phd in linguistics overview

Doctoral Program

The Ph.D. program emphasizes rigorous theoretical work that has at its base a firm empirical foundation in language data. 

Students are provided with a broad-based background in linguistics, teaching experience in the classroom and other forums, and opportunities for original and high-quality research.  Our Ph.D. students write dissertations on a wide range of topics spanning and bridging many subareas of the field.  See our Ph.D. Alumni  page for dissertation titles and job placement information.

Overview of the Program

Through the completion of advanced coursework and strong methodological and analytical training, the Ph.D. program prepares students to make original contributions to knowledge in linguistics, to articulate the results of their work, and to demonstrate its significance to linguistics and related fields.  At every stage in the program, students are encouraged to present and publish their research and to develop active professional profiles. 

Students generally complete the program in five years

• Coursework in core areas of linguistics, chosen by each student in consultation with faculty advisors to build the foundation that best suits their interests and goals.
• Fall Quarter: Includes seminar to introduce students to the research of faculty in the department
• Winter Quarter: Includes participation in small research groups or in one-on-one apprenticeships
• Spring Quarter: Includes beginning to work on the first of 2 qualifying research papers

Years 2 and 3

• Balance shifts from coursework to development of research skills
• Students complete two qualifying papers and then selects a principal advisor and committee for their dissertation by the end of year 3.

Years 4 and 5

• Devoted to dissertation and advanced research

Teaching Experience

As they move through the Ph.D. program, students also gain teaching experience by serving as teaching assistants in their second, third, and fourth year of graduate study. They also have access to the many programs provided by Stanford's Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning , including the varied resources of the Teaching Commons .

Offers of admission to the Linguistics Ph.D. program include funding for the full five years of doctoral study, including tuition and stipend, regardless of citizenship. 

We also encourage our applicants to apply for as many external fellowships and scholarships as they are eligible for; a compilation of funding opportunities for Linguistics graduate students can be found on our  Fellowship and Funding Information page .  Applicants should note that the deadlines for these fellowships are typically in the fall of the year prior to admission.

In addition, the  Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS) program is designed to build a multidisciplinary community of Stanford graduate students dedicated to finding creative solutions to the world's greatest challenges. Join dozens of  Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences students  who gain valuable leadership skills in a multidisciplinary, multicultural community as  Knight-Hennessy Scholars . KHS admits up to 100 applicants each year from across Stanford’s seven graduate schools, and delivers engaging experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders ready to address complex global challenges. As a scholar, you join a distinguished cohort, participate in up to three years of KHS's leadership program, and receive full funding for up to three years of your PhD studies at Stanford. Candidates of any country may apply. KHS applicants must have earned their first undergraduate degree within the last seven years, and must apply to both a Stanford graduate program and to KHS. Stanford PhD students may also apply to KHS during their first year of PhD enrollment. If you aspire to be a leader in your field, we invite you to apply. The KHS application deadline is October 9, 2024. Learn more about  KHS admission .

Additional information is available about the student budget , Stanford graduate fellowships , and other support programs .

Outside the classroom, there are many opportunities, both formal and informal, for the discussion of linguistic issues and ongoing research, including colloquia, workshops, and reading groups.

Partnership Opportunities

Although not part of the formal doctoral program, there are numerous opportunities for research and development work at the Center for the Study of Language and Information and  off-campus at local companies.  

Admissions Information

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PhD Linguistics / Overview

Year of entry: 2025

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• Bachelor's (Honours) degree at 2:1 or above (or overseas equivalent); and 
• Master's degree in a relevant subject – with an overall average of 65% or above, a minimum mark of 65% in your dissertation and no mark below 55% (or overseas equivalent)

Full entry requirements

Apply online

Please ensure you include all  required supporting documents  at the time of submission, as incomplete applications may not be considered.

Application Deadlines

For consideration in internal funding competitions, you must submit your completed application by  13 January 2025.

If you are applying for or have secured external funding (for example, from an employer or government) or are self–funding, you must submit your application before the below deadlines to be considered. You will not be able to apply after these dates have passed.

• For September 2025 entry:  30 June 2025
• For January 2026 entry:  30 September 2025

Programme options

Programme overview.

• Access expert supervision across an exceptional breadth of research areas in Linguistics.
• Join a vibrant and lively international centre for Linguistics with an active postgraduate research community.  
• Alongside an exceptionally large cluster of experts on English language, we have particular strengths in Romance, Germanic, and Austronesian languages, as well as the languages of Latin America and Africa.
• 92% of our research activity was recognised as 'world leading' or `internationally excellent' REF2021.

Our virtual week took place October 2024 – to find out about future sessions to explore postgraduate research opportunities across the university, please visit our study fairs and events page.

To stay up-to-date with future events and recorded sessions in the Faculty of Humanities, please join our postgraduate research email update list .

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2025, the tuition fees are as follows:

• PhD (full-time) UK students (per annum): TBC International, including EU, students (per annum): £22,000
• PhD (part-time) UK students (per annum): TBC International, including EU, students (per annum): £11,000

Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.

Please note for the majority of projects where experimentation requires further resource: higher fee bands (where quoted) will be charged rather than the base rate for supervision, administration and computational costs. The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive and, therefore, you will not be required to pay any additional bench fees or administration costs.

All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of the course for UK/EU students (fees are typically fixed for International students, for the course duration at the year of entry). For general fees information please visit: postgraduate fees . Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your project.

Scholarships/sponsorships

There are a range of scholarships, studentships and awards to support both UK and overseas postgraduate researchers, details of which can be found via the links below.

To apply for University of Manchester funding, you must indicate in your application the competitions for which you wish to be considered. The deadline for most internal competitions, including AHRC NWCDTP and School of Arts, Languages and Cultures studentships is 13 January 2025.

