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Program Requirements for Linguistics
Applicable only to students admitted during the 2025-2026 academic year.
Linguistics
College of Letters and Science
Graduate Degrees
The Department of Linguistics offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Linguistics.
The program as a whole is intended to lead to a Ph.D. degree, and admits only applicants who have this goal. Internally, however, the program consists of two stages, an M.A. stage and a Ph.D. stage. To receive the Ph.D., students must complete the requirements of both stages.
Master’s Degree
Advising
For the majority of the first year, the adviser for all students is the department’s Director of Graduate Studies. First-year students are required to nominate a Summer Guidance Advisor for the summer after their first year by Week 8 of their third quarter (Year 1 Spring quarter). Second-year students are required to nominate an M.A. committee Chair by Week 8 of their fourth quarter (Year 2 Fall quarter), and the rest of their M.A. committee by Week 2 of their fifth quarter (Year 2 Winter quarter). The M.A. committee composition is subject to the agreement of the committee members and approval of the Department Chair or their delegate.
The student is responsible for discussing their quarterly Study List with their primary adviser and have it approved. Students may have two co-advisers instead of one adviser, either of who may approve the study list.
All registered and enrolled students undergo an annual evaluation at the end of the academic year by the faculty for satisfactory performance, and are notified of the results.
Areas of Study
Consult the department.
Foreign Language Requirement
None.
Course Requirements
The master’s degree requires the completion of nine courses (36 units) in linguistics taken for a letter grade. Each course must be passed with a grade C or better and students must maintain a cumulative ‘B’ (3.0) grade point average in all courses. All students are required to take Linguistics 200A, 200B, 200C and two of 201A, 201B, 201C. The remaining four courses must be chosen from the following – Linguistics 201A/B/C (if not already used to fulfill the “two of” requirement), 202 through 209C, C211 through 219, 222, 225, 236, 239, or C244 – and at most two of these courses can be from Linguistics 201A, 201B, 201C, 214, 216, 219, and 222. 500-level courses cannot be applied towards the master’s degree.
All second-year students must take Linguistics 444.
As a prerequisite to Linguistics 210A, a required course for the doctoral degree that may be taken at the master’s stage of the program, students must pass an examination in practical phonetics or complete Linguistics 103 with a grade of B or better.
A student may petition to apply up to a maximum of two courses toward the master’s degree that were completed with grades of B or better in graduate status at institutions outside the University of California and not used toward another degree.
| Required Courses | |
| Linguistics 200A | 4 units |
| Linguistics 200B | 4 units |
| Linguistics 200C | 4 units |
| 2 courses chosen from Linguistics 201A, 201B, and 201C | 8 units |
| 4 courses chosen from Linguistics 201A/B/C (if not already used to fulfill the “2 of” requirement above), 202 through 209C, C211 through 219, 222, 225, 236, 239, and C244.
At most two of these courses can be from Linguistics 201A, 201B, 201C, 214, 216, 219, and 222. |
16 units |
| TOTAL REQUIRED UNITS | 36 units |
| All second-year students must take Linguistics 444. The course does not fulfill any of the 36 units required for the M.A. | |
Teaching Experience
Not required.
Field Experience
Not required.
Capstone Plan
The department’s capstone plan exists in two forms, one with an oral examination requirement, and one with a writing requirement. M.A. students under either version of the Capstone Plan must file a Petition for Advancement to Candidacy by the third week of the quarter during which they expect to receive the degree.
Oral Examination Requirement. This version of the Capstone Plan is available to two classes of students: (1) undergraduates who are enrolled for an M.A. degree in the Department Scholar Program; (2) graduate students who have not already received a linguistics M.A. degree elsewhere, and have chosen not to continue in the graduate program past the M.A. level.
To receive the degree under the Oral Examination Requirement version of the Capstone Plan, students must satisfy the course requirements for the M.A. degree and must pass an oral examination, general in scope, one hour in length, held during the quarter which they expect to receive the degree and administered by a committee of three faculty nominated by the student and appointed by the Department Chair or their delegate.
Writing requirement.
This version of the Capstone Plan is available to all graduate students who are in the M.A. stage of the program. To satisfy the requirements of this plan, students must complete all required M.A. level course work and must also complete a substantial research paper. This paper is written under the direction of a committee of three faculty nominated by the student and appointed by the Department Chair or their delegate. The committee shall consist of a chair, or two co-chairs, plus additional members to make a total of three. The M.A. paper should demonstrate the student’s ability to perform original, independent research.
The M.A. paper is evaluated as either Acceptable or Unacceptable; an Acceptable paper is required in order to satisfy the requirements of the Writing Requirement version of the Capstone Plan. In addition, the quality of the M.A. paper is a key element in the faculty’s decision whether to advance the student into the Ph.D. stage of the program; see “Doctoral Degree” below.
