Resources for Master's Students

If you're a Plan A student (thesis), you must take between six and ten credits of research, independent study, and/or internship. If you're a Plan B student (non-thesis), the maximum number of credits of research, independent study, and/or internship is six.

The Department of Linguistics offers two general paths of study. Plan A is a research track for students who come with prior coursework in linguistics and a research project in mind, in which they develop a thesis. Plan B is focused on providing students with a background in contemporary linguistics and linguistic subfields through coursework and a final Master’s Essay. Both Plan A and Plan B students must present their thesis/essay in their final semester. There is the option to instead take an exam (for Plan B students only), but it's uncommon and must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies well in advance.

Yes, to receive credit for a teaching assistantship, you must register for LING 590 Supervised Teaching with the instructor you're a TA for. If a section doesn't exist for the instructor you need, email the department manager who can create a section for you to register for.

This is a good way to maintain full-time status if you happen to be one credit short of nine in a given semester. TAships are not gauranteed to master's students because it's a requirement for PhD students, which means they get priority.

Although it's not technically tuition, the dissertation fee—also sometimes called a continuation fee—is treated like tuition in this instance.​

If a student is registered for LING 899 in their second year, the dissertation fee is covered at 50% by GEPA as a part of the student's funding package, just as if the student were taking a normal course in their first year.

After a student's second year, the dissertation fee associated with LING 899 will not be covered by GEPA, and it's the student's responsibility to cover this expense.

Courses you'd register for with your advisor as the instructor include LING 591 PhD Reading in Linguistics and LING 595 PhD Research in Linguistics.

The only courses you'd register for with the DGS as the instructor, regardless of who your advisor is are placeholder courses including LING 999 Doctoral Dissertation.

More information on placeholder policies can be found in the policies section above.

Indirect academic expenses are any research or academic related expenses other than tuition scholarships, stipends, or health insurance. For example, conference travel.

Any student may be reimbursed for indirect academic expenses if they have grant funding and the expenses are deemed appropriate for the grant to cover.

For students without grant funding:

• PhD students may be reimbursed by the department for indirect academic expenses up to a certain amount (confirm this amount with the department manager). This is not a yearly amount that replenishes.
• Master's students are not eligible for reimbursement by the department. It's possible for an advisor to cover the expenses from one of their accounts if the student asks and receives permission from their advisor.