All external funding competitions have a specified deadline for submitting the funding application form and a separate (earlier) deadline for submitting the online programme application form, both of which will be stated in the funding competition details below. 

You will need to be nominated by your proposed supervisor for a number of our scholarships. Therefore, we highly recommend you discuss these funding opportunities with your supervisor first, so they can advise on your suitability and ensure you meet nomination deadlines.

For more funding information, visit our funding page or use our funding database to search for scholarships, studentships and awards you may be eligible for.

• ESRC North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP) PhD Studentships 2025 Entry
• AHRC North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership (NWCDTP) PhD Studentships 2025 Entry
• School of Arts, Languages and Cultures PhD Studentships 2025 Entry
• China Scholarship Council - The University of Manchester (CSC-UoM) Joint Scholarship Programme 2025 Entry
• School of Arts, Languages and Cultures New Generation PhD Studentships 2025 Entry
• President's Doctoral Scholar (PDS) Awards 2025 Entry
• Trudeau Doctoral Scholarships 2025 Entry
• Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (High Income Countries)
• Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (Least Developed Countries and Fragile States)

Contact details

See: About us

Programmes in related subject areas

Use the links below to view lists of programmes in related subject areas.

• Linguistics and English Language

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PhDs in Theoretical & Applied Linguistics

In British universities the PhD ('Doctorate of Philosophy') is traditionally awarded solely on the basis of a dissertation, a substantial piece of writing which reports original research into a closely defined area of enquiry. Candidates for the PhD in Cambridge are guided by a Supervisor, though they will normally also discuss their work with a number of other experts in their field. The nature of the work depends on topic.

Within linguistics, some PhD students may do most of their work in libraries, or spend part of their time collecting and analysing data, or carry out experiments in the  phonetics laboratory  or psycholinguistics laboratory. The dissertation must make a significant contribution to learning, for example through the discovery of new knowledge, the connection of previously unrelated facts, the development of new theory or the revision of older views. The completion of a PhD dissertation is typically expected to take three to four years, or five to seven years if part-time.

PhD in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics  (Course Code: MLAL212)

The PhD in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics is a PhD track for students whose research interests lie more widely in the field of linguistics. Research proposals from a broad range of linguistic subdisciplines are welcomed.

PhD in Computation, Cognition and Language (Course Code: MLAL211)

The PhD in Computation, Cognition and Language is a PhD track for students who conduct basic and applied research in the computational study of language, communication, and cognition, in humans and machines. This research is interdisciplinary in nature and draws on methodology and insights from a range of disciplines that are now critical for the further development of language sciences, including (but not limited to) Linguistics, Cognitive Science, Computer Science, Engineering, Psychology and Neuroscience. A variety of PhD topics that fall within this remit are accepted.

Please direct any enquiries regarding entry requirements and academic matters to the Postgraduate Administrative Assistant in the MMLL Graduate Office: [email protected] , and any enquiries regarding the technicalities of applying to the Postgraduate Admissions Office .

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Ph.D. Programs

The Department of Linguistics offers four concentrations leading to the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Linguistics (see list below). No matter the concentration, our faculty work closely with students, guiding their research and supporting their passions.

• Applied Linguistics
• Computational Linguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Theoretical Linguistics

Applicants to the Ph.D. program are encouraged to identify prospective research advisors, at least one of whom should be in the concentration to which they apply.

After entering the program, Ph.D. students may elect to add a minor in a second one of these concentrations [new policy effective Spring 2023].

An interdisciplinary (second) concentration in Cognitive Science is also available to Ph.D. students.

Master’s in Passing

If, in their course of the Ph.D. program, a doctoral student meets all of the requirements of a M.S. degree in Linguistics, he or she may apply to receive a “Master’s in Passing.” Please consult section IV.D.3 of the Graduate School Bulletin for full details about the “in passing” or “terminal” Master’s degree.

Program Overview

The graduate program in linguistics, which culminates in a PhD degree, is intended to be completed in six years . The University of Chicago operates on the quarter system. Graduate students normally register for three courses per quarter, for three quarters per year . Students generally take three to four years of coursework.

Students must take eight foundational courses  (selected from fourteen available options), a methods course, and three additional graduate-level courses in linguistics. All of these must be taken within the first four years, and six of them during the first year. In addition, all eight foundational courses must be taken during the first two years.

In the second and third years, students continue taking courses and write two qualifying papers under faculty supervision. In addition to these major landmarks, students are required to satisfy a non-Indo European language requirement and to pass a reading examination in an additional language other than English. In years two and three, when students are writing qualifying papers, they must also take the Research Seminar course.

Upon completion of the qualifying papers and course and language requirements and defense of a dissertation proposal by the end of the fourth year students are admitted to candidacy for the PhD; the only remaining requirement is the dissertation .

The program also includes professionalization seminars, which help prepare students for presenting their work at different venues and for the job market.

Students enrolled in the program must also fulfill certain teaching requirements (3 CAships and 1 stand-alone lectureship), which are normally completed during their third, fourth, and fifth years in the program, as well as pedagogical training.

The Linguistics Graduate Student Handbook provides more information about requirements, milestones, and important dates for doctoral students.

Student Handbook

Graduate Student Handbook

Teaching and Pedagogical Training Schedule (PTP)

Joint PhD Program

Additionally, the University of Chicago offers several joint doctoral programs. Such options currently exist between the Department of Linguistics and the Department of  Anthropology , the Department of  Comparative Human Development , the Department of  Psychology , the Department of  Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations , the Department of  Slavic Languages and Literatures , and the Department of  Philosophy . Students from other departments who wish to  apply for a joint PhD   in Linguistics may do so only after completing six of the  foundational courses .