2023-2024 Graduate Course Catalog 
    
    Apr 09, 2025  
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2023-2024 Graduate Course Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Linguistic Studies, MA

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Director

Amanda Brown
323C H.B.Crouse

Graduate Advisors

Amanda Brown
323C H.B. Crouse
 
Rania Habib
325 H.B. Crouse

Faculty

Core LIN faculty and advisors: Tej K. Bhatia, Amanda Brown, Christopher R. Green, Gerald R. Greenberg, Rania Habib, Jaklin Kornfilt, Kenji Oda, Michael Rieppel, Robert A. Rubinstein, Adam Roth Singerman, Maria Emma Ticio Quesada, Jeffrey Stanton, Victoria Tumanova

Select affiliated faculty: Janice Dowell, Kevan Edwards, Stephanie McMillen, Jonathan Preston, Rob Pusch, Angela Ramnarine-Rieks, Ellyn Riley, Erica Shumener, Sylvia Sierra, Louise Wilkinson

This program provides the student with intensive and advanced education in linguistics and language-related study. The student works with the concentration advisor in one of six concentration areas:

Language Acquisition;

Language, Culture, and Society;

Linguistic Theory;

Logic and Language;

Natural Language Processing; and

Teaching languages (English Language Teaching/Foreign Language Teaching)

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Evaluate claims about human communication and about the innate language competence in humans
2. Evaluate claims about the history and structure of specific languages and the universal principles that underlie the knowledge of all languages
3.Evaluate claims about the role of language in culture and society
4a. Concentration in Language Acquisition: Evaluate claims about social, cognitive and physiological aspects of language in language acquisition.
4b. Concentration in Language, Culture and Society: Evaluate claims about the inter-relationships among languages, cultures, and the communities in which the languages and cultures exist.
4c. Concentration in Linguistic Theory: Evaluate claims about the human capacity for language by examining the structure of one or more languages.
4d. Concentration in Logic and Language: Evaluate claims about formal logic as a language and as a part of natural and/or programming languages.
4e. Concentration in Natural Language Processing: Apply computational and linguistic tools to the processing and generation of natural and artificial languages.
4f. Concentration in Teaching Languages: Application of linguistic and technological tools for the teaching of languages

Program Requirements

The M.A. degree requires 30 credits of graduate coursework. 12 credits are fulfilled by taking the following Core courses:

The remaining 18 credits come from one of the six concentration areas with the approval of the advisor for that concentration area. All four Core courses and all required courses within a student’s concentration area must be completed with a grade of B or better; all other courses must be completed with a grade of B- or better. A thesis may be substituted for 6 credits of course work subject to the approval of the concentration advisor. All students must successfully complete three comprehensive examinations; one in Syntax, one in Phonology, and one in Sociolinguistics. All students must also either successfully complete a comprehensive examination in their concentration area, or successfully write and defend a thesis in their concentration area.

The student works with the concentration advisor in one of six concentration areas. Equivalent or alternative courses may be substituted for any of the courses listed below by approval of the program. Be aware that certain courses may have prerequisites, e.g., CSD 616 must be taken before CSD 638; LIN 601 must be taken before several courses; LIN 631 must be taken in year one in order to take LIN 731; and LIN 641 must be taken in year one in order to take LIN 741.

1. Language Acquisition:

Concentration Advisor

Victoria Tumanova
Associate Professor
Office: 621 Skytop Suite 1200
Tel: 315-443-9640
Email: vtumanov@syr.edu

Linguistics Core Courses (12 Credits)

Concentration Area Required Courses (12 Credits)

Required: CSD 622 - Development of Speech and Language  - 3 credit(s)

Choose three of the following:

Concentration Area Elective Courses (6 Credits)

From the list of all graduate-level LIN courses and the courses listed below, in consultation with your concentration advisor, choose a combination of any two courses.

Thesis Option

In substitution for 6 credits (2 Elective courses, or 1 Elective course and 1 Language Development course), the student may prepare a thesis under the supervision of the concentration advisor or other faculty participating in the Program on a topic approved by the Program.

2. Language, Culture, and Society:

Concentration Advisor

Robert A. Rubinstein
Professor
Office: 209 Maxwell Hall
Tel: 315-443-1011
Email: rar@syr.edu

Linguistics Core Courses (12 Credits)

Concentration Area Required Courses (6 Credits)

Concentration Area Elective Courses (6 Credits)

From the list of all graduate-level LIN courses and the courses listed below, in consultation with your concentration advisor, choose a combination of any two courses.

