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Linguistics Program

Masters Program

Our M.A. program is designed to provide students with the broadest possible background in linguistics and encourages them to take advantage of the wide range of opportunities presented by the program's faculty and to discover connections between the various subdisciplines of the field.

Comprehensive Education

The M.A. in Linguistics at USC is a degree in general linguistics. It is possible for all credit hours earned in a graduate certificate program in TESOL at USC to apply to this degree. Please speak to an advisor to see how these hours apply in your situation. Masters students choose a special field to guide their studies from different areas of specialization. 

Students whose eventual goal is the Ph.D. are advised to consult with the Graduate Director before submitting their application online to discuss the option of concurrent enrollment in the M.A. and Ph.D. programs.

Degree Options

Masters students may pursue a non-thesis or a thesis option with their degree. The two tracks have different degree requirements and time tables. Both tracks are required to complete a foreign language requirement and comprehensive exam.

General information about the Master's program can be found in the Graduate Bulletin. The timetable to completion, course requirements, foreign language requirements, comprehensive examination details, subfield guidelines, and other program-specific requirements can be found in the Graduate Student Handbook.

Non-Thesis Option

The non-thesis option requires 36 credit hours of graduate coursework. Students on this track may take six courses outside their subfield. 

Thesis Option

The thesis option requires 30 credit hours, including the credit hours needed to complete a thesis. The thesis option track allows graduate students to take four courses outside their subfield.

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