The normal deadline for the M.A. paper is as follows. Copies of the paper, complete and clearly legible but not necessarily in final form, must be given to the committee and the Student Affairs Officer at least two weeks before the last day of classes of the sixth quarter in the program.
Thesis Plan
Every master’s degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research.
The Thesis Plan is available to all graduate students who are in the M.A. stage of the program, but have not already received an M.A. in linguistics elsewhere. To satisfy the requirements of this plan, students must complete all required M.A. level course work and must also complete an M.A thesis. This thesis is written under the direction of a committee of three faculty nominated by the student, approved by the Department Chair or their delegate, and appointed by the Dean of the Division of Graduate Education. The committee shall consist of a chair, or two co-chairs, plus additional members to make a total of three. The M.A. thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to perform original, independent research.
The M.A. thesis is evaluated as either Acceptable or Unacceptable; an Acceptable thesis is required in order to receive an M.A. degree under the Thesis Plan. In addition, the quality of the M.A. thesis is a key element in the faculty’s decision whether to advance the student into the Ph.D. stage of the program; see “Doctoral Degree” below.
The normal deadline for the M.A. thesis is as follows. Copies of the thesis, complete and clearly legible but not necessarily in final form, must be given to the committee and the Student Affairs Officer at least two weeks before the last day of classes of the sixth quarter in the program. M.A. students must also file a Petition for Advancement to Candidacy by the third week of the quarter during which they expect to receive the degree.
Time-to-Degree
Six quarters is considered the normative time to complete the M.A.-level portion of the program. The Department Chair or his/her delegate may authorize in advance one additional quarter of study in order to complete experimental work or field work; as well as additional quarters to complete deficiency courses. Allowances to normative and maximum time-to-degree may be made to make up deficiencies due to approved Leaves of Absence.
A student who does not complete the M.A. stage of the program in seven quarters, excluding quarters needed to make up deficiencies and quarters of approved leave of absence, is subject to a recommendation for academic disqualification.
| DEGREE | NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters) | NORMATIVE TTD |
MAXIMUM TTD |
| M.A. | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Doctoral Degree
At the stage they are expected to complete all of the requirements for the master’s degree, based on the normative time to degree (sixth quarter), students are considered by faculty for further advancement through the Ph.D. stage of the program. The faculty will evaluate a student’s progress in the program based on the student’s entire record, including the M.A. paper or thesis. Possible outcomes of this evaluation are: a) continuation to the Ph.D. program requirements; (b) extension to complete remaining M.A. requirements; or c) recommendation for academic disqualification from the Ph.D. program (see Special Departmental or Program Policy). All students are notified in writing about the outcome of the faculty evaluation concerning their continuation to the doctoral program or degree progress. Registered and enrolled students continue to be reviewed annually at the end of the academic year throughout their time in the Ph.D. program. The purpose of these reviews is to assess academic progress and help to ensure timely completion of the Ph.D.
Advising
Students are required to form a guidance committee by the last day of classes of their seventh quarter. The committee shall consist of a chair, or two co-chairs, plus additional members to make a total of three. The chair of the guidance committee is the primary adviser at this stage and provides intellectual guidance and advice in the student’s area of interest. Students are encouraged to consult the department’s director of graduate studies at any time and for any academic advice or purpose.
Students are also required to formally nominate a doctoral committee by the beginning of their 10th quarter, prior to the oral qualifying examination. In the typical case, the guidance committee becomes members of the student’s doctoral committee. The chair of the doctoral committee is the primary adviser at this stage and provides intellectual guidance and advice in the student’s area of interest. It is permitted for students to have two co-chairs. Students are encouraged to consult the department’s director of graduate studies at any time and for any academic advice or purpose.
The student is responsible for discussing their quarterly Study List with their primary adviser and have it approved. If a student has two co-advisers, either may approve the study list. All students in the Ph.D. stage of the program undergo an annual evaluation at the end of the academic year, and are notified of the results.
Major Fields or Subdisciplines
Consult the department.
Foreign Language Requirement
None.
Course Requirements
All doctoral degree students must satisfy the requirements of the M.A. stage of the program, as described above. In addition, doctoral students must complete 36 units of additional graduate course work in the Department of Linguistics. Each course must be passed with a grade C or better grade and students must maintain a cumulative ‘B’ (3.0) grade point average in all courses No more than eight units of online courses can be counted towards the 36 units.
