Linguistics (LING)

Graduate Degree Program
College: Arts and Humanities

Abstract

Research on language has proven to be one of the most fruitful means to cast light on the nature of the human mind and general cognitive capacity and has taken on a new momentum in the last 30 years. The Maryland Linguistics program builds on these recent developments and trains students thoroughly in a research enterprise which tries to develop a detailed answer to these questions: How is a person’s linguistic capacity represented in the mind, how does that representation reflect properties which are encoded genetically, how is language acquired by young children, how can language be encoded as a computational, psychological or neurological system, and how can linguistic knowledge be used to improve human language technology?

The Department of Linguistics at the University of Maryland has an internationally recognized Ph.D. program. The Department combines current theoretical research in phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics with state-of-the-art experimental research in psycholinguistics, first language acquisition, language processing, neurolinguistics, and computational linguistics. An interdisciplinary background enables students to evaluate proposals critically and make a lasting contribution to the field. Many students choose to split their major and minor areas between theoretical and experimental linguistics. Many students also choose to concurrently pursue the Certificate Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science. The department also hosts an NSF-supported interdisciplinary training program on "Biological and Computational Foundations of Language Diversity" (see website for more information).

The Department encourages applications from students with an interest in the Department’s areas of expertise. Students with a primary interest in Neurolinguistics and Cognitive Science may also want to consider applying to the Neuroscience and Cognitive Science (NACS) Ph.D. program. See the Cognitive Neuroscience of Language Laboratory for more details on alternative programs of study for psycholinguistics. Students seeking a Ph.D. in other areas of linguistics may want to consider a range of other strong programs at the University of Maryland. The PhD program in Second Language Acquisition, based in the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, has a strong cognitive science and research focus. Students with a focus on TESOL should consider the Curriculum and Instruction Program, based in the College of Education. Students with a clinical focus should also consider the Hearing and Speech Sciences Program. Students interested in human language technology should also consider the PhD programs in the iSchool or the Department of Computer Science.

Computational Linguistics

The department also runs two computational linguistics laboratories housing state-of-the-art facilities funded by the NSF and DARPA. The Computational Linguistics and Information Processing (CLIP) laboratories contain state of the art computing facilities and data resources.

Financial Assistance

Initial offers of admission and financial aid are normally made in February-April. Further offers are sometimes made at a later date, if additional funds become available. In recent years, around 6-8 new students have started the Ph.D. program each year.

Financial aid (tuition + stipend) is available on a competitive basis. The department aims to provide graduate students with financial aid (stipend + tuition) during their full course of study (5 years), provided that the student makes satisfactory academic progress. Graduate funding comes from a number of sources. The Department offers Graduate Assistantships (GAs) and Research Assistantships (RAs). GAs typically involve teaching service in undergraduate linguistics courses. RA positions typically involve research associated with a grant-supported faculty research project. Also available are Graduate Fellowships. The University offers a number of these to outstanding applicants, which release the student from GA or RA responsibilities for 1-2 years of study. Other sources of funding are occasionally available through the Department or University. Also, a number of students come to the Department with funding of their own from external fellowships.

Fellowships and GAs provide 12 and 10 credits of tuition remission respectively per semester. In additions to tuition remission, the Graduate Assistantship comes with Health benefits. The student is responsible for approximately $440.00 in mandatory student fees per semester.

The Department sets aside a portion of its operating budget to support travel by faculty and graduate students to present papers at conferences. Any member of the Department can request support for this purpose. Graduate students may also apply for university travel awards for this purpose.

Contact 

The Department’s website, Maryland Linguistics, contains a good deal of information on the program, but if you have further questions about Graduate Study in the Department, you should contact Dr. Jeffrey Lidz (jlidz@umd.edu). Alternatively, if you have a particular interest in the research of an individual faculty member, you may want to contact that person directly via email.

Jeffrey Lidz, Ph.D.
Department of Linguistics
1401 Marie Mount Hall
7814 Regents Drive
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
Telephone: 301.405.7002
Fax: 301.405.7104
Email: jlidz@umd.edu

Website: http://www.ling.umd.edu
 
Courses: LING

Relationships: Hearing and Speech Sciences (HESP)   Neurosciences and Cognitive Science (NACS)  Second Language Acquisition (SLPH)

General Requirements

• Statement of Purpose
• Transcript(s)
• TOEFL/IELTS/PTE (international graduate students)

Program-Specific Requirements

• Letters of Recommendation (3)
• CV/Resume
• Supplementary Application
• Writing Sample: Up to 3 sample submissions, uploaded to the Upload Requirements section of the application.

All students must hold a Bachelors or Masters degree (or international equivalent) prior to starting the Ph.D. program. Although the student’s previous degrees may be in a field other than linguistics, it is essential that a student have some previous experience in linguistics.

Applicants should check the University’s admission requirements and the department’s web site for the most up-to-date information on graduate applications. Electronic submission of application materials is strongly preferred. Applicants are encouraged to submit the initial on-line application form well before the application deadline, preferably by mid-December, since this form must be processed before an applicant is able to submit other electronic materials. Note that the January 5th target date applies to all applicants, domestic and international.

For more admissions information or to apply to the program, please visit our Graduate School website: www.gradschool.umd.edu/admissions

Application Deadlines

Other Deadlines: Please visit the program website at http://www.ling.umd.edu

In addition to university and departmental library facilities, linguists at Maryland have ample office and meeting spaces. The department has outstanding resources for interdisciplinary research that bridges theoretical, experimental, and computational linguistics. The Cognitive Neuroscience of Language (CNL) Laboratory has the specific purpose of bridging the gap between theoretical/computational models of human language and the brain-level mechanisms that support language. The research in the CNL Lab combines the study of linguistics, cognitive neuroscience, language acquisition and psycholinguistics, genetic disorders and computational modeling. The CNL Lab is housed in around 5000 sf. of labs and offices and includes the following:

1. Event-Related Potentials (ERP) Lab: 128-channel Neuroscan ERP facility for recording electrical signals originating in the brain by measuring electrical activity at the scalp.
2. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) Lab: a 160-channel whole-head MEG facility that is used for non-invasive measurements of the magnetic fields associated with neuronal activity in the brain.
3. Head-mounted Eye Tracking Lab: lightweight eye-tracker suitable for use with children and adults.
4. Fixed Eye Tracking Lab: eye-tracker suitable for on-line studies of reading.
5. Center for Young Children: state-of-the-art on-campus preschool for 3-6 year olds, with testing rooms suitable for study of language acquisition.
6. Infant Language Lab: for testing infants and young children.
7. Phonetic/Speech Analysis facilities: equipment for generation, recording, manipulation and analysis of speech sounds.

In addition to the facilities available at the CNL Lab itself, Maryland linguists have taken advantage of the many additional research opportunities in closely affiliated departments and institutions, in particular at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), located in nearby Bethesda, Maryland. These include fMRI brain imaging, PET brain imaging and TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) at NIH, and aphasia research in collaboration with NIH researchers.