your committee at least one week before the culminating experience deadline. For the oral exam, you will do a 10-15 minute presentation on each project, followed by a question/discussion period with the advisors. Questions will pertain to your three investigations.
If any of your squibs are not of passing quality by the day of your oral exam, you have one (and only one) chance to revise and resubmit them. Resubmitted squibs must be turned in to committee members at least one week before the culminating experience deadline. (This may mean that your graduation is postponed one semester.) Each of the three squibs must be approved by its advisor and your committee chair in order to pass 898 and receive the MA. If you do not pass 895, you do not receive the MA.
| Squib Check List | |
|---|---|
| Prior to final semester | Find three advisors for the squibs, submit prospectus for each project |
| Beginning of final semester | Consult with each advisor, begin work on squibs |
| At least 1 month prior to culminating experience deadline | Turn in pre-final draft to each squib advisor |
| At least three weeks prior to culminating experience deadline | Schedule oral defense for at least one week before culminating experience deadline |
| At least 2 weeks before scheduled oral defense | Turn in final draft to each advisor |
| At least 1 week before culminating experienced deadline | Turn in revisions (if necessary) |
898: Thesis
One year before you plan to graduate, discuss a thesis topic with two possible SFSU advisors, primary and secondary. (Advisors from other universities may be added to these two, as appropriate.) Submit a thesis proposal (1-2 pages, summarizing the goal of your investigation and your schedule for completing the work) to this committee. The thesis schedule should include one semester of background reading, data collection, and analysis, (this work may be done for 899 Independent Study credit) and one semester of writing.
The first draft of the thesis should be written in consultation with your advisors, and submitted to your primary advisor chapter by chapter. You are responsible for scheduling an oral exam with your committee at least two weeks before the thesis deadline. (Check course schedule for date; it changes each semester.) A final draft of the thesis must be submitted to each committee member at least two weeks before the oral exam is scheduled. This means that you are submitting your thesis to your committee at least one month before the culminating experience deadline. You should expect advisors to take one week to read and return a draft to you.
During the oral exam, you will do a 15-20 minute formal presentation of your work. You should have handouts for data. There will then be a question/discussion period. If you need to do revisions, these must be submitted to advisors at least one week before the thesis deadline. (This may mean that your graduate is postponed one semester.) There is one (and only one) chance for thesis revision after the oral exam. If you not pass 898, you do not receive the MA.
| Thesis Check List | |
|---|---|
| Beginning of year before graduating | Find two advisors for thesis, submit thesis proposal |
| First semester of final year | Do background reading, data collection, and analysis |
| Second semester of final year | Write thesis |
| 1 month prior to culminating experience deadline or before | Turn in pre-final draft to advisors |
| 1 month prior to culminating experience deadline or before | Schedule oral defense for at least one week before culminating experience deadline |
| 2 weeks before scheduled oral defense | Turn in final draft to each advisor |
| 1 week before culminating experience deadline | Turn in revisions (if necessary) |
Graduate Financial Aid
Jim Kohn Scholarship for students in Linguistics and TESOL
Graduate Equity Fellowship: The purpose of San Francisco State University's Graduate Equity Fellowship program is to increase diversity by encouraging students with educationally or economically disadvantaged backgrounds and outstanding academic records to pursue and complete master's and doctoral degrees.
Other Graduate Fellowships and Scholarships
Linguistics Program
Program Coordinator: Rachelle Waksler (rwaksler@sfsu.edu)
English Department
San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94132