Program/Course Requirements

Completion requirement

In addition to Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements and Faculty of Arts requirements, the Linguistics Graduate Program requires:

a) Completion of 18 units in Linguistics beyond the MA, including LING611 and LING613. Course requirements are normally completed during the first two years.

Note: No more than 6 units can be taken with the same instructor.

b) LING600.

c) Knowledge of a language other than English demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Graduate Studies Committee. The following groups will be judged on acceptance to the program to have met the PhD language requirement:

Students whose mother tongue is not English and who were required to satisfy the English language proficiency requirements for admission to program.
Students whose mother tongue is English and who provide evidence of past schooling in another language (e.g., schooling in an immersion program in French, German or a First Nations language).
Students whose mother tongue is English and who provide evidence of having completed a foreign language secondary school credit such as Spanish Language Arts 30, or French Language Arts 31.
Students whose mother tongue is English and who provide evidence of at least A1 (“Basic User”) level of proficiency in another language in the Common European Frame of Reference from a certified testing agency or a recognised academic institution (e.g., university or college) or a recognised language teaching organization.

Students whose mother tongue is English and who cannot provide evidence of prior exposure to another language on admission can meet the doctoral language requirement during their PhD program in the following ways:

by providing evidence of having received credit for 3 units for a University of Calgary language course, e.g. Chinese 205, French 209, German 202, or Japanese 205, or Russian 201.
by providing evidence of having received credit for one of the following courses: Indigenous Languages 205, Indigenous Languages 301, Linguistics 551 or LING605.

It is the responsibility of the student to provide relevant documentation that the doctoral language requirement has been met. This program requirement must be met by the time the thesis proposal is submitted. It is the responsibility of the supervisor to ensure that the student meets the deadline for completing this requirement.

Copyediting

Copyediting of the examination version of the thesis is not permitted. Students may make use of a copyeditor or copyediting service for the final version only of the thesis. The name of the copyeditor or copyediting service must appear on the Acknowledgements page.

Acknowledgement is required whether the copyediting was done by a paid professional or by an acquaintance, friend or family member. Fees for copyediting must be assumed by the student.

Additional Program Information

Completion requirement

Advanced Credit

The applicant must make advanced credit requests as part of the admission process. Credit will not be given for course work taken as part of another completed degree/diploma or for courses taken to bring the grade point average to a required level for admission.

Flexible Grade Option (CG Grade)

The Linguistics program in the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures will permit the Flexible Grade Option (CG Grade) for any course offered by the Linguistics program, with the exception of Linguistics 611, 613, 631.03, 651 and 697.

Students may also choose the CG grade for a course taken extra to load.

The use of the CG grade will not affect students' eligibility for internal awards.

Credit for Undergraduate Courses

At the doctoral level, with the approval of the Graduate Program Director and the School Director, a student may take for credit a maximum of 6 units at the undergraduate level. Normally, only 500-level courses are approved as acceptable, and students must provide evidence that such courses represent a necessary contribution to their program.

Time Limit

Expected completion time is four years for a doctoral degree. Maximum completion time is six years.

Supervisory Assignments, Research Proposal and Required Examinations

Completion requirement

Supervisory Assignments

A student is assigned a supervisor on admission to the program based on the stated research interests of the student, the disciplinary expertise of faculty members and program capacity. This faculty member commits to supervising the student’s thesis and to advising and mentoring the student. Since research interests can change while in program, students are free to select a different supervisor after admission to program but will normally finalize supervisory arrangements by the end of the second term of study (usually April) and must finalize supervisory arrangements by the end of the second annual registration. When a student wishes to change supervisor, that choice must be made by mutual agreement between the student and the faculty member concerned, in consultation with the Graduate Program Director.

Once doctoral students have finalized the choice of a supervisor, a supervisory committee is struck. It will normally consist of the supervisor and two other faculty members from the program. One of the two members of this committee may be external to the program. It is desirable to have at least one committee member with supervisory experience at the doctoral level. See Supervision for more information.

Required Examinations

Candidacy

To be admitted to candidacy, doctoral students must successfully complete an oral and written field of study examination and an oral examination on the thesis proposal. Doctoral students are required to take the field of study Examination after completion of all course work, normally within 26 months of first registration. Students must complete and submit a written thesis proposal to their Supervisory Committee within two months of passing the Field of Study examination.

See Linguistics Candidacy Requirements for more information.

Thesis Examination

In addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements for Thesis Examinations, the Program requires:

Scheduling of the Examination
All members of the Supervisory Committee must have reviewed the student’s research, including a relevant written sample of the materials related to the thesis, before an examination can be scheduled.

Composition of the Committee
The Internal Examiner may be internal to the home program.

Financial Assistance

Completion requirement

Financial assistance is normally available to qualified students. Funding is provided to full-time students only. For information on awards, see the Awards and Financial Assistance section of this calendar.

Information on teaching and research assistantships is available on the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures graduate programs website.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Linguistics

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