Of these 36 units, 28 units must be completed and passed by the end of the 10th quarter of graduate studies and must include Linguistics 210A, 210B, at least two, four-unit Linguistics 250-level course, and eight units of courses offered in the Department of Linguistics in an area distinct from that of the student’s major area of concentration. Passing an examination in practical phonetics, or completing Linguistics 103 with a grade of B or better, is a prerequisite to Linguistics 210A. These 28 units may not include any Linguistics 260-level course taken for one or two units, Linguistics 275/276 (colloquium), any 100-, 300-, 400-, or 500-level course, or any courses taken outside the Department of Linguistics. A student may count one or more courses outside the Department of Linguistics if they receive written approval from their committee chair or co-chairs. A maximum of eight units completed and passed while the student was completing the M.A. requirements, including the M.A. paper or thesis, can be counted toward these 28 units as long as those courses satisfy the requirements described above and were not applied toward the M.A. coursework. If Linguistics 210A and 210B were completed and passed while the student was completing the M.A. requirements, these units will be counted towards the 28 units and no other units taken during the M.A. stage can be counted towards the 28 units.
The other eight of the 36 units must be completed and passed after advancement to doctoral candidacy. They must include at least one, four-unit Linguistics 250-level course; the remaining four units must be 250-level and/or 260-level classes in the Department of Linguistics.
| Required Courses to be Completed and Passed by the 10th Quarter | |
| Linguistics 210A | 4 units |
| Linguistics 210B | 4 units |
| 2, 4-unit Linguistics 250-level course
If applicable, these 2 courses may also count towards the 8 units in an area distinct from the student’s major area of concentration |
8 units |
| Additional allowable courses in the Department of Linguistics to meet the 28 unit minimum (see description above), including the “8 units in an area distinct from the student’s major area of concentration” if not already fulfilled through the “2, 4-unit Linguistics 250-level course” requirement | 12 units |
| Total Units to be Completed and Passed by the 10th Quarter | 28 units |
| Required Courses to be Completed and Passed After Advancement to Doctoral Candidacy | |
| 1, 4-unit Linguistics 250-level course | 4 units |
| 250- and/or 260-level courses in the Department of Linguistics (see description above) | 4 units |
| Total Units to be Completed and Passed After Advancement to Doctoral Candidacy | 8 units |
Teaching Experience
Not required.
Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations
Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass university written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations, the University Oral Qualifying Examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to university requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.
All committee nominations and reconstitutions adhere to the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee Constitution.
In order to be advanced to candidacy, the student is required to prepare and submit one substantive research paper. This paper will be the M.A. thesis or M.A. paper written earlier during the M.A. stage of the program.
In the 10th quarter of doctoral study, students are required to hold a dissertation prospectus meeting with the appointed doctoral committee to discuss the topic of the dissertation research and the background necessary to pursue it. A written prospectus of the dissertation is to be submitted to the doctoral committee, with a copy for the departmental file, at least one month prior to this meeting.
Students who fail to provide an approved prospectus and/or complete the required 28 units of course work by the end of the 10th quarter may be subject to academic disqualification, and may not be eligible for departmental teaching assistantships or fellowships.
The University Oral Qualifying Examination is administered by the doctoral committee. Students must satisfactorily complete this examination and advance to candidacy no later than the 10th quarter of graduate study. This examination may coincide with the prospectus meeting.
Advancement to Candidacy
Students are advanced to candidacy and awarded the Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.
Doctoral Dissertation
Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.
Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)
Required for all students in the program. The presentation portion of the final defense must be open to the public. The format of the other portion will be determined by the student’s committee.
Time-to-Degree
Full-time students with no deficiencies upon admission to graduate study in the department should be able to complete requirements for the doctoral degree in 15 academic quarters (five calendar years). The normative time-to-degree cannot be changed, but allowances to normative and maximum time-to-degree may be made to make up for deficiencies due to approved leaves of absence. The maximum time limit for the doctoral degree from the first quarter of graduate study in the department is seven years.
In addition, there are departmental policies that link progress through the program to financial support. These policies are based on the normative times for advancement through the program, not on the absolute limits mentioned above.
| DEGREE | NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters) | NORMATIVE TTD |
MAXIMUM TTD |
| Ph.D. | 10 | 15 | 21 |
Academic Disqualification and Appeal of Disqualification
University Policy
A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing academic disqualification of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.
Special Departmental or Program Policy
At the end of each Spring quarter, a faculty meeting is held to review the progress of graduate students. A student’s progress may also be reviewed by the faculty during any faculty meeting if a student was given an extension to complete the remaining M.A. requirements (see first paragraph of Doctoral Degree section), or has not been making satisfactory progress towards ATC or time-to-degree as determined by the Director of Graduate Studies or Committee Chair, or are beyond normative time to ATC and/or time-to-degree as defined by the program requirements. If, at such a meeting, the faculty vote for academic disqualification and the student had been provided a written academic plan and adequate time to correct deficiencies, a recommendation for academic disqualification is made by the chair of the department.