¶¡ÏãÔ°AV

Please note:

To view the Fall 2024 Academic Calendar, go to www.sfu.ca/students/calendar/2024/fall.html.

| ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Calendar | Spring 2025

Linguistics

Doctor of Philosophy

The areas of specialization in this program are: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, computational linguistics, documentation and linguistic analysis of North American Indigenous Languages, historical and comparative linguistics, first and second language acquisition, neurolinguistics, psycholinguistics.

¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Requirements

Applicants must satisfy the university admission requirements as stated in Graduate General Regulations 1.3 in the ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Calendar. Students must also demonstrate a substantial background in linguistics and research methodology. Direct doctor of philosophy (PhD) program admission without a master of arts (MA) in linguistics, or equivalent, is normally not possible.

Program Requirements

This program consists of course work, two qualifying papers, and a thesis for a minimum of 47 units.

Students must complete in the first year of enrollment

LING 880 - Advanced Linguistic Research for Professional Development (3)

Designed to help students develop practical skills that will support their professional development as linguists, including writing research articles and preparing conference presentations, as well as critically evaluating and discussing influential works in the field. It is designed for second year students who are actively working on research projects, theses, and qualifying papers, so that they can share key literature related to their research and present their on-going work to benefit from the feedback of their cohort.

LING 890 - Graduate Seminar I (1)

An introduction to professional aspects in the field of Linguistics. Course consists of seminars, lectures and workshops. Graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.

Section Instructor Day/Time Location
TBD
LING 891 - Graduate Seminar II (1)

An introduction to professional aspects in the field of Linguistics. Course consists of seminars, lectures and workshops. Graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.

Section Instructor Day/Time Location
Henny Yeung
Jan 6 – Apr 9, 2025: Thu, 12:30–2:20 p.m.
Apr 9 – Apr 16, 2025: Thu, 12:30–2:20 p.m.
Burnaby
Burnaby

and four graduate courses*

and two qualifying papers

LING 894 - Qualifying Paper I (6)

Qualifying Paper for a PhD student. Graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. Prerequisite: All PhD coursework in Linguistics.

LING 895 - Qualifying Paper II (6)

Qualifying Paper for a PhD student. Grading Basis: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. Prerequisite: All PhD coursework in Linguistics.

Section Instructor Day/Time Location
Suzanne Hilgendorf
TBD
Yue Wang
TBD
Marianne Ignace
TBD

and a thesis

LING 899 - PhD Thesis (18)

Students who are working on their PhD thesis enroll in this course. Graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.

Section Instructor Day/Time Location
Suzanne Hilgendorf
TBD
Ashley Farris-Trimble
TBD
Murray Munro
TBD
Henny Yeung
TBD
Nancy Hedberg
TBD

* must be approved by the supervisor. Only one directed research course allowed.

Program Length

Students are expected to complete the program requirements in 12 terms (four years).

Other Information

Qualifying Papers

Students are expected to complete two qualifying papers by the sixth term. At least one of the papers will be in an area outside of the student's main area of research, and unrelated to the thesis. The paper is evaluated by a committee of at least two faculty members, one of them being the supervisor.

Thesis Proposal

Candidates submit a written thesis proposal to the supervisory committee which defines the intended original research and the relationship between it and existing scholarship. After submission, the student presents the proposal at a departmental colloquium no later than the end of the ninth residence term. The written proposal must be approved by the supervisory committee prior to the start of substantive research.

Academic Requirements within the Graduate General Regulations

All graduate students must satisfy the academic requirements that are specified in the Graduate General Regulations, as well as the specific requirements for the program in which they are enrolled.