The Berkeley Linguistics Graduate Program
- 5 or 6 year, full-time Ph.D. program (no M.A. admissions).
- Admissions is competitive - only about 10% of all applicants are offered admissions.
- There is one admissions cycle per year (apply in the fall (Dec. 3 deadline) to start the following August).
- The aim of the training program is to lead you to a career in research and/or teaching.
Outline of a graduate career in Berkeley Linguistics
- Year 1. Foundation coursework in 5 key areas of linguistics (Phonology, Syntax, Historical Linguistics, Language & Cognition, Language & Society). Capped by the M.A. oral exam.
- Year 2. Research training I - elective advanced coursework on topics of interest, and methods training. Capped by Qualifying Paper 1.
- Year 3. Research training II - more elective courses and close work with adviser. Capped by Qualifying Paper 2 and the Qualifying Exam.
- Years 4 & 5 (& 6). Ph.D. dissertation years. Close work with the dissertation committee. The period opens with the defense of your dissertation prospectus and is capped by filing your Ph.D. dissertation.
Detailed description
The particulars of this program, describing the exact course requirements, details about the exams and required research papers are available in the Linguistics Graduate Program description. This document changes from year to year. Get previous versions of the program description for 2019, 2018, and 2017.