Foreign Language Requirement (6 Credits)

The student must have the equivalent of advanced language competency in a European language or one year of non-Western language. If language competency is already achieved, the student may take 2 additional elective courses.

Thesis Option

In substitution for six of the elective credits, the student may prepare a thesis under the supervision of the concentration advisor or other faculty participating in the Program and on a topic approved by the Program.

3. Linguistic Theory:

Concentration Advisor

Jaklin Kornfilt
Professor
Office: 305 HBC
Tel: 315-443-5375
Email: kornfilt@syr.edu​

Linguistics Core Courses (12 Credits)

Concentration Area Required Courses (9 Credits)

Select 3 courses from the list below in consultation with your advisor.

Note:

* LIN 731  and LIN 741  are required when offered.

Concentration Area Elective Courses (6 Credits)

From the list of all graduate-level LIN courses and the courses listed below, in consultation with your concentration advisor, choose a combination of any two courses.

Foreign Language Requirements (3 Credits)

Students will fulfill the Foreign Language Requirement for the Linguistic Theory concentration in one of two ways, with prior consultation with and approval from the Concentration Advisor:

1A. [LANGUAGE DESIGNATION] 620: Successfully complete (grade no lower than a B-) a full semester of attendance at a language course (other than the student’s native language, English, or another language that the student has significant familiarity with).

And:

1B. Language Structure Analysis: Satisfactorily complete two papers (of approximately 15 single-spaced pages each), one on the phonology and one on the syntax of the particular language. 

Or:

2: Successfully complete either LIN 606 - Field Methods in Linguistics, when offered or LIN 626 - Structure of Arabic, when offered. 

Students who fulfill the Foreign Language Requirement for the Linguistic Theory concentration by choosing either one of the options in 2 must complete two papers (of approximately 15 single-spaced pages each): one on the phonology and one on the syntax of the language under investigation. These papers are to be written in addition to any requirements of the course taken and should be written while or immediately after taking the relevant course.

Thesis Option

In substitution for six of the elective credits, the student may prepare a thesis under the supervision of the concentration advisor and other faculty participating in the Program and on a topic approved by the Program.

4. Logic and Language

Concentration Advisor

Michael Rieppel
Associate Professor
Office: 523 Hall of Languages
Tel: 315-443-5821
Email: morieppe@syr.edu​

Linguistics Core Courses (12 Credits)

Concentration Area Required Courses (6 Credits)

Required:

Concentration Area Elective Courses (6-12 Credits)

a. Elective courses may include any of the courses from the Concentration Area Required Courses that were not counted for the Core
b. Any concentration-advisor-approved graduate linguistic (LIN) course
c. Any concentration-advisor-approved philosophy (PHI) course numbered 700 or above
d. Any of the following

Structure of a Language Option (0-6 Credits)

Up to 6 credits of study in a structure of a language course.

Thesis Option

In substitution for six of the elective credits, the student may prepare a thesis under the supervision of the concentration advisor and other faculty participating in the Program and on a topic approved by the Program.

5. Natural Language Processing

Concentration Advisor

Jeffrey Stanton
Professor
323E Hinds Hall
Email: jmstanto@syr.edu

Linguistics Core Courses (12 credits)

Concentration Area Required Courses (6 Credits)

Concentration Area Elective Courses (12 Credits)

Select four courses from the list below in consultation with your advisor.  One course must be from list A.

Thesis Option

In substitution for six of the elective credits, the student may prepare a thesis under the supervision of the concentration advisor or other faculty participating in the Program and on a topic approved by the Program.

6. Teaching languages (English Language Teaching/Foreign Language Teaching):

Concentration Advisor

Amanda Brown
Associate Professor and Program Director
Office: 323C HBC
Email: abrown08@syr.edu​

Linguistics Core Courses (12 Credits)

Concentration Area Required Courses (6 Credits)

Concentration Area Elective Courses (12 Credits)

A. Select two of the following courses in consultation with the concentration advisor:

Assessment
Language Acquisition
Learning Populations
Literacy
Materials Design
Program Management
Data Exploration and Management

B. From the list of all graduate-level LIN courses and the courses listed below choose a combination of any two courses.

Language & Society; Language Structure

From the list of all graduate-level LIN courses and the courses listed below, in consultation with your concentration advisor, choose a combination of any two courses.

Thesis Option

In substitution for six of the elective credits (three from list A and three from list B), the student may prepare a thesis under the supervision of the concentration advisor or other faculty participating in the Program and on a topic approved by the Program.

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